THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  ILLINOIS 

LIBRARY 

From  the  library  of 

Walter  Colyer 

Albion,  Illinois 

Purchased  1926 

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ANNALS  OF   THE  WEST: 


EMBRACING    A    CONCISE    ACCOUNT    OF 
*  t         '   "'* 

PRINCIPAL    EVENTS, 


WESTERN  STATES  AND  TERRITORIES, 


FROM  THE  DISCOVERY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI  VALLEY  TO  THE  YEAR 
EIGHTEEN  HUNDRED  AND  FIFTY. 

COMPILED  FROM  THE  MOST  AUTHENTIC    SOURCES. 

FOB  THE  PKOJECTOB. 

FIRST  EDITION, 

BY  JAMES  H.  PERKINS. 

SECOND  EDITION,  REVISED  AND  ENLARGED 
•  4 

BY  J.  M.  PECK. 


ST.    LOUIS: 

PUBLISHED  BY  JAMES  R.  ALBACH. 

CHAMBERS  &  KNAPP,  PRINTERS. 

1850. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1850,  by  JAMES  R.  ALBACH,  in  the 
Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  District  of  Missouri. 


arm 


,  HISTORICAL.     SU 


PREFACE. 


IN  presenting  a  second  Edition  of  this  work,  the  pro- 
jector and  proprietor  believes  the  occasion  appropriate 
for  an  explanation  of  such  circumstances  as  induced 
the  undertaking. 

From  his  earliest  recollection,  the  study  of  the  histo- 
ry and  geography  of  our  country,  has  afforded  pleasures 
to  be  derived,  in  an  equal  degree,  from  few  other  sour- 
ces. The  memories  of  childhood  recall  the  delightful 
emotions  ever  experienced  from  listening  to  recitals  of 
thrilling  events,  and  descriptions  of  distant  scenes. 

The  gratification  of  similar^  emotions,  or  rather  a  pas- 
sion for  an  acquaintance  with  historical  and  topographi- 
cal facts  relative  to  the  "  Great  West,"  but  particularly 
such  as  might  elucidate  its  beginnings,  rise,  and  pro- 
gress towards  its  future  destiny,  has  been  a  principal 
employment  of  the  publisher  for  nearly  thirty  years, 
during  which  time  he  has  traversed  most  of  that  exten- 
sive region,  and  visited  nearly  every  memorable  spot, 
for  the  means  of  forming  an  enlightened  judgment,  and 
correct  ideas  of  men  and  events  in  times  past.  Nothing, 
however,  of  the  materials  or  knowledge  thus  acquired, 
was  collected  with  a  view  to  publication,  being  solely 


IV  PREFACE. 

the  natural  and  incidental  results  of  researches,  entered 
upon  and  pursued  for  his  private  gratification. 

A  change  of  circumstances,  however,  seemed  to  jus- 
tify an  alteration  of  purposes ;  consequently,  in  1844, 
promulgation  was  commenced  by  written  and  oral  lec- 
tures ;  as  one  thought  originates  another,  in  1845  the 
idea  of  publishing  in  book  form,  first  occurred. 

The  proprietor,  then  residing  in  Ohio,  submitted  his 
plan  to  several  gentlemen  of  eminent  standing,  who  at 
once  gave  it  their  cordial  approbation.  A  prospectus 
was  immediately  circulated,  and  patrons  by  hundreds, 
obtained  throughout  that  community. 

Demonstrations  of  future  popularity,  sufficient  to  en- 
sure a  successful  issue,  having  thus  been  made,  an  en- 
gagement was  entered  into  in  the  spring  of  1846,  with 
the  late  Rev.  JAMES  H.  PERKINS,  of  Cincinnati,  by  which 

he  took  charge  of  the  compilation,   and  prepared  the 

.1 
work  fer  the  press ;  and  no  one  acquainted  with  that 

deservedly  esteemed  and  lamented  gentleman,  need  be 
informed,  that  the  trust  could  not  have  been  committed 
to  better  or  more  able  hands. 

A  volume  of  600  pages  appeared  before  the  close  of 
that  year  :  but  an  obligation  to  publish  at  the  promised 
time,  made  it  necessary,  somewhat,  to  depart  from  the 
projector's  plan,  and  to  present  the  book  in  a  form  not 
deemed  the  most  eligible. 

In  view  of  this  circumstance,  together  with  a  desire 
to  extend  and  amplify  the  sketches  of  Illinois,  Missouri, 


PREFACE.  V 

and  other  communities  more  recently  developed,  the 
present  Edition  was  resolved  upon:  which  is  a  revision 
of  the  first,  enlarged  by  the  Rev.  JOHN  M.  PECK,  of  Illinois, 
a  gentleman  well  calculated  for  this  duty,  from  his  long 
residence  in  the  West  and  familiarity  with  the  history  of 
those  portions  less  elaborately  treated  of  in  the  former 
Edition.  Notwithstanding,  this  edition  is  still  not  ar- 
ranged in  strict  accordance  with  the  plan  originally  pro- 
jected, yet  it  is  believed  that  for  general  accuracy  and 
especial  fulness  of  detail,  it  may  be  commended  to  its 
readers  in  its  present  form  as  worthy  of  attention. — 
Although  it  is  not  presumed  to  be  wholly  free  from  er- 
rors and  imperfections,  it  will  be  found  to  contain  a 
faithful  narrative  of  memorable  events,  deserving  the 
perusal  of  western  people,  especially  the  young,  and  the 
descendants  of  our  Pioneers,  to  whom  the  volume  is 
most  respectfully  DEDICATED. 

JAMES  R.  ALBACH. 
St.  Louis,  May,  1850. 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE. 


1512.  Ponce  de  Leon  discovers  Florida. 

1516.  Diego  Miruelo  visits  Florida. 

1526.  PaBiphilo  de  Narvaez  goes  to  Florida. 

1538.  De  Soto  asks  leave  to  conquer  Florida. 

1539.  May,  De  Soto  reaches  Tampa  and  Appalachee  bays. 

1541.  De  Soto  reaches  Mississippi,  and  crosses  it  to  Washita. 
DeSoto  reaches  Mavilla,  on  the  Alabama. 

1542.  De  SoUo  descends  Washita  to  Mississippi. 
May  21,        De  Soto  dies. 

His  followers  try  to  reach  Mexico  by  land  and  fail. 

1543.  July,  De  Soto's  followers  reach  Mexico  by  water. 

1544.  De  Biedma  presents  his  account  of  De  Soto's  expedition  to 

King  of  Spain. 

1616.  Le  Caron  explores  Upper  Canada. 

1630.  Charles  First  grants  Carolina  to  Sir  Robert  Heath,  p.  69. 

1G34.  First  mission  founded  near  Lake  Huron. 

1641.  French  at  Falls  of  St.  Mary,  Lake  Superior. 

1660.  First  missionary  station  on  Lake  Superior. 

1664.  Colonel  Wood's  alledged  travels  previous  to  this  year. 

1665.  Allouez  founds  first  permanent  station  on  Lake  Superior. 
1668.  Mission  at  St.  Mary's  Falls  founded. 

1670.  Perrot  explores  Lake  Michigan  ;  La  Salle  iu  Canada. 

1671.  French  take  formal  possession  of  the  north-west. 
Marquette  founds  St.  Ignatius  on  Strait  of  Mackinac. 

1673.  May  13,  Marquette  and  his  companions  leave  Mackinac  to  seek  the 
Mississippi. 

June  10,  Marquette  and  his  companions  cross  from  Fox  river  to  Wiscon- 
sin. 

June  17,        Marquette  and  his  companions  reach  Mississippi. 

June  21,        Marquette  and  his  companions  meet  Illinois  Indians. 

July,  Marquette  and  his  companions  reach  Arkansas. 

July  17,         Marquette  and  his  companions  leave  on  return  to  Canada. 

September,    Marquette  and  his  companions  reach  Green  Bay. 

1675.  May  18,       Marquette  dies. 

La  Salle  goes  to  France  to  see  the  King. 

1676.  Returns  and  rebuilds  Fort  Frontenac. 

1677.  La  Salle  visits  France  a  second  time. 


VIII 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


1678.  July  14,       La  Salle  and  Tonti  sail  for  Canada;  Sept.  15,  arrive  at  Quebec. 
Nov.  18,      La  Salle  and  Touti  cross  Lake  Ontario. 

1679.  January,      La  Salle  loses  his  stores. 

August  7,     The  Griffin  sails  up  Lake  Erie ;  27th,  at  Mackinac. 

1679.  Sept.    18,      The  Griffin  sent  back  to  Niagara. 

Nov.  1,          La  Salle  at  St.  Joseph's  river,  Lake  Michigan. 
Dec.  3,         La  Salle  crosses  to  Kankakee. 

1680.  Jan.  4,          La  Salle  in  Peoria  Lake;  Fort  Crevecoeur  built. 
Feb.  28,        Hennepin  sent  to  explore  the  Upper  Mississippi. 
March,          La  Salle  returns  to  Canada. 

April&May,  Hennepin  on  the  Upper  Mississippi. 

September,    Tonti  after  commencing  Fort  St.  Louis  (Rock  fort, )  forced  to 

leave  the  Illinois. 

Oct.  &  Nov.  La  Salle  returns  to  the  Illinois. 
November,    Hennepin  returns  to  Canada  and  Europe. 

1681.  June,  La  Salle  and  Tonti  meet  at  Mackinac. 
August,         La  Salle  a  third  time  goes  to  the  Illinois. 
Nov.  3,  La  Salle  at  St.  Joseph's  again. 

1682.  Jan.  5  or  6,  La  Salle  goes  from  Chicago  westward. 
February  6,  La  Salle  on  banks  of  the  Mississippi. 
Feb.  13.        La  Salle  descends  Mississippi. 

March  6,        La  Salle  discovers  mouths   of  Mississippi  and  takes  possession. 
September,    La  Salle  returns  to  St.  Joseph's  of  Michigan. 

1683.  Dec.  13,        La  Salle  reaches  France. 

1684.  July  24,        La  Salle  sails  flora  France  for  mouth   of  Mississippi. 

Sept.  20,        La  Salle  reaches  St.  Domingo. 

Nov.  25,        La  Salle  sails  from  St.  Domingo  for  mouth  of  Mississippi. 

Dec.  28,         La  Salle  discovers  the  main  land. 

The  Iroquois  place  themselves  under  England. 

1685.  January,       La  Salle  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

February  4,  La  Salle  sends  par^y  on  shore  to  go  eastward  foi  mouth  of  Mis- 
sissippi. 

Feb.  13,        La  Salle  reaches  Matagorda  Bay. 

March  15,     La  Salle  left  in  Texas,  by  Beaujeu. 

July,  Attempts  to  build  a  Fort,  and  is  unfortunate,  and  his  men  sick 

and  die. 

December,    La  Salle  goes  to  look  for  Mississippi. 

1686.  March,        La  Salle  returns  to  Matagorda  Bay. 

April,  La  Salle  goes  again  to  seek  the  Mississippi,  and  find  a  route  to- 

Canada. 

April,  Tonti  goes  down  Mississippi  to  meet  La  Salle. 

August,        La  Salle  returns  unsuccessful. 

1687.  Jan.  12,       La  Salle  leaves  for  Mississippi  the  third  time. 
March  15,    La  Salle  sends  men  to  look  for  stores. 
March  17,     La  Salle  follows  and  is  killed  by  those  men. 

May,  His  murderers  quarrel  ;  seven  go  on  toward  Mississippi.. 

July  24,        The  seven  reach  the  Arkansas. 

Sept.  14,       The  s?ven  reach  Fort  St.  Louis  on  Illinois  river. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE.  IX 

w 

1688.  La  Hontan's  travels  to  the  "Lcn»  river." — [Doub'.ful.] 

1693.  Before  this  time  Gravier,  the  founder  of  Kaskaskia,  was  among 

the  Illinois. 

Kaskaskia  founded,  dato  unknown. 
Cahokia  founded,  date  unknown. 
Peoria  a  trading  post. 

1698.  Oct.  17,         D'Iberville  leaves  France  for  Mississippi. 

Dr.  Coxe  sends  two  vessels  to  the  Mississippi. 

1699.  Jan.  31,        D'Iberville  in  Bay  of  Mobile. 
March  2,      D'Iberville  enters  Mississippi. 

D'Iberville  returns  to  France. 
September,  Bienville  sounds  Missisippi  and  meets  English. 

1700.  January,      D'Iberville  returns  from  France. 

D'Iberville  goes  up  the  Mississippi. 

D'Iberville  sends  Le  Sueur  for  copper  to  Upper  Mississippi. 

M.  St.  Dennis  explored  Red  river. 

1701.  De  la  Motte  Cadillac  founds  Detroit. 
D'Iberville  founds  colony  on  Mobile  river. 
Iroquois  again  place  themselves  under  England. 

1703.  Settlement  on  Washita. 

St.  Dennis  in  Texas  and  the  Presidie. 

1705.  Missouri  river  explored  to  Kanzas. 

1707.  First  grant  of  land  at  Detroit. 

1708.  D'Artaguette  in  Louisiana. 

1710.  Governor  Spotswood  of  Virginia  explores  the  Alleghanies. 

1712.  Louisiana  granted  to  Crozat. 

1714.  Fort  Rosalie  commenced. 

1716.  St.  Dennis  in  possession  of  Texas. 

1717.  Crozat  resigns  Louisiana. 

September,    Louisiana  trade  granted  to  Company  of  West. 

1718.  Colonists  sent  to  Louisiana,  and  New  Orleans  laid  out. 
Fort  Chartres  commenced. 

1719.  Company  of  the  West  made  Company  of  the  Indies. 
La  Harpe  builds  a  Fort  in  Texas. 

Renault  leaves  France  for  Illinois. 
Fort  Chartres  finished. 

1720.  January,       Law  made  minister  of  finance. 

April,  Stock  of  Company  of  the  Indies  worth  2050  per  cent. 

May,  Company  of  Indies  bankrupt. 

Renault  arrives  in  Illinois,  and  sends  out  mining  parties. 

Mine  La  Motte  discovered. 

Spanish   invasion   of  the  Missouries   from  Santa  Fe,  defeated 
and  destroyed. 

La  Harpe  explores  Washita  and  Arkansas  rivers. 

1722.  Charlevoix  visits  Illinois. 

1726.  Iroquois  a  third  time  place  themselves  under  England. 

1729.  Nov.  28,        French  among  the  Natchez  murdered. 

1730.  Jan.  &Feb.,  The  Natchez  conquered  and  destroyed. 


X  CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 

1731.  Previous  to  this,  Gov.  Keilh  wishes  West  secured  to  England. 

1732.  Company  of  Indies  resign  Louisiana  to  King. 

1735.  Vincennes  settled  according  to  some,  (see  pp.  66-68.) 
Daniel  Boone  born. 

1736.  May,  Expedition  of  French  against  Chickasaws. 
May  20,        D'Artaguette  conquered. 

May  27,        Bienville  fails  in  assault  on  Chickasaws  and  retreats. 

1739.  French  collect  to  attack  Chickasaws. 

1740.  March,          Peace  between  French  and  Chickasaws. 
1742.  John  Howard  goes  down  Ohio. 

1744.  Treaty  of  English  and  Iroquois  at  Lancaster. 

Vaudreuil  fears  English  influence  in  West. 
Renault  returns  to  France. 

1748.  Chickasaws  attack  French  post  on  Arkansas. 
Conrad  Weiser  sent  to  Ohio. 

Ohio  Company  formed. 

1749.  Grant  of  land  to  Loyal  Company. 
Celeron  sent  to  bury  medals  along  Ohio. 
English  Fort  built  on  Great  Miami. 
English  traders  seized  on  Maumee. 

1750.  Forty  vessels  at  New  Orleans. 
Dr.  Walker  explores  Kentucky. 

1751.  Christopher  Gist  explores  Ohio  and  Great  Miami. 

1752.  French  build  Forts  on  French  creek. 
French  attack  English  post  on  Great  Miami. 

June,  Treaty  of  Logstown. 

Families  settle  west  of  Alleghanies. 

1753.  May,  Pennsylvania  Assembly  informed  of  French  movements. 
June,  Commissioner  sent  to  warn  French. 

Trent  sent  with  arms  for  friendly  Indians. 
August,          Colonies  authorized  to  resist  French  by  force. 
September,     Treaty  of  Winchester. 

Treaty  with  Iroquois  ordered  by  England. 
October,         Treaty  of  Carlisle. 

Ohio  Company  open  line  of  ''Brarfdock's  road.'' 
Nov.  15,          Washington  leaves  Will's  creek  for  Ohio. 
Nov.  22,          Washington  reaches  Monougahela. 
Dec.  4,  Washington  reaches  Venango. 

Dec.  11,          Washington  reaches  French  Commander. 

1754.  Jan.  6,  Washington  returns  to  Will's  creek. 

Troops  called  out  by  Virginia. 
April,  French  Fort  at  Venango  finished. 

April,  Virginia  troops  moving  westward. 

April  17,        Fort  at  the  Forks  of  Ohio  taken  by  French. 
May,  Washington  crosses  Alleghanies  and  attacks  and  kills  Jumon- 

viile  and  his  party. 

June,  New  York  sends  £5000  to  Virginia. 

July,  1.  Washington  at  Fort  Necessity,  which  capitulates  the  third. 

October,        Washington  retires  to  Mount  Vernon. 

French  hold  the  whole  West. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


XI 


1755.  January,        France  proposes  a  compromise. 
Feb.  20,         Braddock  lands  in  Virginia. 

April,  France  and  England  send  fleets  to  America. 

April  20,        Braddock  marches  westward. 
May  20,        Expedition  against  Nova  Scotia  leaves  Boston. 
July  8,  Braddock  reaches  Monongahela,  defeated  the  9th,  and   died 

the  13th. 

1756.  January,        Lewis  commands  an  expedition  against  the  Ohio  Indians,  and 

fails. 

April,  Indians  fill  the  Valley  of  Virginia. 

May,  War  declared  between  France  and  England. 

September,      Armstrong  attacks  Indians  at  Kittaning. 
First  treaty  of  Easton. 

1757.  Massacre  of  Fort  William  Henry. 
June  29,        Pitt  returns  to  office. 

1758.  Louisburg  and  Fort  Frontenac  taken. 

July  15,          Post  leaves  for  the  Ohio  river  to  conciliate  the  Indians. 
August  24,     Post  confers  with  Indians  at  Fort  Pitt. 
Sept.  21,         Grant  defeated. 

October,         Washington  opening  a  road  over  the  mountains. 
Nov.  5,  Washington  at  Loyalhauna. 

Nov.  25,        Washington  at  Fort  Du  Quesne,  which  the  French  left  ou  the 
24th. 

Second  treaty  of  Easton. 

Pest's  second  mission  to  Ohio  Indians. 

1759.  Ticonderoga,  Crown  Point,  Niagara,  and  Quebec  yield  to  Eng- 

lish. 

1760.  Sept.  8,          The  French  yield  Canada. 

Cherokee  War. 

General  Monk  ton  treats  with  the   Indians  at  Fort  Pitt  for  land. 
Settlers  go  over  the  mountains. 

Sept.  13,         Rogers  goes  to  Detroit ;  reaches  it  the  10th  November  ;  returns 
across  Ohio  to  Fort  Pitt  in  December. 

1761.  Alexander  Henry  visits  north-west. 

Christian  Post  goes  to  settle  on  the  Muskingum. 

1762.  Bouquet  warns  settlers  off  of  Indian  lands. 
Post  and  Heckewelder  go  to  Muskingum. 

Nov.  3,  Preliminaries  to  peace  of  Paris  settled,    Louisiana   transferred 

to  Spain. 

1763.  Feb.  10,         Treaty  of  Paris  concluded. 
May  9,  Detroit  attacked  by  Pontiac. 
June  4,  Mackinac  taken  by  Indians. 
June,               Presqu'ile  (Erie)  taken  by  Indiana. 

June  to  Aug.  Fort  Pitt  besieged  and  relieved  by  Bouquet. 

October,          Proclamation  to  protect  Indian  lands. 

Nov.  3,  M.  Laclede  arrives  in  Ste.  Genevieve  ;  and  Fort  Chartres. 

1764.  Feb.  15,          St.  Louis  founded. 

June  to  Aug.  Bradstreet  makes  peace  with  northern  Indians. 

November,      Bouquet  makes  peace  with  Ohio  Indians. 

April  21,         French  officers  ordered  to  give  up  Louisiana  to  Spain. 


XII 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


1765.  April,  Sir  Wm.  Johnson  makes  treaty  at  German  Flats. 
May  &  June,  George  Croghan  goes  westward. 

Captain  Stirling  for  England  takes  possession  of  Illinois. 
Proclamation  of  Governor  Gage. 

1766.  Settlers  cross  mountains. 
Walpole  Company  proposed. 
Colonel  James  Smith  visits  Kentucky. 

1767.  Western  Indians  grow  impatient. 
Franklin  labors  for  Walpole  Company. 
Finley  visits  Kentucky. 

Zeisberger  founds  mission  on  the  Alleghany. 
1768;  Oct.  24,         Treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix  by  which  the  title  of  the  Iroquois  to 

all  south  of  the  Ohio  is  purchased. 
Captain  Pitman  in  Illinois. 

1769.  March,  Mississippi  Company  proposed. 
May  1,           Boone  and  others  start  for  Kentucky. 
June  7,           Boone  and  others  reach  Red  river. 
Dec.  22,          Boone  taken  by  Indians. 

1770.  October,         Treaty  of  Lochaber. 

Ohio  Company  merged  in  Walpole  Company. 

Washington  visits  the  West. 

The  Long  Hunters  explore  the  West. 

The  Zanes  found  Wheeling. 

Moravians  invited  to  Big  Beaver. 

Spain  obtains  possession  of  St.  Louis  and  Upper  Louisiana. 

1771.  March,  The  Boones  return  to  North  Carolina. 

1772.  Indians  killed  by  whites  on  Lower  Kenawha. 

May  3,  Moravians  invited  by  Dela wares,  found  Shoenbrun  on  the  Mus- 

kingum. 

April,  General  Gage's  proclamation  against  settlers  on  Wabash. 

Fort  Chartres  evacuated. 

1773.  Sept.  25,         Boone  and  others  start  to  settle  Kentucky. 

Oct.  10,          Boone  and  others  are  attacked  by  Indians  and  turn  back. 
Bullitt,  McAfee,  &c.,  descend  the  Ohio. 

Bullitt,  McAfee,  &c.,  survey  at  Falls,  and  on  Kentucky  river. 
General  Thompson  surveys  in  the  valley  of  the  Licking. 
General  Lyman  goes  to  Natchez. 

1774.  James  Harrod  in  Kentucky. 

January,         Dunmore  sends  Connolly  to  take  possession    of  Pittsburgh  as 

being  within  Virginia. 
Jan.  25,          Connolly  calls  out  the  militia  ;  he  is  arrested  by  St.  Clair;  his 

followers  are  riotous,  and  tire  on  the  Indians. 

March  28,      Connolly,  released  on  parole,  comes  to  Pittsburgh  with  an  arm- 
ed force. 

He  rebuilds  the  Fort  and  calls  it  Fort  Dunmore. 
April  16,        Cherokees  attack  a  boat  on  the  Ohio. 
April  21,         Connolly  writes  to  the  settlers  to  beware  of  the  Indians. 
Cresap,  having  Connolly's  letter,  attacks  Indians. 
Greathouse  murders  several  Indians. 
Preparations  for  war. 


CHRONOLOGICAL   TABLE. 


XIII 


1774.  Logan  revenges  his  family. 

June,  Boone  sent  for  surveyors  in  Kentucky. 

June  10,         Friendly  Shawanese  attacked  by  Connolly. 

Traders  murdered. 

July,  McDonald  attacks  Wappatomica. 

Sept.  6  &j!2,  Troops  under  Lewis  march  down  Kenhawa. 
Oct.  6,  Troops  under  Lewis  reach  Point  Pleasant. 

Oct.  10,          Battle  of  Point  Pleasant. 
November,     Dunmore  makes  peace. 

1775.  March  17,      Treaty  of  Wataga  ;  purchase  by  Transylvania  Company. 
April  1,          Boone  goes  to  Kentucky  and  founds  Boonesboro'. 

April  20,  Henderson  reaches  Boonesboro'. 

May  23,  Henderson  calls  representatives  together. 

May  27,  Legislature  adjourns. 

April,  Maisachusetts  Council  try  to  prevent  hostility  by  Iroquoia. 

May,  Guy  Johnson  influences  Iroquois  against  Americans. 

June  28,  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras  adhere  to  America. 

June,  Boones  family  and  several  others  reach  Kentucky. 

July,  Congress  forms  three  Indian  Departments. 

August,  Meeting  of  Commissioners  and  Indians  at  Albany. 

October,  Meeting  of  Commissioners  and  Indians  at  Pittsburgh. 
Connolly  arrested  in  Maryland. 

1776.  April  29,        An  attack  on  Detroit  proposed  in  Congress. 

April  19,        Washington  advises  the  employment  of  the  Indians. 
May,  Indians  incline  to  British. 

June  3,  Congress  authorizes  the  employment  of  Indians. 

July  7,  to  21 ,  Indians  attack  Kentuckians  ;   settlers  leave. 

George  Rogers  Clark  in  Kentucky. 
June  6,          Kentuckiaus  petition  Virginia  for  admission  as  citizens,  and 

choose  Clark  and  Jones  members  of  Virginia  Assembly. 
August  23,    Clark  procures  powder  from  Council  of  Virginia. 
Dec.  7,  Virginia  admits  Kentucky  among  her  counties. 

Clark  and  Jones  return  by  Pittsburgh  with  powder. 
Dec.  25,          Jones  killed  while  going  for  powder  to  Limestone. 

Clark  reaches  Harrodsburg. 

1777.  Summer,        Cornstalk  murdered  at  Point  Pleasant. 

Congress  of  Indians  and  British  at  Oswego. 
Spring,  Kentucky  infested  with  savages. 

April,  Kentucky  chooses  Burgesses.  "  .- 

May,  Logan's  station  attacked. 

April  20  to  June  22, — Clark's  spies  in  Illinois. 
August,          Logan  crosses  the  mountains  for  powder. 

Colonel  Bowman  and  100  men  come  from  Virginia. 
Sep.  26  &  27,  Fort  Henry  (Wheeling)  attacked. 
September,      First  Court  at  Uarrodsburg. 
Oct.  1,  Clark  leaves  for  Virginia. 

October,         Brady  and  party  attack  St.  Joseph. 
Nov.  20,         The  attack  on  Detroit  urged  in  Congress. 
Dec.  10,         Clark  opens  his  plan  for  conquering   Illinois  to   Governor  of 
Virginia. 


XIV 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


1778.  January  2,     Orders  issued  to  Clark  to  attack  Illinois. 
February  7,   Boone  taken  prisoner  at  the  Licking. 
March  10,      Boone  carried  to  Detroit. 

June  24,         Clark  passes  Falls  of  Ohio. 

June  16,         Boone  escapes  and  relieves  Boonesboro' 

May,  Mclntosh  commands  at  Fort  Pitt. 

Fort  Mclntosh  built. 

June  25,        New  Jersey  objects  to  land  claims  of  Virginia. 
July  4,  Clark  takes  Kaskaskia. 

Cahokia  joins  the  Americans. 

Aug.  1,          St.  Vincents  joins  the  American  cause. 
Aug.  1,          Boone  goes  to  attack  Paint  creek  town. 
Aug.  8,          Boonesboro'  besieged. 

Fort  Laurens  built. 

September,    Clark  holds  council  with  the  Indians. 
Sept.  17,        Treaty  with  Dela wares  at  Pittsburgh. 

Maize  and  party  attack  St.  Joseph. 
October,        Virginia  grants  Henderson   and  Company  200,000  acres  on 

Green  river. 
December,    Governor  Hamilton  takes  Vincennes. 

1779.  January  29,  Clark  hears  of  capture  of  Vincennes. 
January,        Delaware  objects  to  land  claims  of  Virginia. 
Feb.  7,          Clark's  campaign  against  Vincennes. 

Feb.  24,  Hamilton  surrenders  the  Fort  and  is  sent  to  Virginia. 

April  1,  Americans  suspect  and  attack  Iroquois. 

Lexington,  Kentucky,  settled. 

\    May,  Virginia  passes  land  laws. 

'   May  21,  Maryland  objects  to  land  claims  of  Virginia. 

July,  General  Sullivan  devastates  Iroquois  country. 

July,  Bowman's  expedition  against  Indian  towns  on  Miamies. 

August,  Fort  Laurens  abandoned. 

September,  Indians  treat  with  Broadhead  at  Fort  Pitt. 

October,  Rogers  and  Benham  attacked  by  Indians. 

Oct.  13,  Land  Commissioners  open  their  sessions  in  Kentucky. 

Oct.  30,  Congress  asks  Virginia  to  reconsider  land  laws. 

Colonel  John  Todd  in  Illinois. 

1780.  Hard  winter — great  suffering. 

Feb.  19,  New  York  authorizes  a  cession  of  western  lands. 

Spring,  Fort  Jefferson  built  on  Mississippi. 

Spring,  Great  emigration  to  Kentucky. 

May,  Vi-ginia  grants  lands  in  Kentucky  for  educatioB. 

May,  St.  Louis  attacked  by  British  and  Indians. 

Louisville  established  by  law. 

June,  Byrd  invades  Kentucky. 

July,  Clark  attacks  Shawauese. 

Sept.  6,  Resolution  of  Congress  relative  to  western  lands. 

Connecticut  passes  first  act  of  cession  of  western  reserve. 

October,  Fort  Pitt  threatened  by  savages. 

November,  Kentucky  divided  into  three  counties. 

December,  Clark  prepares  to  attack  Detroit. 

1781.  Jan.  2,  Virginia  makes  her  first  act  of  cession. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


XV 


1781.  Feb.  15,         Mr.  Jay  instructed  that  he  may  yield  the  navigation  of  the  Mis- 

sissippi. 
March  1,          New  York  cedes  her  western  lands. 

Brodhead  attacks  Delawares  on  Muskingum. 
April  16,       Mary  Heckewelder  born  ;  first  white  child  in  Ohio. 
Americans  begin  to  settle  in  Illinois. 
Chickasaws  attack  Firt  Jefferson. 
September,     Colonel  Floyd  rescued  by  Wells. 
September,     Moravians  carried  to  Sandusky  by  British  and  Indians. 
October,        Moravian  Missionaries  taken  to  Detroit. 

Williamson  leads  a  party  against   the   Moravians,  but  finds  the 

town  deserted. 
Kentucky  organized. 

1782.  March,          Moravians  murdered  by  Americans. <r 
March,  Moravian  missionaries  taken  to  Detroit. 
March  22,     Estil's  defeat. 

June,  Crawford's  expedition,  taken  prisoner  and  burnt. 

Aug.  14,  Attack  on  Bryant's  station. 

Aug.  19,  Battle  of  the  Blue  Licks. 

September,  Clark  invades  the  Miami  valleys  the  second  time. 

November,  Land  Offices  opened. 

Nov.  30,  Provisional  articles  of  peace  with  Great  Britain. 

1783.  Jan.  20,          Hostilities  of  United  States  and  Great  Britain  cease. 
March,  Kentucky  formed  into  one  district. 

April  18,        Congress  calls  on  States  to  cede  lands. 
April  19,        Peace  proclaimed  to  the  army. 

English  propose  to  carry  away  negroes. 
May,  Washington  protests  against  course  of  English. 

June,  Rufus  Putnam  applies  for  lands  in  west. 

July  12,        Baron  Steuben  sent  to  receive  western  posts. 
August,          Cassaty  sent  to  Detroit. 

Virginia  withdraws  Clark's  commission. 
Sept.  3,  Definitive  treaty  of  peace. 

Sept.  7,          Washington  writes  to  Duane  about  western  lands. 
Sept.  13,         Congress  proposes  terms  of  cession  to  Virginia. 
Sept.  22,         Congress  forbids  all  purchases  of  Indian  lands. 
Oct.  15,          Congress  instructs  Indian  Commissioners. 

Virginia  grants  Clark  and  his  soldiers  lands. 
Nov.  25,        British  leave  New  York  taking  negroes. 

Daniel  Brodhead  opens  a  store  in  Louisville. 
Dec.  20,         Virginia  authorizes  cession  on  terms  proposed. 

1784.  Jan.  4,  Treaty  of  peace  ratified  by  United  States. 
February,      James  Wilkinson  goes  to  Lexington,  Kentucky. 
March  I,       Virginia  gives  deed  of  cession. 

March  4,        Indian  Commissioners  reinstructed. 

Pittsburgh  re-surveyed. 

April  9,          Treaty  of  peace  ratified  by  England. 
June  22,         Virginia  refuses  to  comply  with  treaty. 
July,  England  refuses  to  deliver  up  western  posts. 

Oct.  22,          Treaty  with  Iroquois  at  Fort  Stanwix. 


XVI 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE. 


\ 


Logan  calls  meeting  at  Danville. 
Dec.  27,         First  Kentucky  Convention  meets. 

Kentucky  receives  many  emigrants. 
^ 

1785.  Jan.  21,         Treaty  with  Delawares,  &e.,  at  Fort  Mclntosh. 

April,  An  attempt  to  settle  at  mouth  of  Scioto. 

May  20,        Ordinance  for  survey  of  western  lands  passed. 
May  23,         Second  Kentucky  Convention  meets. 
July,  Don  Gardoqui  comes  from  Spain. 

August  8,      Third  Kentucky  Convention  meets. 

Colony  emigrates  from  Virginia  to  Illinois. 
August,          Indians  threaten  hostility. 

Great  confederacy  of  north-western  Indians  formed  by  Brant. 

Fort  Harmar  built. 

1786.  January,       Brant  visits  England  to  learn  purposes  of  ministers. 
January,        Virginia  agrees  to  independence  of  Kentucky. 

Jan  10,  Putnam  and  Tuppercall  meeting  to  form  Ohio  Company. 

Jan.  31,         Treaty    with  Sbawanese  at  Fort  Finney,  (mouth  of  Great 

Miami.) 

March  I,       Ohio  Company  of  associates  formed. 

May,  16,        Governor  of  Virginia  writes  to  Congress  respecting  Indian  in- 
vasions. 

May,  The  negotiations  as  to  Mississippi  before  Congress. 

May  26,        Resolution  of  Congrass  produces  cession  by  Connecticut. 
June  30,         Congress  authorizes  the  invasion  of  north-westeru  territory. 
July  29,         Pittsburgh  Gazette  first  published. 
August,         Mr.  Jay  authorized  to  yield  navigation  of  Mississippi  for  a  terra 

of  years. 

Sept.  14,        Connecticut  makes  second  act  of  cession. 
October,  8,    Clark  seizes  Spanish  property  at  Vincenues. 
November,     Virginia  protests  against  yielding  navigation  of  Mississippi. 

Great  dissatisfaction  in  the  west. 

November,     Governor  of  Virginia  informed  as  to  Clark's  movements. 
Dec.  22,          Great  Indian  Council  in  north-west ;  they  address  Congress. 

1787.  January,        Fourth  Kentucky  Convention  meets. 
March  8,        Ohio  Company  chooses  Directors. 

May,  Meeting  in  Kentucky  relative  to  navigation  of  Mississippi. 

June,  Wilkinson  goes  to  New  Orleans. 

July,  Dr.  Cutler  negotiates  with  Congress  for  lands  for  Ohio  Com- 
pany. 

July  27,  Congress  make  order  in  favor  of  Ohio  Company. 

July  13,  Ordinance  passed  for  government  of  north-western  territory. 

July,  Harry  Innis  refuses  to  prosecute  invaders  of  Indian  lands. 

August  18,  Kentucky  Gazette  established. 

August  29,  Symmes  applies  for  land. 

Entries  of  Virginia  Military  Reserve,  north  of  Ohio,  begin. 

Sept.  17,  Fifth  Kentucky  Convention  meets. 

Oct.  27,  Ohio  Company  completes  contract  for  lands. 

Oct.  2,  Symmes1  application  referred  to  Board  of  Treasury. 

Oct  Troops  ordered  west. 

Oct.  5,  St.  Clair  appointed  Governor  of  Horth-western  territory. 

Nov.  23,  Preparations  made  by  Ohio  Company  to  send  settlers  west. 


CHRONOLOGICAL   TABLE. 


xvu 


1787.  Nov.  2G,         Symrnes  issues  proposals  for  settlers. 

December,      John  Brown,  first  western  representative  goes  to  Congress. 

1738.  Summer,        Indipns  expected  to  make  treaty  at  Marietta. 

Great  emigration  ;  4,500  persons  pass  Fort  Uarmar. 
January,         Denman  purchases  Cincinnati. 
Feb.  29,          The  admission  of  Kentucky  debated  in  Congress. 
April  7.  Ohio  Company  settlers  land  atMuskingum. 

July  2,  Marietta  named. 

July  3,  The  admission  of  Kentucky  refused  by  Congress. 

July  9,  St.  Clair  reaches  north-western  territory. 

July  28,          Sixth  Kentucky  Convention  meets. 
July  25,          First  law  of  north-western  territory  published. 

Symmes  starts  for  the  west. 
August,          Losantiville  (Cincinnati)  laid  out. 
Sept.  2,  First  court  held  at  Marietta. 

Sept.  22,         Symmes  reaches  his  purchase. 

Great  Indian  Council  in  north-west  to  forbid  treaties  with  sepa- 
rate nations. 

Nov.  4,  Seventh  Kentucky  Convention  meets. 

Nov.  18,         Columbia  settled  by  Stites.  .!'.•,-•'' 

Novembe",     Dr.  Connolly  in  Kentucky  as  a  British  agent. 
DPC.  24,         The  founders  of  Cincinnati  leave  MaysviMe. 
Dec.  28,          Cincinnati  reached  according  to  McMillan. 
Dec.  29,          Virginia  passes  third  act  to  make  Kentucky  independent. 

George  Morgan  removes  to  New  Madrid. 

1789.  Jan.  9,  Treaties  of  Fort  Harmar  concluded. 

Wilkinson  goes  to  New  Orleans  again. 
Spring,  Daniel  Story,  first  teacher   and   preacher,  in  Ohio  Company's 

purchase. 

June,  Symmes'  settlements  threatened  by  Indians. 

June,  Major  Doughty  arrives  at  Symmes' purchase  and  begins  Fort 

Washington. 

July,  Western  scouts  withdrawn  by  Virginia. 

July  20,          Eighth  Kentucky  Convention  meets. 
September.     Governor  Miro  of  New  Orleans  writes  Sebastian. 
Sept.  29,          Congress  empowers  President  to  call  out  western  militia. 
Oct.  6,  President  authorizes  Governor  St.  Clair  to  call  out  Militia. 

Dec.  29,  General  Harmar  reaches  Cincinnati  with  300  troops. 

1790.  Jan,  1  or  2,     Governor  St.  Clair  at  Cincinnati,  which  name  is  then  given  it. 
Spring,  St.  Clairgoes  west  to  Kaskaskia. 

April,  Gamelin  sent  to  Wabash  Indians. 

May,  Indian  hostilities  take  place. 

July  15,  St.  Clair  calls  out  western  militia. 

July  26,  Ninth  Kentucky  Convention  meets. 

Sept.  15,  Troops  gather  at  Fort  Washington. 

Sept.  30,  Harmar  leaves  Fort  Washington. 

Oct.  15,  Colonel  Hardin  with  the  advance  reaches  Miami  villages. 

Oct.  17,  Main  army  reaches  Miami  villages. 

Oct.  18,  Trotter  goes  after  Indians. 

Oct.  19,  Hardin's  first  defeat. 

Oct.  22,  Hardin's  second  defeat.  ? 


XV11I 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


1790.  December,  Kentuckians  petition  Congress  to  fight  Indians  in  their  own 

way. 

December,  Admission  of  Kentucky  to  U.  States  brought  before  Congress. 

December,  Massie  and  others  contract  to  settle  Manchester. 

1791.  Jan.  2,  Big  Bottom  settlement  destroyed  by  Indians. 
Feb.  4,  Congress  agree  to  admit  Kentucky. 
March  3,  Excise  laid  on  spirits. 

March  9,  Scott  of  Kentucky  authorized  to  march  against  Indians. 

March  12,  Procter  starts  on  his  western  mission. 

April  27,  Procter  reaches  Buffalo  creek. 

May  5,  Procter  is  refused  a  vessel  to  cross  Lake  Erie. 

May  15,  St.  Clair  at  Fort  Washington  preparing  his  expedition. 

May  21,  Procter  abandons  his  mission. 

May  23,  Scott  marches  up  Wabash. 

July  27,  Meeting  at  Brownsville  against  excise. 

August  1,  Wilkinson  marches  against  Eel  river  Indians. 

Sept.  6,  Collector  of  Alleghany  and  Washington  counties  (Pennsylva- 
nia] attacked. 

Sept.  7,  Meeting  at  Pittsburgh  against  excise. 

Sept.  17,  St.  Clair  commences  his  march. 

Oct.  12,  Fort  Jefferson  commenced. 

October,  Wilson  maltreated  in  west  of  Pennsylvania. 

Nov.  4,  St.  Clair's  defeat. 

Nov.  8,  The  remainder  of  the  army  at  Fort  Washington. 

December,  Convention  elected  to  form  Constitution  for  Kentucky. 

1792.  Jan.  7,  Peace  offered  by  the  United  States  to  the  Indians  through  the 

Senecas. 

Jan.  9,  Pond  and  Stedman  sent  west. 

February,  Brant  invited  to  Philadelphia. 

Feb.  1,  Wilkinson  sends  to  field  of  St.  Clair's  defeat. 

Gallipolis  settled. 

March,  Iroquois  chiefs  visit  Philadelphia. 

April  3,  Instructions  issued  to  Truemao. 

April  3,  Kentucky  Constitution  prepared. 

May  8,  Excise  laws  amended. 

May  8,  Captain  Hendrick  sent  west. 

May  22,  Instructions  issued  to  Rufus  Putnam. 

May  22,  Tiueraan  leaves  Fort  Washington — Hardin  also. 

June,  General  Wayne  moves  westward. 

June  20,  Brant  visits  Philadelphia. 

Fire  lands  given  to  sufferers,  by  Connecticut. 

July  7,  Indians  seize  0.  M.  Spencer,  &c. 

Aug.  21,  Great  anti-excise  meeting  at  Pittsburgh. 

Sept.  15,  Washington  issues  proclamation  on  excise  law, 

Sept.  27,  R.  Putnam  makes  a  treaty  at  Vincennes. 

Nov.  6,  Adair  attacked  near  Fort  St.  Clair. 

Nov.  6,  Opposition  to  excise  law  diminishes. 

December,  United  States  troops  at  Legionville,  on  the  Ohio. 

1793.  March  1,  Lincoln,  Randolph  and  Pickering,  appointed  to  treat  with  In- 

dians. 

April,  United  States  Legion  goes  down  to  Cincinnati. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


XIX 


1793.  April  8,  Genet  reaches  United  States. 
May  17,  Commissioners  reach  Niagara. 
May  18,  Genet  is  presented  to  Washington. 

May  30,  First  Democratic  society  in  Philadelphia. 

June,  Commissioners  correspond  with  Governor  Simcoe. 

July  15,  Commissioners  meet  Brant  and  hold  a  council. 

July  21,  Commissioners  at  Elliott's  house,  mouth  of  Detroit  river. 

July  31,  Commissioners  meet  Indian  delegates. 

Aug.  16,  Final  action  of  the  Commissioners  and  Indians. 

Oct.  7,  Wayne  leaves  Cincinnati  with  h\a  legion. 

Oct.  13,  Wayne  encamps  at  Greenville. 

Oct.  24,  Wayne  is  joined  by  Kentuckians  under  Scott.       ^j\ 

Oct.  17,  Lowry  and  Boyd  attacked. 

November,  French  emissaries  sent  west. 

Dec.  25,  Field   of  St.  Clair's  defeat  taken   possession   of  by  Wayne's 

troops. 

Dec.  25,  Dissatisfaction  in  the  west. 

1794.  January,  Whisky  riots  recommence. 
February,  Lord  Dorchester's  speech  to  Indians. 
February,  The  Mingo  Creek  Association  formed. 
Spring,  Wayne  prepares  for  his  campaign. 

April,  General  Simcoe  builds  a  Fort  on  the  Maumee. 

April,  Democratic  society  formed  at  Pittsburgh. 

May,  Spaniards  ofler  help  to  Indians. 

May,  French  emissaries  forced  to  leave  west.  .     , 

Summer,  Contest  respecting  Presqu'isle. 

June  30,  Indians  attacked  Fort  Recovery. 

June,  Suits  commenced  against  whisky  rioters. 

July  16,  First  gathering  about  Neville's  house;  burnt  17th. 

July  23,  Meeting  at  Mingo  Creek. 

July  26,  Mail  robbed  by  Bradford. 

July  26,  Scott,  with  1600  men,  joins  Wayne. 

Aug.  1,  Great  gathering  at  Braddock's  field. 

Aug.  7,    '  Washington  issues  proclamation  against  whisky  rioters. 

Aug.  8,  Wayne  near  Maumee. 

Aug.  13,  Wayne  sends  his  last  peace  message  to  Indians. 

Aug.  18,  Wayne  builds  Fort  Deposit. 

Aug.  20,  Wayne  meets  and  conquers  Indians. 

Aug.  21,  Commissioners  of  government  meet  committee  of  rioters. 

September,  British  try  to  prevent  Indians  making  peace. 

Sept.  11,  Vote  taken  upon  obedience  to  the  law  in  Pennsylvania. 

Sept.  25,  Washington  calls  out  militia. 

Sept.  &0ct.  Fort  Wayne  built. 

Dec.  28,  Indians  ask  for  peace  of  Colonel  Hamtramck. 

1795.  Jan.  24,  Indians  sign  preliminaries  of  a  treaty. 
Spring,  Prisoners  are  interchanged. 

May,  Connecticut  prepares  to  sell  her  reserve. 

June  16,  Council  of  Greenville  opens. 

July,  The  Baron  de  Carondelet  writes  Sebastian. 

July,  Jay's  treaty  formed. 

Aug.  3,  Treaty  of  Greenville  signed. 

Aug.  10,  Council  of  Greenville  closed. 


XX 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


1795.  August,          Grant  by  Congress  to  Gullipolis  settlers. 

Sept.  5  or  9,    Connecticut  sells  Western  Reserve  to  Laud  Company. 
Oct.  27,  Pinckney  concludes  treaty  with  Spain. 

Nov.  4,  Dayton  laid  out       , 

»796.  Chillicothe  founded. 

M.  Adet,  French  Minister,  sends   emissaries  to  disaffect    the 

west  to  the  Union. 
Sebastian  visits  the  south-west. 
Sept.  Cleveland  laid  out  and  named. 

July,  British  give  up  posts  in  north-west. 

August,         Difficulties  with  Spain  begin. 
August,         General  Wayne  died. 
August,          First  paper  mill  in  the  west. 

1797.  Power  visits  Kentucky,  and  writes  to  Sebastian. 
Oct.                 Daniel  Boone  moves  west  of  Mississippi. 

Oct.  Occupying  claimant  law  of  Kentucky  passed. 

1798.  W.  H.  Harrison  appointed  Secretary  of  North-west  territory. 
Alien  and  sedition  laws  passed. 

Nullifying  resolutions  in  Kentucky. 
Death  abolished  in  Kentucky,  except  for  murder. 
Dec.  Representatives  for  north-west  territory  first  chosen. 

1799.  Feb.  4,  Representatives  of  north-west  territory  meet  to  nominate  can- 

didates for  Council. 

Feb.  Kentucky  Constitution  amended. 

Sept.  24,          Assembly  of  north-west  territory  organizes  at  Cincinnati. 
Oct.  6,  W.  H.  Harrison  appointed  Delegate  in   Congress  for  north- 

west territory.  '    ,r'  ' 

1800.  May  7,  Indiana  territory  formed. 

May  30,          Connecticut  yields  jurisdiction  of  her  reserve  to  the  U.  States, 

and  United  States  gives  her  patents  for  the  soil. 
Oct.  1,  Treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso. 

Nov.  3,  Assembly  of  north-west  territory  meets  at  Chillicothe. 

Nov.  3,  First  missionary  in  Con  lectic&t  Reserve. 

1801.  W.  H.  Harrison  appointed  Governor  of  Indiana  territory. 
St.  Clair  re-appointed  Governor  of  north-west  territory. 
Cincinnati,  in  place  of  Chillicothe,  again  made  s«at  of  govern- 
ment for  north-west  territory. 

Dec.  Thomas  Worthington  goes  to  Washington  to  procure  the  erec- 

tion of  Ohio  into  a  State. 
1802  January,         University  at  Athens,  Ohio,  established. 

January,        First  Bank  in  Kentucky. 

April  30,         Congress  agree  that  Ohio  may  become  a  State. 

Oct.  16,         The  Spanish  Intendant  forbids  the  use  of  New  Orleans  by  the 
Americans. 

Nov.  1,          Convention  meets  to  form  a  Constitution  for  Ohio. 

Nov.  29,         Constitution  formed. 
1803.  April,  New  Orleans  opened  to  Americans  again. 

April,  Livingston  and  Monroe  in  France — purchase  Louisiana. 

April,  Lands  locatedd  for  Miami  University. 

April,  Miami  Exporting  Company  chartered. 

Oct.  21,         The  Senate  ratify  the  purchase  of  Louisiana. 


CHRONOLOGICAL   TABLE. 


XXI 


1803.  Dec.  20,  Louisiana  given  up  to  the  Americans. 

1804.  March  26,  Territory  of  Orleans,  &  District  of  Upper  Louisiana  organized. 
May  14,  Lewis  and  Clark  start  on  their  expedition. 

1805.  Jan.  11,  Michigan  territory  formed. 
June  11,  Detroit  burned  to  the  ground. 
June,  Burr  visits  the  west. 

June,  General  Assembly  meet  in  Indiana  territory. 

June,  Tecumlhe  and  the  Prophet  b*gin  to  influence  the  Indians. 

June,  Steps  taken  to  make  National  road. 

1806.  July  29,  Burr's  letter  to  Wilkinson. 
Aug.  Spaniards  cross  the  Sabine. 
Aug.  21,  Burr  goes  west;  is  at  Pittsburgh. 
Sept.  Lewis  and  Clark  return  from  Oregon. 
Nov.  Davies  tries  to  arrest  Burr. 

Dec.  6,  Sebastian  found  guilty  by  Kentucky  House  of  Representatives. 

Dec.  10,  Burr's  men  go  down  the  Ohio 

Dec.  14,  Burr's  boats  and  stores  arrested. 

26,  Burr  meets  his  men  at  the  mouth  of  the  Cumberland. 

1807.  Jan.  17,  Burr  yields  to  civil  authority  of  Mississippi. 

Jan.  Burr  escapes,  is  seized,  and  tried  at  Richmond  in  May. 

May,  Petition  for  slavery  in  Indiana. 

1808.  Bank  of  Marietta  chartered. 
Bank  of  Chillicothe  chartered. 

June,  Tecumthe  and  the  Prophet  remove  to  Tippecanoe. 

1809.  Illinois  territory  formed. 
Feb.  17,  Miami  University  chartered. 

1810.  Boone's  Lick  settled. 

July,  C.  Cole  and  others  killed  by  Indians  in  Missouri. 

August,  Meeting  of  Tecumthe  and  Harrison  at  Vincennes. 

1811.  Company  of  rangers  raised  in  Illinois. 
July,  Tecumihe  goes  to  the  south. 
August,  Harrison  proposes  to  visit  Indians. 
Oct.  Harrison  marches  toward  Tippecanoe. 

First  steamer  (New  Orleans)  leaves  Pittsburgh  for  Natchez 

and  New  Orleans. 

Nov.  7,  Battle  of  Tippecanoe. 

Dec.  16,  Great  earthquakes  begin.     *L 

1812.  June  1,  General  Hull  marches  from  Dayton. 

June  28,  British  at  Maiden  hear  of  the  declaration  of  war. 

July  1,  Hull  sends  men  and  goods  by  water  to  Detroit. 

July  2,  Hull  hears  of  the  declaration  of  war. 

July  12,  Americans  at  Sandwich. 

July  17,  Mackinac  taken  by  the  British. 

Aug.  7,  Hull  retires  to  Detroit. 

Aug.  13,  Brock  reaches  Maiden. 

Aug.  14,  Brock  at  Sandwich. 

Aug.  16,  Brock  before  Detroit. 

Aug.  16,  Hull  surrenders. 

Aug.  15,  Massacre  of  troops  near  Chicngo. 

Sept.  8,  Fort  Harrison  attacked. 

Sept.  17,  W.  H.  Harrison  appointed  Commander  in  north-west. 


XXII 


CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE. 


1812.  Oct.  General  Hopkins  attacks  the  Indians  on  the  Wabash. 
Oct.  Governor  Edwards  attacks  the  Indians  on  the  Illinois. 

Dec.  Colonel  Campbell  attacks  the  Indians  on  the  Mississinneway. 

1813.  Jan.  10,  Winchester  reaches  the  rapids  of  Maumee. 
Jan.  17,  Sends  troops  to  Frenchtown. 

Jan.  18,  British  at  Frenchtown  defeated. 

Jan.  22,  Americans  defeated  at  Frenchtown,  with  great  loss. 

Jan.  23,  Massacre  of  the  wounded. 

Jan.  24,  Harrison  retreats  to  Portage  river. 

Feb.  1,  Harrison  advaaces  to  Maumee,  and  builds  Fort  Meigs. 

April  28,  Fort  Meigs  besieged. 

May  5,  General  Green  Clay  reaches  Fort  Meigs;  Dudley's  party  lost. 

May  9,  British  return  to  Maiden. 

July  18,  British  fleet  prepare  to  attack  Erie. 

July  31,  Fort  Stephenson  besieged,  and  bravely  defended. 

Aug.  4,  Perry's  vessels  leave  Erie. 

Sept.  10,  Victory  by  Perry,  on  Lake  Erie. 

Sept.  27,  American  army  at  Maiden. 

Sept.  29,  American  army  at  Sandwich. 

Oct.  5.  Battle  of  the  Thames,  and  Tecumthe  killed. 

Feb.  Holmes's  expedition  into  Canada. 

Feb.  J.  C.  Symmes  died. 

July,  Expedition  under  Croghan  against  Mackinac. 

July,  Fort  Shelby,  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  taken  by  the  British. 

July  22,  Treaty  with  Indians  at  Greenville.    ' 

Oct.  &  Nov.  Me  Arthur'^  expedition  into  Canada. 

Dec.  24, 


1814. 

1815. 
1816. 

1817. 


Treaty  of  Ghent. 

Various  treaties  with  Indians. 
Feb.  Ohio  taxes  the  Banks. 

March,          Pittsburgh  incorporated. 
March,  Columbus  made  capitol  of  Ohio. 

Dec.  Bank  of  Shawneetown  chartered. 

Dec.  General  Banking  Law  of  Ohio,  passed. 

Dec.  11,          Indiana  admitted  to  the  Union. 

First  steamboat  at  St.  Louis. 

September,    North-west  of  Ohio  bought  of  Indians. 
Jan.  &  Oct.,  U.  States  Bank  opens  branches  in  Cincinnati  and  Chillicothe. 

1818.  Aug.  26,       Illinois  becomes  a  State. 

1819.  First  steamboats  on  the  Missouri. 
Military  Post  established  at  Council  Bluffs. 
Expedition  to  the  Yellow  Stone. 

The  first  steamer  on  Lake  Erie. 
September,    Contest  of  Ohio  and  the  United  States  Bank. 

1820.  December,     Nullification  resolutions  of  Ohio. 
Sept.  Missouri  forms  a  Constitution. 
May,               Cass  visits  Lake  Superior,  &c. 

1821.  Aug.  12,        Missouri  received  into  the  Union  by  proclamation  of  President. 

1822.  Jan.  31,         Ohio  moves  in  relation  to  canals. 
Jan.  31,         Ohio  moves  in  relation  to  schools.        » 

1823.  Feb.  14,        Illinois  moves  in  relation  to  canals. 

1824.  Slavery  contest  in  Illinois. 

1825.  Feb.  4  &  5,  Ohio  passes  canal  and  school  laws. 
1326.  The  first  steamer  on  Lake  Michigan. 
1827.  Nov.  1.          First  seminary  built  and  opened  in  Illinois. 

1830.  Treaty  by  Keokuk  at  Prairie  du  Chien. 

1831.  Black  Hawk  hostile,  and  driven  west  of  Mississippi. 

1832.  First  steamer  at  Chicago. 
February,     Great  flood  in  Ohio. 

May,  Black  Hawk  war  commenced. 

May  14,         Stillman's  defeat  near  Rock  river. 

May  21,        Indian  creek  settlement  destroyed. 

July,  Cholera  among  Scott's  troops  and  along  Lakes. 

July  21,         Black  Hawk  defeated  on  Wisconsin. 

Aug.  2,         Black  Hawk  defeated  on  Mississippi. 

Aug.  27,       Black  Hawk  delivered  to  United  States. 

Sept.,  Treaty  with  Indians. 


CHRONOLOGICAL    TABLE. 


XXIII 


1832.  Oct.  Cholera  at  Cincinnati  and  along  the  Ohio. 

1833.  First  farming  settlements  in  Iowa. 

July  20,          Governor  Edwards  died  at  Belleville,  Illinois. 

Cholera  at  St.  Louis  and  throughout  the  Mississippi  Valley. 
Mormon  difficulties  in  Jackson  county,  Missouri. 
Indian  treaty  at  Chicago. 

1834.  Gazetteer  of  Illinois  published  at  Jacksonville. 
Termination  of  various  bank  charters  in  Ohio. 

1835.  Michigan  forms  a  Constitution  and  makes  application  to  join 

the  Union. 
Congress  proposes  conditions. 

1836.  State  Bank  of  Illinois  chart-red. 
Michigan  rejects  the  c»ndi'ions. 
Adopted  in  a  second  Convention. 

Territory  of  Wisconsin  (including  Iowa)  organized. 
Illinois  and  Michigan  canal  commenced. 

1837.  Michigan  received  into  the  Union. 

Internal  Improvement  System  adopted  in  Illinois. 
Riots  at  Alton,  III.,  and  Lovejoy  killed. 
State  Houso  of  Missouri,  at  Jefferson  City,  burned. 
1S38.  July  4,  Territory  of  Iowa  organized. 

Mormon  war  in  Missouri. 
Sept.  1,  Death  of  Governor  William  Clark. 

1839.  Bank  Commissioners  appointed  in  Ohio. 

Mormons    retreat  to   Illinois,  locate  at  Commerce,  and  call  it 

Nauvoo. 
Iowa  City  located  and  made  the  seat  of  government. 

1840.  Great  political  excitement  in  the  presidential  canvas. 

1841.  April  4,          Death  of  W.  H.  Harrison,  President  of  the  United  States,  at 

Washington  City. 
Canal,  Internal  Improvement  System,  and  Banks  in  Illinois 

stopped. 
Great  depression  in  financial  affairs  throughout  the  west. 

1842.  Cincinnati  Astronomical  society  founded. 

June  20,  Death  of  General  Henry  Atkinson  at  Jefferson  Barracks,  Mis- 
souri. 

Aug.  15,  Death  of  Hon.  Mary  P.  Leduc,  first  Secretary  of  Upper  Louis- 
iana, and  an  old  citizen  of  St.  Louis. 

May  14,          Death  of  Hon.  A.  W.  Snyder,  Belleville,  III. 

Aug.  28,        Death  of  Hon.  J.  B.  C.  Lucas,  at  St.  Louis,  aged  80. 

1843.  Illinois  Banks  accept  of  an  act  by  the   Legislature  and  close 

their  business. 

Corner  stone  of  Cincinnati  Observatory  laid  in  November. 
Mormon  troubles  in  Illinois. 

1844.  Great  flood  on  the  Mississippi — American  Bottom  submerged. 
Steamboats  went  from  St  Louis  to  the  Illinois  bluffs. 
Mormon  war  in  Illinois ;  Joseph  Smith,  the  leader,  and  others 

killed. 

State  Constitution  formed  in  Iowa;  boundaries  not  approved  by 
Congress. 

1845.  Banking  law  of  Ohio  creating  a  State  Bank  and  branches,  and 
.     <M.  independent  Banks  passed. 

Illinois  negotiates  with  bond-holders  to  finish  canal. 

1846.  Work  on  the  Illinois  canal  resumed. 

Convention  in  Wisconsin   form  a  State   Constitution;  rejected 
by  the  people. 

1847.  Convention  in  Illinois  form  a  new  Constitution. 

1848.  Constitution  of  Illinois  adopted    by   the  people,  and  went  into 

operation. 

Wisconsin  forms  a  new  Constitution;  approved  by  the  people, 
and  accepted  by  Congress. 

1849.  Cholera  on  the  western  rivers,  and   in  many  cities  and  towns. 
Deaths  from  all  diseases  in  St.  Louis,  8,603;  cholera,  4,800. 

May  17,          Great  fire:  23  steamboats,  400  buildings,  and  $2,750,OUO  worth 

of  property  burnt. 
Oct.  17,         Great  Convention  in  St.  Louis  on  Rail-roaJ  to  the  Pacific. 


ERRATA. 

Iir  a  book  like  the  "Annals,"  it  is  hardly  possible,  between  authors,  compositors  and 
proof  readers,  to  avoid  some  typographical  errors.    The  most  frequent  that  occurs  in  thii 
work,  are  misplacing  the  brackets,  intended  to  distinguish  the  composition  of  the  Editor 
from  that  of  Mr.  Perkins. 
Page  29,    Nicholas  Parrot,  should  be  Perrot. 

37,    A  part  of  the  last  paragraph  should  have  been  in  brackets, 

47,    The  asterisk  after  "  Bidden  River,"  should  be  out. 

66,    Read,  "all  was  still  wild  except  those  little  spots." 

70,    Third  paragraph,  read  1752  for  7732. 

7 lf    A  bracket  after  second  paragraph. 

133,  The  brackets  in  the  middle  of  the  page  should  be  out. 

134,  Brackets  out  at  close  of  first  paragraph. 

142,    Third  paragraph  read  "  a  few  days  after  that  in  the  boat,"  instead,  "after  that 

at  Captina." 

167,    Put  a  bracket  at  close  of  the  page. 

171,    A  bracket  should  be  out  at  the  commencement  of  paragraph  second. 
187,    A  bracket  should  be  at  close  of  the  chapter. 
201,    A  bracket  should  be  at  close  of  first  paragraph. 
209,    A  bracket  at  close  of  the  page. 
509,    Chickasaw  Bluffs  in  line  15  from  the  top,  should  be  Iron  Banks  situated  a  few 

miles  below  the  junction  of  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers, 
261,    A  bracket  should  follow  asterisk,  after  last  paragraph. 
311,    A  bracket  after  third  paragraph. 
349,    A  bracket  after  third  paragraph. 
399,    A  bracket  after  first  paragraph. 
447,    A  bracket  after  first  paragraph. 
504,    A  bracket  should  be  out  at  first  paragraph. 
627,    The  date  should  be  1803,  instead  of  1793. 
534,    A  bracket  at  close  of  the  page. 

569,  A  bracket  at  the  close  of  last  paragraph  but  one. 

570,  Bracket  should  be  left  out  at  the  end  of  second  paragraph,  after  "  Illinois." 
574,  575,  The  captions  over  these  pages  are  wrong.    "  Organization  of  Illinois  Terri- 
tory," is  found  on  pp.  676,  577. 

577,  A  bracket  is  wanting  at  the  close  of  fourth  paragraph.  "  Fort  Wayne,  August 
7,  1818,  in  some  copies  should  be  1810. 

595,    The  bracket  should  be  left  out  at  the  commencement  of  the  paragraph. 

002,    "Fort  Wayne"  should  read  "Sandwich,"  at  the  13th  line  from  bottom. 

616,    In  third  paragraph  after  Cahokia,  read  Creek. 

619,    The  bracket  should  be  put  at  the  close  of  the  last  of  last  paragraph. 

636,    The  caption  is  wrong.    It  belongs  to  page  633. 

643,    The  bracket  at  the  end  of  first  paragraph,  should  be  left  out. 

709,  711,  and  713.  The  captions  over  these  pages  should  be  "  Sketches  of  Indian  His- 
tory." 

744,  "Cape  au  Gris,"  should  be  Cape  au  Ores.  It  was  so  called  from  the  gray  rock 
there. 

795,  Second  paragraph  read   "Santeaurs." 

796,  In  third  paragraph,  read  retailed  for  "retained  this  story  of  Black  Hawk." 


ANNALS    OF    THE    WEST. 


CHAPTER  I. 

SPANISH  AND  FRENCH  DISCOVERIES,  A.  D.  1512  TO  1750. 

Discovery  of  Florida — De  Soto's  Expedition  and  Discovery  of  the  Mississippi — Marquette 
and  Joliet's  Expedition — Enterprise  of  La  Salle — Visit  to  Illinois — Fort  Croyeceeur — 
Hennepin's  voyage  up  the  Mississippi — La  Salle's  Expedition  down  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Gulf — "Proces  Verbal" — Returns  to  Illinois  and  starts  to  France — La  Salle  returns 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico — Discovers  and  takes  possession  of  Texas — His  Assassination — 
Tonti's  Achievements — L»  Hontan — Kaskaskia  Founded — D'Ibberville's  Voyage — Grant 
to  Crozat — Mississippi  Company — New  Orleans  Founded — The  Natchez  Extermination — 
War  with  the  Chickasaws — Mississippi  Valley  in  1750. 

IN  the  year  1512,  on  Easter  Sunday,  the  Spanish  name  for 
which  is  Pascua  Florida,*  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon,  an  old  com- 
rade of  Columbus,  discovered  the  coast  of  the  American  con- 
tinent, near  St.  Augustine;  and,  in  honor  of  the  day,  as  well 
as  because  of  the  blossoms  which  covered  the  trees  along  the 
shore,  named  the  new-found  country  Florida.  Juan  had  been 
led  to  undertake  the  discovery  of  strange  lands,  partly  by  the 
hope,  common  to  all  his  countrymen  at  that  time,  of  finding 
endless  stores  of  gold,  and  partly  by  the  wish  to  reach  a  fountain 
that  was  said  to  exist,  deep  within  the  forests  of  North  America,, 
which  possessed  the  power  of  renovating  the  life  of  those  who 
drank  of,  or  bathed  in,  its  waters.  In  return  for  his  discovery 
he  was  made  Governor  of  the  region  he  had  visited,  but  various 
circumstances  prevented  his  return  thither  until  1521,  and  then 
he  went  only  to  meet  with  death  at  the  hands  of  the  Indians. 

In  the  mean  time,  in  1516,  a  roving  Spanish  sea  captain, 
Diego  Miruelo,  had  visited  the  coast  first  reached  by  Ponce  de 
Leon,  and  in  his  barters  with  the  natives  had  received  con- 
siderable quantities  of  gold,  with  which  he  returned  home,  and 
spread  abroad  new  stories  of  the  wealth  hidden  in  the  interior. 

*Pascua,  the  old  English  "Pasch"  or  Passover ;  "Pascua  Florida"  is  the  "Holy-day  of 
Flowers." 

2 


26  Discovery  of  Florida.  1522. 

Ten  years,  however,  passed  before  Pamphilo  de  Narvaez 
undertook  to  prosecute  the  examination  of  the  lands  north  of  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico ;  the  shores  of  which,  during  the  intervening 
years,  had  been  visited  and  roughly  surveyed.  Narvaez  was 
excited  to  action  by  the  late  astonishing  success  of  the  conqueror 
of  Montezuma,  but  he  found  the  gold  for  which  he  sought,  fly 
constantly  before  him ;  each  tribe  of  Indians  referred  him  to 
those  living  still  farther  in  the  interior,  and  from  tribe  to  tribe 
he  and  his  companions  wandered,  weary  and  disappointed, 
during  six  months;  then,  having  reached  the  shore  again,  naked 
and  famished,  they  tried  to  regain  the  Spanish  colonies ;  but  of 
three  hundred  only  four  or  five  at  length  reached  Mexico.  And 
still  these  disappointed  wanderers  persisted  in  tlreir  original 
fancy  that  Florida*  was  as  wealthy  as  Mexico  or  Peru ;  and 
after  all  their  wanderings  and  sufferings  so  told  the  world.f 

Among  those  to  whom  this  report  came,  was  Ferdinand  de 
Soto,  who  had  been  with  Pizarro  in  the  conquest  of  Peru,  and 
who  longed  for  an  opportunity  to  make  himself  as  rich  and  noted 
as  the  other  great  Captains  of  the  day.  He  asked  leave  of  the 
King  of  Spain  to  conquer  Florida  at  his  own  cost.  It  was  given 
in  1538 ;  with  a  brilliant  and  noble  band  of  followers,  he  left 
Europe ;  and  in  May  1539,  after  a  stay  in  Cuba,  anchored  his 
vessels  near  the  coast  of  the  Peninsula  of  Florida,  in  the  bay  of 
Spiritu  Santo,  or  Tampa  bay.J 

*By  Florida  the  Spaniards  in  early  times  meant  at  least  all  of  North  America  south  of 
the  Great  Lakes. 

fFor  facts  in  relation  to  Florida  see  Bancroft's  Hist.  U.  S.,  Vol.  I. 

JThe  original  authorities  in  relation  to  De  Soto,  are  an  anonymous  Portuguese  writer,  a 
gentleman  of  Elvas,  who  claims  to  have  been  an  eye-witness  of  what  he  relates;  and 
Louis  Hernandez  de  Biedma,  who  was  also  with  the  expedition,  and  presented  his  account 
to  the  Spanish  King  in  1544.  We  have  also  a  letter  from  De  Soto,  to  the  authorities  of 
the  city  of  Santiago,  in  Cuba,  dated  July  9,  1539.  These  authorities  in  the  main  agree, 
though  the  Portuguese  account  is  much  the  fullest,  and  the  Governor's  letter  of  course 
relates  but  few  events.  The  Portuguese  narrative  was  published  in  1557;  Hakluyt  gave  it 
in  English  in  1609,  and  it  was  again  published  in  London  in  1686 ;  a  French  translation 
appeared  in  Paris  in  1685.  Its  credibility  is  questioned.  See  Sparks  in  Butler's  Kentucky, 
2d  Ed.  498;  also,  Bancroft's  U.  S.I;  66.  note.  The  account  by  Biedma  and  De  Solo's 
letter  arCj  in  a  work  published  in  Paris,  called  "Voyages,  Relations  et  Memoires  originaux 
pour  sevir  a  I'hittoire  de  decouverte  de  V Amerique."  One  volume  of  this  collection  relates 
to  Florida,  and  appeared  in  1841.  We  have  epitomised  the  account  as  given  by  Bancroft 
in  his  first  volume. 

NOTE  BY  THE  ED. — There  is  a  narrative  by  Inca  Garcilaso  de  la  Yega,  in  Spanish,  written 
a  few  years  after  the  return  of  De  Soto's  companions  and  while  they  were  living.  From 
this  and  the  other  work  mentioned  above,  Theodore  Irving,  Esq.,  while  in  Madrid,  a  few 
years  since  compiled  his  "Conquest  of  Florida,"  in  two  volumes  12  mo.  Much  of  it  ap- 
pears like  romance,  but  the  whole  expedition  of  De  Soto  was  romance  in  reality,  though  a 
historical  fact. 


1542.  De  Sato's  Expedition.  27 

De  Soto  entered  upon  his  march  into  the  interior  with  a  deter- 
mination to  succeed.  He  had  brought  with  him  all  things  that 
it  was  supposed  could  be  needful,  and  that  none  might  be 
tempted  to  turn  back,  he  sent  away  his  vessels.  From  June  till 
November,  of  1539,  the  Spaniards  toiled  along  until  they  reached 
the  neighborhood  of  Appalachee  bay,  finding  no  gold,  no  foun- 
tain of  youth.  During  the  next  season,  1540,  they  followed  the 
course  suggested  by  the  Florida  Indians,  who  wished  them  out 
of  their  country,  and  going  to  the  north-east,  crossed  the  rivers 
and  climbed  the  mountains  of  Georgia.  De  Soto  was  a  stern, 
severe  man,  and  none  dare  to  murmur.  Still  finding  no  cities 
of  boundless  wealth,  they  turned  westward,  towards  the  waters 
of  the  Mobile,  and  following  those  waters,  in  October  (1540,) 
came  to  the  town  of  Mavilla  on  the  Alabama,  above  the  junction 
of  the  Tombecbee.  This  town  the  Europeans  wished  to  occupy, 
but  the  natives  resisted  them,  and  in  a  battle  which  ensued,  the 
Indians  were  defeated. 

Finding  himself,  notwithstanding  his  victory,  exposed  to  con- 
stant attacks  from  the  red  men  at  this  point,  De  Soto  resumed  his 
march  towards  the  Mississippi,  and  passed  the  winter,  probably, 
near  the  Yazoo.  In  April  1541,  once  more  the  resolute  Spaniard 
set  forward,  and  upon  the  first  of  May  reached  the  banks  of  the 
Great  River  of  the  West,  not  far  from  the  35th  parallel  of  lati- 
tude.* A  month  was  spent  in  preparing  barges  to  convey  the 
horses,  many  of  which  still  lived,  across  the  rapid  stream.  Hav- 
ing successfully  passed  it,  the  explorers  pursued  their  way  north- 
ward, into  the  neighborhood  of  New  Madrid ;  then  turning  west- 
ward again,  marched  more  than  two  hundred  miles  from  the 
Mississippi  to  the  highlands  of  White  river.  And  still  no  gold, 
no  gems,  no  cities ;  only  bare  prairies,  and  tangled  forests,  and 
deep  morasses.  To  the  south  again  they  toiled  on,  and  passed 
their  third  winter  of  wandering  upon  the  Washita.  In  the  fol- 
lowing spring  (1542,)  De  Soto,  weary  with  hope  long  deferred, 
descended  the  Washita  to  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi,  wish- 
ing to  learn  the  distance  and  direction  of  the  sea.  He  heard, 
when  he  reached  the  mighty  stream  of  the  West,  that  its  lower 
portion  flowed  through  endless  and  uninhabitable  swamps. — 
Determined  to  learn  the  truth,  he  sent  forward  horsemen ;  in 
eight  days  they  advanced  only  thirty  miles.  The  news  sank 

*De  Soto  probably  was  at  the  lower  Chickasaw  Bluffs.    The  Spaniards  called  the  Missis- 
sippi, Rio  Grande,  Great  River,  which  is  the  literal  meaning  of  the  aboriginal  name.-ED. 


28  Death  of  De  Soto.  1643. 

deep  into  the  stout  heart  of  the  disappointed  warrior.  His  men 
and  horses  were  wasting  around  him:  the  Indians  near  by 
challenged  him,  and  he  dared  not  meet  them.  His  health  yielded 
to  the  contests  of  his  mind  and  the  influence  of  the  climate  ;  he 
appointed  a  successor,  and  upon  the  21st  of  May  died.  His 
body  was  sunk  in  the  stream  of  the  Mississippi. 

Deprived  of  their  energetic,  though  ruthless,  leader,  the  Span- 
iards determined  to  try  to  reach  Mexico  by  land.  They  turned 
West  again  therefore,  and  penetrated  to  the  Red  river,  wander- 
ing up  and  down  in  the  forests,  the  sport  of  inimical  Indians. 
The  Red  river  they  could  not  cross,  and  jaded  and  heartless, 
again  they  went  eastward,  and  reached  in  December  1542,  the 
great  Father  of  Waters  once  more.  Despairing  of  success  in 
the  attempt  to  rescue  themselves  by  land,  they  proceeded  to  pre- 
pare such  vessels  as  they  could  to  take  them  to  sea.  From 
January  to  July  1543,  the  weak,  sickly  band  of  gold-seekers, 
labored  at  the  doleful  task;  and  in  July  reached,  in  the  vessels 
thus  wrought,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  by  September,  entered 
the  river  Panuco.  One-half  of  the  six  hundred*  who  had  dis- 
embarked with  De  Soto,  so  gay  in  steel  and  silk,  left  their  bones 
among  the  mountains  and  in  the  morasses  of  the  South,  from 
Georgia  to  Arkansas. 

Such  was  the  first  expedition  by  Europeans,  into  the  great 
Western  Valley  of  North  America.  They  founded  no  settle- 
ments, left  no  traces,  produced  no  effect  unless  to  excite  the 
hostility  of  the  red  against  the  white  men,  and  to  dishearten  such 
as  might  otherwise  have  tried  to  follow  up  the  career  of  dis- 
covery to  better  purpose.  As  it  was,  for  more  than  a  century 
after  the  expedition  oi  De  Soto,  the  West  remained  utterly 
unknown  to  the  whites.  In  1616,  four  years  before  the  Pilgrims 
"moored  their  bark  on  the  wild  New  England  shore,"  Le  Caron, 
a  French  Franciscan,  had  penetrated  through  the  Iroquois  and 
Wyandotsf  to  the  streams  which  run  into  Lake  Huron ;  and  in 
1634,  two  Jesuits  had  founded  the  first  mission  among  the  rivers 
and  marshes  of  the  region  east  of  that  great  inland  sea ;  but  it 
was  1641,  just  one  hundred  years  after  De  Soto  reached  the 

*  De  Biedma  says  there  landed  620  men. 

fThe  Wyandota  are  the  same  as  the  Hurons.  Heckevrelder's  Xarr.  336,  note .  see  their 
traditionary  history  by  J.  Badger,  a  Missionary  among  them.— Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscel  - 
lany  I.  153. 


1671.  Marquette  and  Joliet.  29 

Mississippi,  that  the  first  Canadian  envoys  met  the  savage  nations 
of  the  North-west,  at  the  Sault  de  Ste.  Marie,*  below  the  outlet 
of  Lake  Superior.  This  visit,  however,  led  to  no  permanent 
result,  and  it  was  not  till  1659  that  even  any  of  the  adventurous 
fur  traders  spent  a  winter  on  the  frozen  and  inhospitable  shores 
of  the  vast  lake  of  the  North,  nor  till  1660  that  the  unflinching 
devotion  of  the  Missionaries  caused  the  first  station  to  rise  upon 
its  rocky  and  pine-clad  borders.  But  Mesnard,  who  founded  that 
station,  perished  in  the  woods  in  a  few  months  afterward,  and 
five  more  years  slipped  by  before  Father  Claude  Allouez,  in 
1665,  built  the  earliest  of  the  lasting  habitations  of  white  men 
among  the  kindly  and  hospitable  Indians  of  the  Northwest. 
Following  in  his  steps,  in  1668,  Claude  Dablon  and  James 
Marquette  founded  the  mission  at  St.  Mary's  Falls ;  in  1670, 
Nicholas  Parrot,  as  agent  for  Talon,  the  intendant  of  Canada, 
explored  lake  Michigan  as  far  as  Chicago;  in  1671  formal  pos- 
session was  taken  of  the  North  west  by  French  officers  in  the 
presence  of  Indians  assembled  from  every  part  of  the  surround- 
ing region,  and  in  the  same  year  Marquette  gathered  a  little  flock 
of  listeners,  at  Point  St.  Ignatius,  on  the  main  land  north  of  the 
island  of  Mackinac.  During  the  three  years  which  this  most 
excellent  man  had  now  spent  in  that  country,  the  idea  of 
exploring  the  lands  yet  farther  towards  the  setting  sun,  had  been 
growing  more  and  more  definite  in  his  mind.  He  had  heard,  as 
all  had,  of  the  great  river  of  the  West,  and  fancied  upon  its 
fertile  banks, — not  mighty  cities,  mines  of  gold,  or  fountains  of 
youth — but  whole  tribes  of  God's  children  to  whom  the  sound 
of  the  Gospel  had  never  come.  Filled  with  the  wish  to  go  and 
preach  to  them,  he  obeyed  with  joy  the  orders  of  Talon,  the 
wise  intendant  of  Canada,  to  lead  a  party  into  the  unknown 
distance ;  and  having  received,  as  companions  on  behalf  of  the 
government,  a  Monsieur  Joliet,  of  Quebec,  together  with  five 
boatmen,  in  the  spring  of  1673,  he  prepared  to  go  forth  in  search 
of  the  much  talked  of  stream.f 

Upon  the  13th  of  May,  1673,  this  little  band  of  seven  left 
Michilimackmac  in  two  bark  canoes,  with  a  small  store  of  Indian 
corn  and  jerked  meat,  bound  they  knew  not  whither. 

The  first  nation  they  visited,  one  with  which  our  reverend 
Father  had  been  long  acquainted,  being  told  of  their  venturous 

Marj,  tj?or  the  .above  dates,  Ac,,  s?e  Bancroft's  U»  &>  Vol.  JH 


30  Reach  the  Mississippi.  1673. 

plan,  begged  them  to  desist.  There  were  Indians,  they  said,  on 
that  great  river,  who  would  cut  off  their  heads  without  the  least 
cause;  warriors  who  would  seize  them ;  monsters  who  would 
swallow  them,  canoes  and  all;  even  a  demon,  who  shut  the 
way,  and  buried  in  the  waters  that  boil  about  him,  all  who 
dared  draw  nigh;  and,  if  these  dangers  were  passed,  there  were 
heats  there  that  would  infallibly  kill  them.*  "I  thanked  them 
for  their  good  advice,"  says  Marquette,  "but  I  told  them  that  I 
could  not  follow  it;  since  the  salvation  of  souls  was  at  stake,  for 
which  I  should  be  overjoyed  to  give  my  life." 

Passing  through  Green  Bay,  from  the  mud  of  which,  says  our 
voyager,  rise  "mischievous  vapors,  that  cause  the  most  grand 
and  perpetual  thunders  that  I  have  ever  heard,"  they  entered 
Fox  river,  and  toiling  over  stones  which  cut  their  feet,  as  they 
dragged  their  canoes  through  its  strong  rapids,  reached  a  village 
where  lived  in  union  the  Miamis,  Mascoutensf  and  "Kikabeux" 
(Kickapoos.)  Here  Allouez  had  preached,  and  behold !  in  the 
midst  of  the  town,  a  cross,  (une  belle  croixj)  on  which  hung 
skins,  and  belts,  and  bows,  and  arrows,  which  "these  good 
people  had  offered  to  the  great  Manitou,  to  thank  him  because 
he  had  taken  pity  on  them  during  the  winter,  and  had  given 
them  an  abundant  chase." 

Beyond  this  point  no  Frenchman  had  gone;  here  was  the 
bound  of  discovery ;  and  much  did  the  savages  wonder  at  the 
hardihood  of  these  seven  men,  who,  alone,  in  two  bark  canoes, 
were  thus  fearlessly  passing  into  unknown  dangers. 

On  the  10th  of  June,  they  left  this  wondering  and  well-wish- 
ing crowd,  and,  with  two  guides  to  lead  them  through  the  lakes 
and  marshes  of  that  region,  started  for  the  river,  which,  as  they 
heard,  rose  but  about  three  leagues  distant,  and  fell  into  the 
Mississippi.  Without  ill-luck  these  guides  conducted  them  to 
the  portage,  and  helped  them  carry  their  canoes  across  it ;  then, 
returning,  left  them  "alone  amid  that  unknown  country,  in  the 
hand  of  God." 

*  The  allusion  here  is  to  the  legend  of  the  Pittsau — ox  the  moaster  bird  that  devourecJ 
men,  of  which  some  rude  Indian  paintings  yrere  seen  thirty  years  since  on  the  cliffs  shore 
the  city  of  Alton,  and  Indians  as  they  passed  in  then-  canoes  made  offerings  by  dropping 
tobacco  and  other  articles,  valuable  in  their  estimation  in  the  rmr.  John  Russell,  Esq.,  of 
Illinois,  wove  this  "Indian  Tradition"  into  a  beautiful  story  that  went  the  rounds  of  peri- 
odical literature,  in  1840. — Ed. 

f  In  Charlevoix's  time  these  occupied  the  country  from  the  Illinois  to  the  Fox  river^  aa3 
from  lake  Michigan  to  the  Mississippi. — See  his  Map, 


1673.  Visit  to  the  Illinois.  31 

With  prayers  to  the  mother  of  Jesus  they  strengthened  their 
souls,  and  committed  themselves,  in  all  hope,  to  the  current  of 
the  westward  flowing -river,  the  "Ouisconsin"*  (Wisconsin;)  a 
sand-barred  stream,  hard  to  navigate,  but  full  of  islands  covered 
with  vines,  and  bordered  by  meadows,  and  groves,  and  pleasant 
slopes.  Down  this  they  floated  until,  upon  the  17th  of  June, 
they  entered  the  Mississippi,  "with  a  joy,"  says  Marquette, 
"that  I  cannot  express." 

Quietly  floating  down  the  great  river,  they  remarked  the 
deer,  the  buftaloes,  the  swans — "wingless,  for  they  lose  their 
feathers  in  that  country," — the  great  fish,  one  of  which  had 
nearly  knocked  their  canoe  into  atoms,  and  other  creatures  of 
air,  earth  and  water,  but  no  men.  At  last,  however,  upon  the 
21st  of  June,  they  discovered,  upon  the  western  bank  of  the 
river,  the  foot  prints  of  some  fellow  mortals,  and  a  little  path 
leading  into  a  pleasant  meadow.  Leaving  the  canoes  in  charge 
of  their  followers,  Joliet  and  Father  Marquette  boldly  advanced 
upon  this  path  toward,  as  they  supposed,  an  Indian  village. 
Nor  were  they  mistaken;  for  they  soon  came  to  a  little  town, 
to  which,  recommending  themselves  to  God's  care,  they  went  so 
nigh  as  to  hear  the  savages  talking.  Having  made  their  pres- 
ence known  by  a  loud  cry,  they  were  graciously  received  by  an 
embassy  of  four  old  men,  who  presented  them  the  pipe  of  peace, 
and  told  them,  that  this  was  a  village  of  the  "Illinois."  The 
voyagers  were  then  conducted  into  the  town,  where  all  received 
them  as  friends,  and  treated  them  to  a  great  smoking.  After 
much  complimenting  and  present-making,  a  grand  feast  was 
given  to  the  Europeans,  consisting  of  four  courses.  The  first 
was  of  hominy,  the  second  of  fish,  the  third  of  a  dog, f  which 
the  Frenchmen  declined,  and  the  whole  concluded  with  roast 
buffalo.  After  the  feast  they  were  marched  through  the  town 
with  great  ceremony  and  much  speech-making;  and,  having 
spent  the  night,  pleasantly  and  quietly,  amid  the  Indians,  they 
returned  to  their  canoes  with  an  escort  of  six  hundred  people. 

*  Called  "Miseonsia"  in  the  printed  Journal. — Ed. 

f  A  dog  feast  is  still  a  feast  of  honor  among  the  savages.  See  Fremont's  Report  of  Expe- 
ditions of  1842,  '43,  and  '44,  printed  at  Washington,  1845;  p.  42.  Fremont  says  the  meat 
is  somewhat  like  mutton.  See,  also,  Dr.  Jarvis's  discourse  before  the  N.  Y.  Historical  Society 
La  1819,  note  B-;  Lewis  and  Clark's  Journal,  II.  165;  Godman's  Natural  History,  L  254. 


32  Arrive  at  the  Arkansas.  1673. 

The  Illinois,  Marquette,  like  all  the  early  travelers,  describes  as 
remarkably  handsome,  well-mannered,  and  kindly,  even  some- 
what effeminate.  , 

Leaving  the  Illinois,  the  adventurers  passed  the  rocks*  upon 
which  were  painted  those  monsters  of  whose  existence  they  had 
heard  on  Lake  Michigan,  and  soon  found  themselves  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Pejdtanoni,  or  Missouri  of  our  day  ;  the  character 
of  which  is  well  described;  muddy,  rushing,  and  noisy. — They 
next  passed  a  dangerous  rock  in  the  riverf  and  then  came  to 
the  Ouabouskigou,  or  Ohio,  a  stream  which  makes  but  a  small 
figure  m  Father  Marquette's  map,  being  but  a  trifling  water- 
course compared  to  the  Illinois.  From  the  Ohio,  our  voyagers 
passed  with  safety,  except  from  the  musquitoes,  into,  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  "  Akamscas,"  or  Arkansas.  Here  they  were  at- 
tacked by  a  crowd  of  warriors,  and  had  nearly  lost  their  lives; 
but  Marquette  resolutely  presented  the  peace-pipe,,  and  some  of 
the  old  men  of  the  attacking  party  were  softened,  and  saved 
them  from  harm.  "God  touched  their  hearts,"  says  the  pious, 
narrator. 

The  next  day  the  Frenchmen  wenUon  to  "Akarasca,"  where 
they  were  received  most  kindly,  and  feasted  on  corn  and  dog 
till  they  could  eat  no  more.  These  Indians  cooked  in  and  eat 
from  earthen  ware,  and  were  amiable  and  unceremonious,  each 
man  Helping  himself  from  the  dish  and  passing  it  to  his  neighbor. 

From  this  point  Joliet  and  our  writer  determined  to  return  to 
the  North,  as  dangers  increased  towards  the  sea,  and  no  doubt 
could  exist  as  to  the  point  where  the  Mississippi  emptied,  to 
ascertain  which  point  was  the  great  object  of  their  expedition. 
Accordingly,  on  the  17th  of  July,  our  voyagers  left  Akamsca ; 
retraced  their  path  with  much  labor,  to  the  Illinois,  through 
which  they  soon  reached  the  Lake;  and,  "nowhere,"  says 
Marquette,  "did  we  see  such  grounds,  meadows,  woods,  stags, 
buffaloes,  deer,  wild-cats,  bustards,  swans,  ducks,  parroquets, 
and  even  beavers,"  as  on  the  Illinois  river. 

In  September  the  party,  without  loss  or  injury,  reached  Green 
Bay,  and  reported  their  discovery ;  one  of  the  most  important 
of  that  age,  but  of  which  we  have  now  no  record  left  except 
the  brief  narrative  of  Marquette ;  Joliet,  (as  we  learn  from  an 
abstract  of  his  account,  given  in  Hennepin's  second  volume^ 

«Piasa  Hock,  at  the  present  city  of  Alton,  Illinois.  -\ThQ  Grand  Towej» 


1675.  Death  of  Marquctte.  33 

London,  1698,)  having  lost  all  his  papers  while  returning  to  Que- 
bec, by  the  upsetting  of  his  canoe.  Marquette's  unpretending 
account,  we  have  in-  a  collection  of  voyages  by  Thevenot, 
printed  in  Paris  in  1681.*  Its  general  correctness  is  unques- 
tionable ;  and,  as  no  European  had  claimed  to  have  made  any 
such  discovery  at  the  time  this  volume  was  published,  but  the 
persons  therein  named,  we  may  consider  the  account  as  genuine. 

Afterwards  Marquette  returned  to  the  Illinois,  by  their  request, 
and  ministered  to  them  until  1675.  On  the  18th  of  May,  in 
that  year,  as  he  was  passing  with  his  boatmen  up  Lake  Mich- 
igan, he  proposed  to  land  at  the  mouth  of  a  stream  running 
from  the  peninsula,  and  perform  mass.  Leaving  his  men  with 
the  canoe,  he  went  a  little  way  apart  to  pray,  they  waiting  for 
him.  As  much  time  passed,  and  he  did  not  return,  they  called 
to  mind  that  he  had  said  something  of  his  death  being  at  hand, 
and  anxiously  went  to  seek  him.  They  found  him  dead ; 
where  he  had  been  praying,  he  had  died.  The  canoe-men 
dug  a  grave  near  the  mouth  of  the  stream,  and  buried  him  in 
the  sand.  Here  his  body  was  liable  to  be  exposed  by  a  rise 
of  water;  and  would  have  been  so,  had  not  the  river  retired, 
and  left  the  missionary's  grave  in  peace.  Charlevoix,  who 
visited  the  spot  some  fifty  years  afterward,  found  that  the  wa- 
ters had  forced  a  passage  at  the  most  difficult  point,  had  cut 
through  a  bluff,  rather  than  cross  the  lowland  where  that  grave 
was.  The  river  is  called  Marquette.f 

While  the  simple-hearted  and  true  Marquette  was  pursuing 
his  labors  of  love  in  the  West,  two  men,  differing  widely  from 
him  and  each  other,  were  preparing  to  follow  in  his  footsteps, 
and  perfect  the  discoveries  so  well  begun  by  him  and  the 
Sieur  Joliet.  These  were  Robert  de  la  Salle  and  Louis  Hen- 
nepin. 

*  This  work  is  now  very  rare,  but  Marquette's  Journal  has  been  republished  by  Mr. 
Sparks,  at  least  in  substance,  in  Butler's  Kentucky,  2d  Ed.  492;  and  in  the  American 
Biography,  1st  series,  vol.  X.  A  copy  of  the  map  by  Marquette,  is  also  given  by  Mr.  Ban- 
croft, vol.  III.  We  have  followed  the  original  in  Thevenot,  a  copy  of  which  is  in  Harvard 
Library. 

fCharlevoix's  Letters,  vol.  II.  p.  96.  New  France,  vol.  VI.  p.  20.  Marquette  spells 
the  name  of  the  great  western  river,  "Mississippy;"  Hennepin  made  it  "Meschasipi;" 
others  have  written  "Meschasabe,"  &c.  Ac.  There  is  great  confusion  in  all  the  Indian  oral 
names;  we  have  "Kikabeaux,"  "Kikapous,"  "Quicapousj"  "Ottaouets,"  "Outnovas;" 
"Miainis,"  "Oumamis;"  and  so  of  nearly  all  the  nations.  Our  "Sioux"  Charlevoix  tells  us, 
is  the  last  syllable  of  "Nadouessioux,"  which  is  written,  by  Hennepin,  "Nadoussion"  and 
"Nadouessious,"  in  his  "Louisiana,"  and  "Nadouessans,"  and  in  his  "  Now  Me  Decou 
verte."  The  Shawanese  are  always  called  the  "Chouanouns." 


34  Robert  de  la  Salle.  1675 

La  Salle  was  a  native  of  Normandy,  and  was  brought  up, 
as  we  learn  from  Charlevoix,  among  the  Jesuits;*  but,  having 
lost,  by  some  unknown  cause,  his  patrimony,  and  being  of  a 
stirring  and  energetic  disposition,  he  left  his  home  to  seek  for- 
tune among  the  cold  and  dark  regions  of  Canada.  This  was 
about  the  year  1670.  Here  he  mused  long  upon  the  pet  pro- 
ject of  those  ages,  a  short-cut  to  China  and  the  East ;  and, 
gaining  his  daily  bread,  we  know  not  how,  was  busily  plan- 
ning an  expedition  up  the  great  lakes,  and  so  across  the  con- 
tinent to  the  Pacific,  when  Marquette  returned  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi. At  once  the  hot  mind  of  La  Salle  received  from  his 
and  his  companion's  narrations,  the  idea,  that,  by  following  the 
Great  River  northward,  or  by  turning  up  some  of  the  streams 
which  joined  it  from  the  westward,  his  aim  might  be  certainly 
and  easily  gained.  Instantly  he  went  towards  his  object.  He 
applied  to  Frontenac,  then  governor-general  of  Canada,  laid 
before  him  an  outline  of  his  views,  dim  but  gigantic,  and,  as 
a  first  step,  proposed  to  rebuild  of  stone,  and  with  improved 
fortifications,  Fort  Frontenac  upon  Lake  Ontario,  a  post  to 
which  he  knew  the  governor  felt  all  the  affection  due  to  a 
namesake.  Frontenac  entered  warmly  into  his  views.  He 
saw,  that,  in  La  Salle's  suggestion,  which  was  to  connect  Can- 
ada with  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  by  a  chain  efforts  upon  the  vast 
navigable  lakes  and  rivers  which  bind  that  country  so  won- 
derfully together,  lay  the  germ  of  a  plan,  which  might  give 
unmeasured  power  to  France,  and  unequalled  glory  to  him- 
self, under  whose  administration,  he  fondly  hoped,  all  would  be 
realized.  He  advised  La  Salle,  therefore,  to  go  to  the  King 
of  France,  to  make  known  his  project,  and  ask  for  the  royal 
patronage  and  protection ;  and,  to  forward  his  suit,  gave  him 
letters  to  the  great  Colbert,  minister  of  finance  and  marine. 

With  a  breast  full  of  hope  and  bright  dreams,  in  1675,  the 
penniless  adventurer  sought  his  monarch;  his  plan  was  ap- 
proved by  the  minister,  to  whom  he  presented  Frontenac's 
letter;  La  Salle  was  made  a  Chevalier;  was  invested  wilh 
the  seignory  of  Fort  Catarocouy  or  Frontenac,  upon  condition 
he  would  rebuild  it ;  and  received  from  all  the  first  noblemen 
and  princes,  assurances  of  their  good- will  and  aid.  Returning 
to  Canada,  he  labored  diligently  at  his  fort  till  the  close  of 
1677,  when  he  again  sailed  for  France  with  news  of  his  pro- 

*Charlevoix's  New  France,  Paris  edition  of  1744,  vol.  II.  p.  263. 


1678.  Father  Louis  Hcnnepin.  35 

gress.  Colbert  and  his  son,  Seignelay,  now  minister  of  marine, 
once  more  received  him  with  favor,  and,  at  their  instance,  the 
King  granted  new  letters  patent  with  new  privileges.  His 
mission  having  sped  so  well,  on  the  14th  of  July,  1678,  La 
Salle,  with  his  lieutenant,  Tonti,  an  Italian,  and  thirty  men, 
sailed  again  from  Rochelle  for  Quebec,  where  they  arrived  on 
the  15th  of  September ;  and,  after  a  few  days'  stay,  proceeded 
to  Fort  Frontenac.* 

Here  was  quietly  working,  though  in  no  quiet  spirit,  the 
rival  and  co-laborer  of  La  Salle,  Louis  Hennepin,  a  Francis- 
can friar,  of  the  Recollet  variety  ;  a  man  full  of  ambition  to 
be  a  great  discoverer;  daring,  hardy,  energetic,  vain,  and  self- 
exaggerating,  almost  to  madness;  and,  it  is  feared,  more  anx- 
ious to  advance  his  own  holy  and  unholy  ends  than  the  truth. 
He  had  in  Europe  lurked  behind  doors,  he  tells  us,  that  he 
might  hear  sailors  spin  their  yarns  touching  foreign  lands ; 
and  he  profited,  it  would  seem,  by  their  instructions.  He 
came  to  Canada  when  La  Salle  returned  from  his  first  visit  to 
the  court,  and  had,  to  a  certain  extent,  prepared  himself,  by 
journeying  among  the  Iroquois,  for  bolder  travels  in  the  wilder- 
ness. Having  been  appointed  by  his  religious  superiors  to  ac- 
company the  expedition  which  was  about  to  start  for  the 
extreme  West,  under  La  Salle,  Hennepin  was  in  readiness  for 
him  at  Fort  Frontenac,  where  he  arrived,  probably,  some  time 
in  October,  1678.f 

*Charlevoix's  New  France,  1744,  vol.  II.  p.  264,  266.  Sparks'  life  of  La  Salle.  Ameri- 
can Biography,  new  series,  I.  10  to  15. 

f  Hennepin's  New  Discovery,  Utrecht  edition  of  1697,  p.  70. — Charlevoix's  New  France 
vol.  II.  p.  266.  We  give  the  names  of  the  lakes  and  rivers  as  they  appear  in  the 
early  travels. 

Lake  Ontario  was  also  Lake  Frontenac. 

Lake  Erie,  was  Erike,  Erige,  or  Erie,  from  a  nation  of  Eries  destroyed  by  the  Iro- 
quois; they  lived  where  the  State  of  Ohio  now  is  (Charlevoix's  New  France,  vol.  II.  p.  62;) 
it  was  also  the  Lake  of  Conti. 

Lake  Huron,  was  Karegnondi  in  early  times  ( Map  of  1656 ; )  and  also,  Lake  of  Orleans. 

Lake  Michigan,  was  Lake  of  Puans  (Map  of  1656;)  also,  of  the  Illinois,  or  Illinese,  or 
Illinouacks;  also  Lake  Mischigonong,  and  Lake  of  the  Dauphin. 

Lake  Superior  was  lake  Superieur,  meaning  the  upper,  not  the  larger  lake — also,  lake  of 
Conde.  Green  Bay,  was  Baie  dc  Puans. 

Illinois  River,  in  Hennepin'a  Louisiana,  and  Joutel'a  Journal,  is  River  Seignelay;  and 
the  Mississippi  river,  in  those  works,  is  River  Colbert;  and  was  by  La  Salle,  called 
Eiver  Colbert. 

Ohio  River  was  Ouabouskigou,  Onbaohi,  Oubache,  Oyo,  Ouye,  Belle  Riviere ;  and  by  La 
Salle,  River  St.  Louis. 

Missouri  River,  was  Pekitanoni,  Riviere  des  Osages  et  Massourites ;  and  by  Coxe  is  called 
Yellow  River. 


36  First  Schooner  on  the  Lakes.  1679. 

The  Chevalier's  first  step  was  to  send  forward  men  to  pre- 
pare the  minds  of  the  Indians  along  the  lakes  for  his  coming, 
and  to  soften  their  heart  by  well-chosen  gifts  and  words ;  and 
also,  to  pick  up  peltries,  beaver  skins,  and  other  valuables ; 
and,  upon  the  18th  .of  November,  1678,  he  himself  embarked 
in  a  little  vessel  of  ten  tons,  to  cross  Lake  Ontario.  This,  says 
one  of  his  chroniclers,  was  the  first  ship  that  sailed  upon  that 
fresh  water  sea.  The  wind  was  strong  and  contrary,  and  four 
weeks  nearly  were  passed  in  beating  up  the  little  distance  be- 
tween Kingston  and  Niagara.  Having  forced  their  brigantine 
as  far  towards  the  Falls  as  was  possible,  our  travellers  landed  ; 
built  some  magazines  with  difficulty,  for  at  times  the  ground 
was  frozen  so  hard  that  they  could  drive  their  stakes  or  posts 
into  it,  only  by  first  pouring  upon  it  boiling  water ;  and  then 
made  acquaintance  with  the  Iroquois  of  the  village  of  Niagara, 
upon  Lake  Erie.  Not  far  from  this  village,  La  Salle  founded 
a  second  fort,  upon  which  he  set  his  men  to  work ;  but,  finding 
the  Iroquois  jealous,  he  gave  it  up  for  a  time,  and  merely 
erected  temporary  fortifications  for  his  magazines;  and  then, 
leaving  orders  for  a  new  ship  to  be  built,  he  returned  to  Fort 
Frontenac,  to  forward  stores,  cables,  and  anchors  for  his  forth- 
coming vessel. 

Through  the  hard  and  cold  winter  days,  the  frozen  river 
lying  before  them  "  like  a  plain  paved  with  fine  polished 
marble,"  some  of  his  men  hewed  and  hammered  upon  the 
timbers  of  the  Griffin,  as  the  great  bark  was  to  be  named, 
while  others  gathered  furs  and  skins,  or  sued  for  the  good  will 
of  the  bloody  savages  amid  whom  they  were  quartered  ;  and 
all  went  merrily  until  the  20th  of  January,  1679.  On  that 
day  the  Chevalier  arrived  from  below ;  not  with  all  his  goods, 
however,  for  his  misfortunes  had  commenced.  The  vessel  in 
which  his  valuables  had  been  embarked  was  wrecked  through 
the  bad  management  of  the  pilots;  and,  though  the  more 
important  part  of  her  freight  was  saved,  much  of  her  provision 
went  to  the  bottom.  During  the  winter,  however,  a  very  nice 
lot  of  furs  was  scraped  together,  with  which,  early  in  the  spring 
of  1679,  the  commander  returned  to  Fort  Frontenac  to  get 
another  outfit,  while  Tonti  was  sent  forward  to  scour  the  lake 
coasts,  muster  together  the  men  wrho  had  been  sent  before, 
collect  skins,  and  see  all  that  was  to  be  seen.  In  thus  coming 
and  going,  buying  and  trading,  the  summer  of  this  year  slipped 


1679.  La  Salle  in  Illinois.  37 

away,  and  it  was  the  7th  of  August  before  the  Griffin  was 
ready  to  sail.  Then,  with  Te-Deums,  and  the  discharge  of 
arquebuses,  she  began  her  voyage  up  Lake  Erie. 

Over  Lake  Erie,  through  the  strait  beyond,  across  St.  Clair, 
and  into  Huron  the  voyagers  passed  most  happily.  In  Huron 
they  were  troubled  by  storms,  dreadful  as  those  upon  the 
ocean,  and  were  at  last  forced  to  take  refuge  in  the  road  of 
Michilimackinac.  This  was  upon  the  27th  of  August.  At 
this  place,  which  is  described  as  one  "  of  prodigious  fertility,"* 
La  Salle  remained  until  the  middle  of  September,  founded  a 
fort  there,  and  sent  men  therefrom  in  various  directions  to  spy 
out  the  state  of  the  land.  He  then  went  on  to  Green  Bay,  the 
"  Baie  des  Puans,"j-  of  the  French  ;  and,  finding  there  a  large 
quantity  of  skins  and  furs  collected  for  him,  he  determined  to 
load  the  Griffin  therewith,  and  send  her  back  to  Niagara. 
This  was  done  with  all  promptness ;  and,  upon  the  18th  of 
September,  she  was  dispatched  under  the  charge  of  a  pilot, 
supposed  to  be  competent  and  trustworthy,  while  the  Norman 
himself,  with  fourteen  men,  proceeded  up  Lake  Michigan, 
paddling  along  its  shores  in  the  most  leisurely  manner;  Tonti, 
meanwhile,  having  been  sent  to  find  stragglers,  with  whom 
he  was  to  join  the  main  body  at  the  head  of  the  lake. 

From  the  19th  of  September  till  the  1st  of  November,  the 
time  was  consumed  by  La  Salle  in  his  voyage  up  the  sea  in 
question.  On  the  day  last  named,  he  arrived  at  tke  mouth  of 
the  river  of  the  Miamis,  or  St.  Josephs,  as  it  is  now  called.J 
Here  he  built  a  fort  and  remained  for  nearly  a  month,  when 
hearing  nothing  from  his  Griffin,  he  determined  to  push  on 
before  it  was  too  late. 

On  the  3rd  of  December,  having  mustered  all  his  forces, 
thirty  laborers  and  three  monks,  after  having  left  ten  men  to 
garrison  the  fort,  La  Salle  started  again  upon  "his  great  voy- 
age and  glorious  undertaking."  Ascending  the  St.  Josephs 
river  in  the  south-western  part  of  Michigan  to  a  point  where, 
by  a  short  portage,  they  passed  to  the  "The-au-ki-ki"  (now 
corrupted  into  Kankakee,)  a  main  branch  of  the  Illinois  river. 
Falling  down  the  said  river  by  easy  journeys,  the  better  to 

*In  reality  a  very  sterile  spot. 

•(•So  called  from  the  filthiness  of  the  savages,  who  lived  principally  on  fish. — Ed. 

JSee  on  this  point,  North  American  Review,  January  1339,  No.  OIL  p.  74. 


38  Fort  Crevccaur  Built,  1680. 

observe  that  country,  about  the  last  of  December,  reached  a 
village  of  the  Illinois  Indians,  containing  some  five  hundred 
cabins,  but,  at  that  moment,  no  inhabitants.  The  Sieur  La 
Salle,  being  in  great  want  of  bread-stuffs,  took  advantage  of 
this  absence  of  the  Indians  to  help  himself  to  a  sufficiency  of 
maize,  of  which  large  quantities  were  found  hidden  in  holes 
under  the  huts  or  wigwams.  This  village  was,  as  near  as  we 
can  judge,  not  far  from  the  spot  marked  on  our  maps  as  Rock 
Fort,  in  La  Salle  county,  Illinois.  The  corn  being  got  aboard, 
the  voyagers  betook  themselves  to  the  stream  again,  and 
toward  evening  on  the  4th  of  January,  1680,  fell  into  a  lake 
which  must  have  been  the  lake  of  Peoria.  Here  the  natives 
were  met  with  in  large  numbers,  but  they  were  gentle  and 
kind,  and  having  spent  some  time  with  them,  La  Salle  deter- 
mined in  that  neighborhood  to  build  another  fort,  for  he  found 
that  already  some  of  the  adjoining  tribes  were  trying  to  disturb 
the  good  feeling  which  existed;  and,  moreover,  some  of  his  own 
men  were  disposed  to  complain.  A  spot  upon  rising  ground, 
near  the  river,  was  accordingly  chosen  about  the  middle  of 
January,  and  the  fort  of  Crcvcc&ur  (Broken  Heart,)  com- 
menced; a  name  expressive  of  the  very  natural  anxiety  and 
sorrow,  which  the  pretty  certain  loss  of  his  Griffin,  and  his 
consequent  impoverishment  (for  there  were  no  insurance 
offices  then,)  the  danger  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Indians, 
and  of  mutiny  on  the  part  of  his  men,  might  well  cause  him. 

Nor  were  his  fears  by  any  means  groundless.  In  the  first 
place,  his  discontented  followers,  and  afterwards  emissaries 
from  the  Mascoutens,  tried  to  persuade  the  Illinois  that  he  was 
a  friend  of  the  Iroquois,  their  most  deadly  enemies ;  and  that 
he  was  among  them  for  the  purpose  of  enslaving  them.  But 
La  Salle  was  an  honest  and  fearless  man,  and,  as  soon  as  cold- 
ness and  jealousy  appeared  on  the  part  of  his  hosts,  he  went 
to  them  boldly  and  asked  the  cause,  and  by  his  frank  state- 
ments preserved  their  good  feeling  and  good  will.  His  disap- 
pointed enemies,  then,  or  at  some  other  time,  for  it  is  not  very 
clear  when,*  tried  poison;  and,  but  for  "a  dose  of  good  treacle," 
La  Salle  might  have  ended  his  days  in  his  fort  Crevecoeur. 

Meanwhile  the  winter  wore  away,  and  the  prairies  were 

*Charlevoix  says  it  was  at  the  close  of  1679;  Hennepin,  that  they  did  not  reach  the  Il- 
linois, till  January  4th,  1CSO.  We  have  no  means  of  deciding,  but  follow  Hennepin,  who  is 
particular  as  to  dates,  and  was  present. 


1680.  Loss  of  the  Griffin.  39 

getting  to  look  green  again  ;  but  our  discoverer  heard  no  good 
news,  received  no  reinforcement ;  his  property  was  gone,  his 
men  were  fast  deserting  him,  and  he  had  little  left  but  his  own 
strong  heart.  The  second  year  of  his  hopes,  and  toils,  and 
failures,  was  half  gone,  and  he  further  from  his  object  than 
ever;  but  still  he  had  that  strong  heart,  and  it  was  more  than 
men  and  money.  He  saw  that  he  must  go  back  to  Canada, 
raise  new  means,  and  enlist  new  men  ;  but  he  did  not  dream, 
therefore,  of  relinquishing  his  projects.  On  the  contrary,  he 
determined  that,  while  he  was  on  his  return,  a  small  party 
should  go  to  the  Mississippi  and  explore  that  stream  towards 
its  source  ;  and  thatTonti,  with  the  few  men  that  remained, 
should  strengthen  and  extend  his  relations  among  the  Indians. 

For  the  leader  of  the  Mississippi  exploring  party,  he  chose 
Father  Louis  Hennepin  ;  and,  having  furnished  him  with  all 
the  necessary  articles,  started  him  upon  his  voyage  on  the  last 
day  of  February,  1680.* 

Having  thus  provided  against  the  entire  stagnation  of  dis- 
covery during  his  forced  absence,  La  Salle  at  once  betook 
himself  to  his  journey  eastward  :  a  journey  scarce  conceivable 
now,  for  it  was  to  be  made  by  land  from  fort  Crevecoeur  round 
to  fort  Frontenac,  a  distance  of  at  least  twelve  hundred  miles, 
at  the  most  trying  season  of  the  year,  when  the  rivers  of  the 
lakes  would  be  full  of  floating  ice,  and  offer  to  the  traveler 
neither  the  security  of  winter,  nor  the  comfort  of  summer. 
But  the  Chevalier  was  not  to  be  daunted  by  any  obstacles :  his 
affairs  were  in  so  precarious  a  state  that  he  felt  he  must  make 
a  desperate  effort,  or  all  his  plans  would  be  for  ever  broken  up ; 
so  through  snow,  ice  and  water,  he  won  his  way  along  the 
southern  borders  of  lakes  Michigan,  Erie  and  Ontario,  and  at 
last  reached  his  destination.  He  found,  as  he  expected,  every 
thing  in  confusion  :  his  Griffin  was  lost ;  his  agents  had  cheated 

*  The  commander  was  D'Acau,  corruptly  made  Dacan  by  many  modern  writers.  Our 
authority  is  Dr.  Sparks.  In  a  manuscript  correspondence  on  the  subject,  with  the  editor, 
Dr.  S.  says : 

"In  my  French  MSS.,  I  find  the  word  written  D'Acau,  and  I  suppose  it  was  commonly 
called  Acau.  Hence  Hennepin  writes  it  from  the  sound  Ako;  and  from  the  blind  manner 
in  which  the  name  was  written  in  Tonti's  original  MS.,  D'Acau,  was  mistaken  for  Ducan; 
and  here  we  have  the  origin  of  the  conflict  between  Hennepin  and  Tonti,  in  regard  to  this 
name,  which  has  puzzled  the  subsequent  writers." 

Hennepin  was  notorious  for  misstatements,  and  [claims  to  authority  he  never  possessed . 
He  was  with  the  expedition  and  the  historian  of  it. — Ed. 


40  Henncpin  with  the  Indians.  1680. 

him  ;  his  creditors  had  seized  his  goods.  Had  his  spirit  been 
one  atom  less  elastic  and  energetic,  he  would  have  abandoned 
the  whole  undertaking  ;  but  La  Salle  knew  neither  fear  nor 
despair,  and  by  midsummer  we  behold  him  once  more  on  his 
way  to  rejoin  his  little  band  of  explorers  on  the  Illinois.  This 
pioneer  body,  meanwhile,  had  suffered  greatly  from  the  jeal- 
ousy of  the  neighboring  Indians,  and  the  attacks  of  bands  of 
Iroquois,  who  wandered  all  the  way  from  their  homes  in  Ne\v 
York,  to  annoy  the  less  warlike  savages  of  the  prairies.  Their 
sufferings,  at  length,  in  September,  1680,  induced  Tonti  to 
abandon  his  position,  and  seek  the  lakes  again,  a  point  which, 
with  much  difficulty,  he  effected.  When,  therefore,  La  Salle, 
who  had  heard  nothing  of  all  these  troubles,  reached  the  posts 
upon  the  Illinois  in  December  1680,  or  January  1681,  he  found 
them  utterly  deserted ;  his  hopes  again  crushed,  and  all  his 
dreams  again  disappointed.  There  was  but  one  thing  to  be 
done,  however,  to  turn  back  to  Canada,  enlist  more  men,  and 
secure  more  means  :  this  he  did,  and  in  June,  1681,  had  the 
pleasure  to  meet  his  comrade,  Lieutenant  Tonti,  at  Mackinac, 
to  whom  he  spoke,  as  we  learn  from  an  eye-witness,  with  the 
same  hope  and  courage  which  he  had  exhibited  at  the  outset 
of  his  enterprise. 

And  here,  for  a  time,  we  must  leave  La  Salle  and  Tonti,  and 
notice  the  adventures  of  Hennepin,  who,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, left  fort  CreveccBur  on  the  last  of  February,  1680.  In 
seven  days  he  reached  the  Mississippi,  and,  paddling  up  its 
icy  stream  as  he  best  could,  by  the  llth  of  April  had  got  no 
higher  than  the  Wisconsin.  Here  he  was  taken  prisoner  by  a 
band  of  northern  Indians,  who  treated  him  and  his  comrades 
with  considerable  kindness,  and  took  them  up  the  river 
until  about  the  first  of  May,  when  they  reached  the  Falls  of 
St.  Anthony,  which  were  then  so  named  by  Hennepin  in 
honor  of  his  patron  saint.  Here  they  took  to  the  land,  and 
traveling  nearly  two  hundred  miles  towards  the  northwest, 
brought  him  to  their  villages.  These  Indians  were  the  Sioux. 

Here  Hennepin  and  his  companions  remained  about  three 
months,  treated  kindly  and  trusted  by  their  captors;  at  the 
end  of  that  time,  he  met  with  a  band  of  Frenchmen,  headed 
by  one  Sieur  de  Luth,  who,  in  pursuit  of  trade  and  game,  had 
penetrated  thus  far  by  the  route  of  Lake  Superior  ;  and,  with 
these  fellow  countrymen  the  Franciscan  returned  to  the  bor- 


1682.  La  Salk  on  the  Mississippi.  41 

ders  of  civilized  life,  in  November,  1680,  just  after  La  Salle 
had  gone  back  to  the  wilderness  as  we  have  related.  Hen- 
nepin  soon  after  went  to  France,  where,  in  1684,  he  published 
a  work  narrating  his  adventures.* 

To  return  again  to  the  Chevalier  himself,  he  met  Tonti,  as 
we  have  said,  at  Mackinac,  in  June,  1681  ;  thence  he  went 
down  the  lakes  to  fort  Frontenac,  to  make  the  needful  prepa- 
rations for  prosecuting  his  western  discoveries ;  these  being 
made,  we  find  him,  in  August,  1681,  on  his  way  up  the  lakes 
again,  and  on  the  3d  of  November  at  the  St.  Josephs,  as  full 
of  confidence  as  ever.  The  middle  of  December  had  come, 
however,  before  all  were  ready  to  go  forward,  and  then,  with 
twenty-three  Frenchmen,  eighteen  eastern  Indians,  ten  Indian 
women  to  wait  upon  their  lazy  mates,  and  three  children, 
he  started,  not  as  before  by  the  way  of  the  Kankakee,  but  by 
the  Chicago  river,  traveling  on  foot  and  with  the  baggage  on 
sledges.  It  was  upon  the  5th  or  6th  of  January,  1682,  that 
the  band  of  explorers  left  the  borders  of  lake  Michigan  ;  they 
crossed  the  portage,  passed  down  to  fort  Crevecreur,  which 
they  found  in  good  condition,  and  still  going  forward,  on  the 
6th  of  February,  were  upon  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  On 
the  thirteenth  they  commenced  their  downward  passage,  but 
nothing  of  interest  occurred,  until,  on  the  26th  of  the  month, 
at  the  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  a  Frenchman,  named  Prudhomme, 
M'ho  had  gone  out  with  others  to  hunt,  was  lost,  a  circum- 
stance which  led  to  the  erection  of  a  fort  upon  the  spot,  named 
from  the  missing  man,  who  was  found,  however,  eight  or  nine 
days  afterwards.  Pursuing  their  course,  they  at  length,  upon 
the  6th  of  April,  1682,  discovered  the  three  passages  by  which 
the  Mississippi  discharges  its  waters  into  the  Gulf;  and  here 
we  shall  let  La  Salle  himself  tell  his  story,  as  it  is  given  in  the 

*This  volume,  called  "A  description  of  Louisiana/'  he,  thirteen  years  afterwards,  en- 
larged and  altered,  and  published  with  the  title,  "New  Discovery  of  a  Vast  Country  situated 
in  America,  between  New  Mexico  and  the  Frozen  Ocean."  In  this  new  publication,  he 
claimed  to  have  violated  La  Salle's  instructions,  and  in  the  first  place  to  have  gone  down 
the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth,  before  ascending  it.  His  claim  was  very  naturally  doubted ; 
and  examination  has  proved  it  to  be  a  complete  fable,  the  materials  having  been  taken  from 
an  account  published  by  Le  Clercq  in  1691,  of  La  Salle's  successful  voyage  down  the  great 
river  of  the  West,  a  voyage  of  which  we  have  presently  to  speak.  This  account  of  La 
Clercq's  was  drawn  from  the  letters  of  Fatjier  Zenobe  Membre,  a  priest  who  was  with  La 
Salle,  and  is  the  most  valuable  published  work  in  relation  to  the  final  expedition  from 
Canada,  made  by  that  much-tried  and  dauntless  commander.  The  whole  subject  of  Hen- 
nepin's  credibility,  is  presented  by  Mr.  Sparks,  in  his  life  of  La  Salle,  with  great  firmness 
and  rrecision,  and  to  that  we  refer  all  curious  readers. 

3 


42  Mouth  of  the  River.  1682. 

"Proces-verbal"  which  Mr.  Sparks  has  translated  from  the 
original  in  the  French  archives.  It  thus  proceeds  : 

"We  landed  on  the  bank  of  the  most  western  channel, 
about  three  leagues  from  its  mouth.  On  the  7th,  M.  de  La 
Salle  went  to  reconnoitre  the  shores  of  the  neighboring  sea, 
and  M.  de  Tonti  likewise  examined  the  great  middle  chan- 
nel. They  found  these  two  outlets  beautiful,  large  and  deep. 

On  the  8th,  we  reascended  the  river,  a  little  above  its  con- 
fluence with  the  sea,  to  find  a  dry  place,  beyond  the  reach  of 
inundations.  The  elevation  of  the  North  Pole  was  here  about 
twenty-seven  degrees.  Here  we  prepared  a  column  and  a 
cross,  and  to  the  said  column  we  affixed  the  arms  of  France, 
with  this  inscription  : 

LOUIS  LE  GRAND,  RIO  DE  FRANCE  ET  DE  NAVARRE,  REGEN; 
LE  NEUVIEME  AVRIL,  1682. 

The  whole  party,  under  arms,  chaunted  the  Te  Deum,  the 
Exaudiat,  the  Domine  salvum  fac  Regent ;  and  then,  after  a 
salute  of  firearms  and  cries  of  Vive  le  Roi}  the  column  was 
erected  by  M.  de  la  Salle,  who,  standing  near  it,  said,  with  a 
loud  voice  in  French : — 

"  'In  the  name  of  the  most  high,  mighty,  invincible,  and  vic- 
torious Prince,  Louis  the  Great,  by  the  Grace  of  God,  King  of 
France  and  of  Navarre,  Fourteenth  of  that  name,  this  ninth 
day  of  April,  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-two,  I,  in 
virtue  of  the  commission  of  his  Majesty,  which  I  hold  in  my 
hand,  and  which  may  be  seen  by  all  whom  it  may  concern, 
have  taken,  and  do  now  take,  in  the  name  of  his  Majesty  and 
of  his  successors  to  the  crown,  possession  of  this  country  of 
Louisiana,  the  seas,  harbors,  ports,  bays,  adjacent  straits  ;  and 
all  the  nations,  people,  provinces,  cities,  towns,  villages,  mines, 
minerals,  fisheries,  streams  and  rivers,  comprised  in  the  extent 
of  the  said  Louisiana,  from  the  mouth  of  the  great  river  St. 
Louis,  on  the  eastern  side,  otherwise  called  Ohio,  Alighin, 
Sipore  or  Chukagona,  and  this  with  the  consent  of  the  Chaou- 
nons,  Chickasaws,  and  other  people  dwelling  therein,  with 
'whom  we  have  made  alliance  ;  as  also  along  the  river  Colbert 
or  Mississippi,  and  rivers  which,  discharge  themselves  therein, 
from  its  source  beyond  the  country  of  the  Kious  or  Nadoues- 
sious,  and  this  with  their  consent,  and  with  the  consent  of  the 
Montantees,  Illinois,  Mesigameas,  Natches,  Koroas,  which  are 


1682.  Takes  Possession  of  the   Country.  43 

the  most  considerable  nations  dwelling  therein,  with  whom, 
also,  we  have  made  alliance  either  by  ourselves,  or  by  others 
in  our  behalf;*  as  far  as  its  mouth  at  the  sea,  or  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  about  the  twenty-seventh  degree  of  the  elevation  of 
the  North  Pole,  and  also  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  Palms ; 
upon  the  assurance,  which  we  have  received  from  all  these 
nations,  that  we  are  the  first  Europeans  who  have  descended 
or  ascended  the  said  river  Colbert ;  hereby  protesting  against 
all  those,  who  may  in  future  undertake  to  invade  any  or  all  of 
these  countries,  people  or  lands,  above  described,  to  the  preju- 
dice of  the  right  of  his  Majesty,  acquired  by  the  consent  of 
the  nations  herein  named.  Of  which,  and  of  all  that  can  be 
needed,  I  hereby  take  to  witness  those  who  hear  me^  and  de- 
mand an  act  of  the  Notary,  as  required  by  law.' 

"To  which  the  whole  assembly  responded  with  shouts  of 
Vive  le  Roi,  and  with  salutes  of  firearms.  Moreover,  the  said 
Sieur  de  la  Salle  caused  to  be  buried  at  the  foot  of  the  tree, 
to  which  the  cross  was  attached,  a  leaden  plate,  on  one  side 
of  which  were  engraved  the  arms  of  France,  and  the  follow- 
ing Latin  inscription. 

LVDOVICVS   MAGNVS   RECENT. 
MONO   APRILIS   CID    IOC    LXXXII. 

ROBERTVS  CAVELLIER,  CVM  DOMINO  DE  TONTY,  LEGATO,  R.  P.  ZENOBI 
MEMBEE,  RECOLLECTO,  ET  VIGINTI  GALLIS  PRIMVS  HOC  FLVMEN,  INDE  AB 
ILINEORVM  PAGO,  ENAVIGAVIT,  EJVSQVE  OSTIVM  FECIT  PERVlWM,  NONO 
APRILIS  ANNI  CIO  IOC  LXXXII. 

After  which  the  Sieur  de  la  Salle  said,  that  his  Majesty,  as 
eldest  son  of  the  Church,  would  annex  no  country  to  his  crown, 
without  making  it  his  chief  care  to  establish  the  Christian  reli- 
gion therein,  and  that  its  symbol  must  now  be  planted  ;  which 
was  accordingly  done  at  once  by  erecting  a  cross,  before  which 
the  Vexilla  and  the  Domine  salvum  fac  Regem  were  sung. — 
Whereupon  the  ceremony  was  concluded  with  cries  of  Vive 
le  Roi. 

"Of  all  and  every  of  the  above,  the  said  Sieur  de  la  Salle 
having  required  of  us  an  instrument,  we  have  delivered  to  him 

*There  is  an  obscurity  in  this  enumeration  of  places  and  Indian  nations,  which  may  be 
ascribed  to  an  ignorance  of  the  geography  of  the  country ;  but  it  seems  to  be  the  design  of 
the  Sieur  de  la  Salle  to  take  possession  of  the  whole  territory  watered  by  the  Mississippi 
from  its  mouth  to  ite  source,  and  by  the  streams  flowing  into  it  on  both  sides.— Sparks. 


44  Returns  to  Illinois.  1682. 

the  same,  signed  by  us,  and  by  the  undersigned  witnesses,  this 
ninth  day  of  April,  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  eighty-two. 

"LA  METAIRE,  Notary. 

DE  LA  SALLE,  PIERRE  You, 

P.  ZENOBE,'  Recollect  Missionary,         GILES  MEUCRAT, 
HENRY  DE  TONTY,  JEAN  MICHEL,  Surgeon, 

FRANCOIS  DE  BOISRONDET,  JEAN  MAS, 

JEAN  BOURDON,  JEAN  DULIGNON, 

SIEUR  D'AUTRAY,  NICHOLAS  DE  LA  SALLE." 

CAUCHOIS. 


Thus  was  the  foundation  fairly  laid  for  the  claim  of  France 
to  the  Mississippi  Valley,  according  to  the  usages  of  European 
powers.  But  La  Salle  and  his  companions  could  not  stay  to 
examine  the  land  they  had  entered,  nor  the  coast  they  bad 
reached.  Provisions  with  them  were  exceedingly  scarce,  and 
they  were  forced  at  once  to  start  upon  their  return  for  the 
north.  This  they  did  without  serious  trouble,  although  some- 
what annoyed  by  the  savages,  until  they  reached  Fort  Prud- 
homme,  where  La  Salle  was  taken  violently  sick.  Finding 
himself  unable  to  announce  his  success  in  person,  the  Cheva- 
lier sent  forward  Tonti  to  the  lakes  to  communicate  with  the 
Count  de  Frontenac  :  he  himself  was  able  to  reach  the  fort 
at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Josephs,  toward  the  last  of  September. 
From  that  post  he  sent  with  his  dispatches,  Father  Zenobe, 
to  represent  him  in  France,  while  he  pursued  the  more  lucra- 
tive business  of  attending  to  his  fur  trade,  in  the  north-west, 
and  completing  his  long  projected  fort  of  St.  Louis,  upon  the 
high  and  commanding  bluff  of  the  Illinois,  now  known  as 
Rock  Fort  ;  a  bluff  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  and  acces- 
sible only  on  one  side.*  Having  seen  this  completed,  and  the 
necessary  steps  taken  to  preserve  a  good  understanding  with 
the  Indians,  and  also  to  keep  up  a  good  trade  \vith  them,  in 
the  autumn  of  1683,  the  Chevalier  sailed  for  his  native  land, 

—  -,.  *,«^ 

which  he  reacheoVDecember  13th. 

At  one  time  he  had  thought  probably  of  attempting  to  estab- 

*  After  exchanging  views  and  facts  with  Dr.  Sparks,  he  writes,  Nov.  26,  1846.  "It  ap- 
pears to  me  that  "Bufialo  Kock,"  from  your  description,  is  most  likely  to  have  been  the 
site  of  La  Salle's  Fort  St.  Louis." 

Bvjf'alo  Rock  is  a  singular  promontory  on  the  north  side  of  the  Illinois  river  in  La  Salle 
county,  six  miles  below  Ottowa.  It  rises  nearly  50  or  60  feet  nearly  perpendicular  on  three 
sides,  and  contains  on  its  surface  about  600  acres,  of  timber  and  prairie.  —  Gaz.  of  Illinois 
by  Ed. 


1684.  La  &atte  sails  to  France.  45 

lish  a  colony  on  the  Mississippi,  by  means  of  supplies  and  per- 
sons sent  from  Canada ;  but  farther  reflection  led  him  to  believe 
his  true  course  to  be  to  go  direct  from  France  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi,  with  abundant  means  of  settling  and  securing 
the  country ;  and  to  obtain  the  necessary  ships,  stores,  and  emi- 
grants, was  the  main  purpose  of  his  visit  to  Europe.  But  he 
found  his  fair  fame  in  danger,  in  the  court  of  his  king.  His 
success,  his  wide  plans,  and  his  overbearing  character  were 
all  calculated  to  make  him  enemies;  and  among  the  foremost 
was  La  Barre,  who  had  succeeded  Frontenac  as  Governor  of 
Canada. 

But  La  Salle  had  a  most  able  advocate  in  France,  so  soon 
as  he  was  there  in  person ;  and  the  whole  nation  being  stirred 
by  the  story  of  the  new  discoveries,  of  which  Hennepin  had 
xvidely  promulgated  his  first  account  some  months  before  La 
Salle's  return,  our  hero  found  ears  open  to  drink  in  his  words, 
and  imaginations  warmed  to  make  the  most  of  them.  The 
minister,  Seignelay,  desired  to  see  the  adventurer,  and  he  soon 
won  his  way  to  whatever  heart  that  man  had ;  for  it  could  not 
have  required  much  talk  with  La  Salle  to  have  been  satisfied 
of  his  sincerity,  enthusiasm,  energy,  and  bravery.  The  tales 
of  the  new  governor  fell  dead,  therefore  the  king  listened 
to  the  prayer  of  his  subject,  that  a  fleet  might  be  sent  to  take 
possession  of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  so  that  the 
great  country  of  which  he  told  them  be  secured  to  France. — 
The  king  listened  :  and  soon  the  town  of  Rochelle  was  busy 
with  the  stir  of  artisans,  ship-riggers,  adventurers,  soldiers, 
sailors,  and  all  that  varied  crowd  which  in  those  days  looked 
into  the  dim  West  for  a  land  where  wealth  was  to  be  had 
for  the  seeking. 

On  the  24th  of  July,  1684,  twenty-four  vessels  sailed  from 
Rochelle  to  America,  four  of  which  were  for  the  discovery  and 
settlement  of  the  famed  Louisiana.  These  four  carried  two 
hundred  and  eighty  persons,  including  the  crews  ;  there  were 
soldiers,  artificers,  and  volunteers,  and  also  "some  young  wo- 
men." There  is  no  doubt  that  this  brave  fleet  started  full  of 
light  hearts,  and  vast,  vague  hopes ;  but,  alas !  it  had  scarce 
started  when  discord  began  ;  for  La  Salle  and  the  commander 
of  the  fleet,  M.  de  Beaujeu,  were  well  fitted  to  quarrel  one 
with  the  other,  but  never  to  work  together.  In  truth  La  Salle 
seems  to  have  been  no  wise  amiable,  for  he  was  overbearing, 


46  Returns  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  1684. 

harsh,  and  probably  selfish  to  the  full  extent  to  be  looked  for 
in  a  man  of  worldly  ambition.  However,  in  one  of  the  causes 
of  quarrel  which  arose  during  the  passage,  he  acted,  if  not 
with  policy,  certainly  with  boldness  and  humanity.  It  was 
when  they  came  to  the  Tropic  of  Cancer,  where,  in  those 
times,  it  was  customary  to  dip  all  green  hands,  as  is  still 
sometimes  done  under  the  Equator.  On  this  occasion  the 
sailors  of  La  Salle's  little  squadron  promised  themselves  rare 
sport  and  much  plunder,  grog,  and  other  good  things,  the  for- 
feit paid  by  those  who  do  not  wish  a  seasoning  ;  but  all  these 
expectations  were  stopped,  and  hope  turned  into  hate,  by  the 
express  and  emphatic  statement  on  the  part  of  La  Salle,  that 
no  man  under  his  command  should  be  ducked,  whereupon  the 
commander  of  the  fleet  was  forced  to  forbid  the  ceremony. 

With  such  beginnings  of  bickering  and  dissatisfaction,  the 
Atlantic  was  slowly  crossed,  and,  upon  the  20th  of  September, 
the  island  of  St.  Domingo  was  reached.  Here  certain  ar- 
rangements were  to  be  made  with  the  colonial  authorities; 
but,  as  they  were  away,  it  became  necessary  to  stop  there  for 
a  time.  And  a  sad  time  it  was.  The  fever  seized  the  new- 
comers ;  the  ships  were  crowded  with  sick ;  La  Salle  himself 
was  brought  to  the  verge  of  the  grave ;  and  when  he  recov- 
ered, the  first  news  that  greeted  him,  was  that  of  his  four 
vessels,  the  one  wherein  he  had  embarked  his  stores  and 
implements,  had  been  taken  by  the  Spaniards.  The  sick  man 
had  to  bestir  himself  thereupon  to  procure  new  supplies ;  and 
while  he  was  doing  so,  his  enemies  were  also  bestirring  them- 
selves to  seduce  his  men  from  him,  so  that  with  death  and 
desertion,  he  was  likely  to  have  a  small  crew  at  the  last. 
But  energy  did  much;  and,  on  the  25th  of  November,  the  first 
of  the  remaining  vessels,  she  that  was  "to  carry  the  light," 
sailed  for  the  coast  of  America.  In  her  went  La  Salle  and  the 
historian  of  the  voyage,  Joutel.* 

For  a  whole  month  were  the  disconsolate  sailors  sailing, 
and  sounding,  and  stopping  to  take  in  water  and  shoot  alliga- 
tors, and  drifting  in  utter  uncertainty,  until,  on  the  28th  of  De- 
cember, the  main  land  was  fairly  discovered.  But  "there 
being,"  as  Joutel  says,  "no  man  among  them  who  had  any 
knowledge  of  that  Bay,"  and  there  being  also  an  impression 

*  Joutel  accompanied  La  Salle,  and  subsequently  wrote  his  "Journal  Historique,"  which 
was  published  in  Paris,  1713.  In  the  main  it  appears  to  be  a  truthful  narrative.— ED. 


1685.  Lands  in    Texas.  47 

that  they  must  steer  very  much  to  the  westward  to  avoid  the 
currents,  it  was  no  wonder  they  missed  the  Mississippi,  and 
wandered  far  beyond  it,  not  knowing  where  they  went ;  and 
so  wore  away  the  whole  month  of  January,  1685.  At  last, 
La  Salle,  out  of  patience,  determined  to  land  some  of  his  men 
and  go  along  the  shore  toward  the  point  where  he  believed 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  to  be,  and  Joutel  was  appointed 
one  of  the  commanders  of  this  exploring  party.  They  started 
on  the  4th  of  February,  and  traveled  eastward,  (for  it  was  clear 
that  they  had  passed  the  river)  during  three  days,  when  they 
came  to  a  great  stream  which  they  could  not  cross,  having  no 
boats.  Here  they  made  fire  signals,  and,  on  the  13th,  two  of 
the  vessels  came  in  sight ;  the  mouth  of  the  river,  or  entrance 
of  the  bay,  for  such  it  proved  to  be,  was  forthwith  sounded, 
and  the  barks  sent  in  to  be  under  shelter.  But,  sad  to  say,  La 
Salle's  old  fortune  was  at  work  here  again ;  for  the  vessel 
which  bore  his  provisions  and  most  valuable  stores,  was  run 
upon  a  shoal  by  the  grossest  neglect,  or,  as  Joutel  thinks,  with 
malice  prepense ;  and,  soon  after,  the  wind  coming  in  strong 
from  the  sea,  she  fell  to  pieces  in  the  night,  and  the  bay  was 
full  of  casks  and  packages,  which  could  not  be  saved,  or  were 
worthless  when  drawn  from  the  salt  water.  From  this  un- 
timely fate  our  poor  adventurer  rescued  but  a  small  half  of  his 
second  stock  of  indispensables. 

And  here,  for  a  moment,  let  us  pause  to  look  at  the  Cheva- 
lier's condition  in  the  middle  of  March,  1685.  Beaujeu,  with 
his  ship,  is  gone,  leaving  his  comrades  in  the  marshy  wilder- 
ness, with  not  much  of  joy  to  look  forward  to.  They  had 
guns  and  powder,  and  shot;  eight  cannon,  too,  "but  not  one 
bullet,"  that  is,  cannon-ball,  the  naval  gentlemen  having 
refused  to  give  them  any.  And  here  are  our  lonely  settlers, 
building  a  fort  upon  the  shores  of  the  Bay  of  St.  Louis,  as  they 
called  it,  known  to  us  as  the  Bay  of  St.  Bernard,  or  Mata- 
gorda  Bay,  in  Texas.  They  build  from  the  wreck  of  their 
ship,  we  cannot  think  with  light  hearts ;  every  plank  and  tim- 
ber tells  of  past  ill  luck,  and,  as  they  looked  forward,  there  is 
vision  of  irritated  savages,  (for  there  had  been  warring  al- 
ready,) of  long  search  for  the  Hidden  River,*  of  toils  and  dan- 
gers in  its  ascent  when  reached.  No  wonder,  that  "during 
that  time  several  men  deserted."  So  strong  was  the  fever  for 

*  So  the  Spaniards  called  the  Mississippi. 


\ 


48  Difficulties  in  Texas.  1685. 

desertion,  that,  of  some  who  stole  away  and  were  retaken,  it 
was  found  necessary  to  execute  one. 

And  nowLaSalle  prepares  to  issue  from  his  nearly  comple- 
ted fort,  to  look  around  and  see  where  he  is.  He  has  still  a 
good  force,  some  hundred  and  fifty  people  ;  and,  by  prompt  and 
determined  action,  much  may  be  done  between  this  last  of 
March  and  next  autumn.  In  the  first  place,  the  river  falling 
into  the  Bay  of  St.  Louis  is  examined,  and  a  new  fort  com- 
menced in  that  neighborhood,  where  seed  is  planted  also ; 
for  the  men  begin  to  tire  of  meat  and  fish,  with  spare  allow- 
ance of  bread  and  no  vegetables.  But  the  old  luck  is  at  work 
still.  The  seed  will  not  sprout;  men  desert;  the  fort  goes 
forward  miserably  slow;  and  at  last,  three  months  and  more 
gone  to  no  purpose,  Joutel  and  his  men,  who  are  still  hewing 
timber  at  the  first  fort,  are  sent  for,  and  told  to  bring  their  tim- 
ber with  them  in  a  float.  The  float  or  raft  was  begun  "with 
immense  labor,"  says  the  wearied  historian,  but  all  to  no  pur- 
pose, for  the  weather  was  so  adverse,  that  it  had  to  be  all 
taken  apart  again  and  buried  in  the  sand.  Empty-handed, 
therefore,  Joutel  sought  his  superior,  the  effects  being  left  at  a 
post  by  the  way.  And  he  came  to  a  scene  of  desolation ; 
men  sick,  and  no  houses  to  put  them  in ;  all  the  looked-for 
crop  blasted ;  and  not  a  ray  of  comfort  from  any  quarter. 

"Well,"  said  La  Salle,  "wo  must  now  muster  all  hands,  and 
build  ourselves  'a  large  lodgment.' "  But  there  was  no  tim- 
ber within  a  league;  and  not  a  cart  nor  a  bullock  to  be  had,  for 
the  buffaloes,  though  abundant,  were  ill  broken  to  such  labor. 
If  done,  this  dragging  must  be  done  by  men ;  so,  over  the  long 
grass  and  weeds  of  the  prairie-plain,  they  dragged  some  sticks, 
with  vast  suffering.  Afterwards  the  carriage  of  a  gun  was 
tried;  but  it  would  not  do;  "the  ablest  men  were  quite  spent." 
Indeed,  heaving  and  hauling  over  that  damp  plain,  and  under 
that  July  sun,  might  have  tried  the  constitution  of  the  best  of 
Africans;  and  of  the  poor  Frenchmen  thirty  died,  worn  out. 
The  carpenter  was  lost;  and,  worse  still,  La  Salle,  wearied, 
worried,  disappointed,  lost  his  temper  and  insulted  his  men. 
So  closed  July ;  the  Chevalier  turned  carpenter,  marking  out 
the  tenons  and  mortises  of  what  timber  he  could  get,  and  grow- 
ing daily  more  morose.  In  March  he  thought  much  might  be 
done  before  autumn,  and  now  autumn  stands  but  one  month 
removed  from  him,  and  not  even  a  house  built  yet. 


1686.  Disastrous  Expedition.  49 

And  August  soon  passed  too,  not  without  results,  however ; 
for  the  timber  that  had  been  buried  below  was  got  up,  and  a 
second  house  built,  "all  covered  with  planks  and  bullock's 
hides  over  them." 

And  now  once  more  was  La  Salle  ready  to  seek  the  Missis- 
sippi. First,  he  thought  he  would  try  with  the  last  of  the  four 
barks  with  which  he  left  France  ;  the  bark  La  Belle,  "a  little 
frigate  carrying  six  guns,"  which  the  King  had  given  our  Che- 
valier to  be  his  navy.  But,  after  having  put  all  his  clothes 
and  valuables  on  board  of  her,  he  determined  to  try  \vith 
twenty  men  to  reach  his  object  by  land.  This  was  in  Decem- 
ber, 1685.  From  this  expedition  he  did  not  return  until  March, 
1686,  when  he  came  to  his  fort  again,  ragged,  hatless,  and 
worn  down,  with  six  or  seven  followers  at  his  heels,  his  travels 
having  been  all  in  vain.  It  was  not  very  encouraging;  but, 
.says  Joutel,  "  we  thought  only  of  making  ourselves  as  mer- 
ry as  we  could."  The  next  day  came  the  rest  of  the  party, 
who  had  been  sent  to  find  the  little  frigate,  which  should  have 
been  in  the  bay.  They  came  mournfully,  for  the  little  frigate 
could  not  be  found,  and  she  had  all  La  Salle's  best  effects  on 
board. 

The  bark  was  gone  ;  but  our  hero's  heart  was  still  beating 
in  his  bosom,  a  little  cracked  and  shaken,  but  strong  and  iron- 
bound  still.  So,  borrowing  some  changes  of  linen  from  Joutel, 
toward  the  latter  end  of  April,  he  again  set  forth,  he  and 
twenty  men,  each  with  his  pack,  "to  look  for  his  river,"  as  our 
writer  aptly  terms  it.  Some  days  after  his  departure,  the  bark 
La  Belle  came  to  light  again ;  for  she  wq,s  not  lost,  but  only 
ashore.  Deserted  by  her  forlorn  and  diminished  crew,  how- 
ever, she  seems  to  have  been  suffered  to  break  up  and  go  to 
pieces  in  her  own  way,  for  we  hear  no  more  of  the  little 
frigate. 

And  now,  for  a  time,  things  went  on  pretty  smoothly.  There 
was  even  a  marriage  at  the  fort ;  and  "Monsieur  le  Marquis 
la  Sabloniere"  wished  to  act  as  groom  in  a  second,  but  Joutel 
absolutely  refused.  By  and  by,  however,  the  men,  seeing  that 
La  Salle  did  not  return,  "began  to  mutter."  There  were  even 
proposals  afloat  to  make  away  with  Joutel,  and  start  upon  a 
new  enterprise;  the  leader  in  which  half-formed  plan  was  one 
Sieur  Duhaut,  an  unsafe  man,  and  inimical  to  La  Salle,  who 
had,  probably,  maltreated  him  somewhat.  Joutel,  however, 


50  Attempt  an   Overland  Journey.  1687. 

learned  the  state  of  matters,  and  put  a  stop  to  all  such  pro- 
ceedings. Knowing  idleness  to  be  a  root  of  countless  evils 
he  made  his  men  work  and  dance  as  long  as  there  was  vigor 
enough  in  them  to  keep  their  limbs  in  motion ;  and  in  such 
manner  the  summer  passed  away,  until  in  August  La  Salle 
returned.  He  had  been  as  far  as  the  sources  of  the  Sabine, 
probably,  but  had  suffered  greatly;  of  the  twenty  men  he  had 
taken  with  him,  only  eight  came  baek,  some  having  fallen 
sick,  some  having  died,  and  others  deserted  to  the  Indians.  He 
had  not  found  "his  river,"  though  he  had  been  so  far  in  that 
direction ;  but  he  came  back  full  of  spirits,  "which,"  says  our 
writer,  "revived  the  lowest  ebb  of  hope."  He  was  all  ready, 
too,  to  start  again  at  once,  to  seek  the  Mississippi,  and  go  on- 
ward to  Canada,  and  thence  to  France,  to  get  new  recruits 
and  supplies ;  but,  "it  was  determined  to  let  the  great  heats 
pass  before  that  enterprise  was  taken  in  hand."  And  the 
heats  passed,  but  with  them  our  hero's  health,  so  that  the 
proposed  journey  was  delayed  from  time  to  time  until  the  12th 
of  January,  1687. 

On  that  day  started  the  last  company  of  La  Salle's  adven- 
turers. Among  them  went  Joutel,  and  also  the  discontented 
Duhaut ;  and  all  took  their  Cleaves  with  so  much  tenderness 
and  sorrow  as  if  they  had  all  presaged  that  they  should  never 
see  each  other  more."  They  went  northwest  along  the  bank 
of  the  river  on  which  their  fort  stood,  until  they  came  to 
where  the  streams  running  toward  the  coast  were  favorable, 
and  then  turned  eastward.  From  the  12th  of  January  until 
the  15th  of  March  did  they  thus  journey  across  that  southern 
country,  crossing  "curious  meadows,"  through  which  ran 
"several  little  brooks,  of  very  clear  and  good  water,"  which, 
with  the  tall  trees,  all  of  a  size,  and  planted  as  if  by  a  line, 
"afforded  a  most  delightful  landskip."  They  met  many  Indians 
too,  with  whom  La  Salle  established  relations  of  peace  and 
friendship.  Game  was  abundant,  "plenty  of  fowl  and  par- 
ticularly of  turkeys,"  was  there,  which  was  "an  ease  to  their 
sufferings ;"  and  so  they  still  toiled  on  in  shoes  of  green  bul- 
lock's hide,  which,  dried  by  the  sun,  pinched  cruelly,  until, 
following  the  tracks  of  the  buffaloes,  who  choose  by  instinct 
the  best  ways,  they  had  come  to  a  pleasanter  country  than 
they  had  yet  passed  through,  and  were  well  on  toward  the 
long-sought  Father  of  Waters. 


1687.  Assassination  of  La  Salic.  51 

On  the  15th  of  March,  La  Salle,  recognizing  the  spot 
where  they  were  as  one  through  which  he  had  passed  in  his 
former  journey,  and  near  which  he  had  hidden  some  beans 
and  Indian  wheat,  ordered  the  Sieurs  Duhaut,  Hiens,  Liotot 
the  Surgeon,  and  some  others,  to  go  and  seek  them.  This 
they  did,  but  found  that  the  goods  were  all  spoiled,  so  they 
turned  toward  the  camp  again.  While  coming  camp  ward 
they  chanced  upon  two  bullocks,  which  was  killed  by  one  of 
La  Salle's  hunters,  who  was  with  them.  So  they  sent  the 
commander  word  that  they  had  killed  some  meat,  and  that,  if 
he  would  have  the  flesh  dried,  he  might  send  horses  to  carry  it 
to  the  place  where  he  lay;  and,  meanwhile,  they  cut  up  the 
bullocks,  and  took  out  the  marrow-bones,  and  laid  them  aside 
for  their  own  cboice  eating,  as  was  usual  to  do.  When  La 
Salle  heard  of  the  meat  that  had  been  taken,  he  sent  his 
nephew  and  chief  confident,  M.  Moranget,  with  one  De  Male 
and  his  own  footman,  giving  them  orders  to  send  all  that  was 
fit  to  the  camp  at  once.  M.  Moranget,  when  he  came  to  where 
Duhaut  and  the  rest  were,  and  found  that  they  had  laid  by  for 
themselves  the  marrow-bones,  became  angry,  took  from  them 
their  choice  pieces,  threatened  them,  and  spoke  harsh  words. 
This  treatment  touched  these  men,  already  not  well  pleased, 
to  the  quick;  and,  when  it  was  night,  they  took  counsel  to- 
gether how  they  might  best  have  their  revenge.  The  end  of 
such  counseling,  where  anger  is  foremost,  and  the  wilderness 
is  all  about  one,  needs  scarce  to  be  told ;  "we  will  have  their 
blood,  all  that  are  of  that  party  shall  die,"  said  these  mal- 
contents. So,  when  M.  Moranget  and  the  rest  had  supped  and 
fallen  asleep,  Liotot  the  surgeon  took  an  axe,  and  with  few 
strokes  killed  them  all ;  all  that  were  of  La  Salle's  party,  even 
his  poor  Indian  hunter,  because  he  was  faithful ;  and,  lest  De 
Male  might  not  be  with  them  (for  him  they  did  not  kill,)  they 
forced  him  to  stab  M.  Moranget,  who  had  not  died  by  the  first 
blow  of  Liotot's  axe,  and  then  threw  them  out  for  the  carrion- 
birds  to  feast  on. 

This  murder  was  done  upon  the  17th  of  March.  And  at 
once  the  murderers  would  have  killed  La  Salle,  but  he  and 
his  men  were  on  the  other  side  of  a  riyer,  and  the  water  for 
two  days  was  so  high  that  they  could  not  cross. 

La  Salle,  meantime,  was  growing  anxious  also ;  his  nephew 
so  long  absent,  what  meant  it?  and  he  went  about  asking  if 


52  Posts  in  Illinois.  1687. 

Duhaut  had  not  been  a  malcontent;  but  none  said,  Yes. 
Doubtless  there  was  something  in  LaSalle's  heart,  which  told 
him  his  followers  had  cause  to  be  his  foes.  It  was  now  the 
20th  of  the  month,  and  he  could  not  forbear  setting  out  to 
seek  his  lost  relative.  Leaving  Joutel  in  command,  therefore, 
he  started  with  a  Franciscan  monk  and  one  Indian.  Coming 
near  the  hut  which  the  murderers  had  put  up,  though  still  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  he  saw  carrion-birds  hovering 
near,  and  to  call  attention  if  any  were  there,  fired  a  shot. 
There  were  keen  and  watching  ears  and  eyes  there ;  the  gun 
told  them  to  be  quick,  for  their  prey  was  in  the  net;  so,  at 
once,  Duhaut  and  another  crossed  the  river,  and,  while  the 
first  hid  himself  among  the  tall  weeds,  the  latter  showed  him- 
self to  La  Salle  at  a  good  dstance  off.  Going  instantly  to 
meet  him,  the  fated  man  passed  near  to  the  spot  where  Du- 
haut was  hid.  The  traitor  lay  still  till  he  came  opposite; 
then,  raising  his  piece,  shot  his  commander  through  the  head ; 
after  lingering  an  hour,  he  died. 

Thus  fell  La  Salle,  on  the  threshold  of  success.  No  man 
had  more  strongly  all  the  elements  that  would  have  borne 
him  safe  through,  if  we  except  that  element  which  insures 
affection.  "  He  had  a  capacity  and  talent,"  says  Joutel,  one 
of  his  staunchest  friends,  "to  make  his  enterprise  successful ; 
his  constancy  and  courage,  and  extraordinary  knowledge  in 
arts  and  sciences,  which  rendered  him  fit  for  anything,  together 
with  an  indefatigable  body,  which  made  him  surmount  all 
difficulties,  would  have  procured  a  glorious  issue  to  his  under- 
taking, had  not  all  those  excellent  qualities  been  counterbal- 
anced by  too  haughty  a  behavior,  which  sometimes  made  him 
insupportable,  and  by  a  rigidness  toward  those  that  were 
under  his  command,  which  at  last  drew  on  him  an  implacable 
hatred,  and  was  the  occasion  of  his  death." 

La  Salle  died,  as  far  as  can  be  judged,  upon  a  branch  of  the 
Brazos.* 

And  now,  the  leader  being  killed,  his  followers  toiled  on 
mournfully,  and  in  fear,  each  of  the  others — Duhaut  assuming 
the  command  until  May.  Then  there  arose  a  difference 
among  them  as  to  their  future  course ;  and,  by  and  by,  things 
coming  to  extremities,  some  of  La  Salle's  murderers  turned 
upon  the  others,  and  Duhaut  and  Liotot  were  killed  by  their 

*Sparks,  158. 


1688.  Adventures  of  Tonti.  53 

comrades.  This  done,  the  now  dominant  party  determined  to 
remain  among  the  Indians,  with  whom  they  then  were,  and 
where  they  found  some  who  had  been  with  La  Salle  in  his 
former  expedition,  and  had  deserted.  These  were  living  among 
the  savages,  painted,  and  shaved,  and  naked,  with  great  store 
of  squaws  and  scalps.  But  Joutel  was  not  of  this  way  of  think- 
ing ;  he  and  some  others  still  wished  to  find  the  Great  River 
and  get  to  Canada.  At  last,  all  consenting,  he  did,  with  six 
others,  leave  the  main  body,  and  take  up  his  march  for  the 
Illinois,  where  he  hoped  to  find  Tonti,  who  should  have  been 
all  this  while  at  Fort  St.  Louis.  This  was  in  May,  1687. 

With  great  labor  this  little  band  forced  their  heavy-laden 
horses  over  the  fat  soil,  in  which  they  often  stuck  fast ;  and, 
daring  countless  dangers,  at  length,  upon  the  24th  of  July, 
reached  the  Arkansas,  where  they  found  a  post  containing  a 
few  Frenchmen  who  had  been  placed  there  by  Tonti.  Here 
they  stayed  a  little  while,  and  then  went  forward  again,  and 
on  the  14th  of  September,  reached  Fort  St.  Louis,  upon  the 
Illinois.  At  this  post,  Joutel  remained  until  the  following 
March — that  of  16S8 — when  he  set  off  for  Quebec,  which  city 
he  reached  on  the  last  of  July,  just  four  years  having  passed 
since  he  sailed  from  Rochelle. 

Thus  ended  La  Salle's  third  and  last  voyage,  producing  no 
permanent  settlement;  for  the  Spaniards  came,  dismantled 
the  fort  upon  the  Bay  of  St.  Louis,  and  carried  away  its  gar- 
rison, and  the  Frenchmen  who  had  been  left  elsewhere  in  the 
southwest  intermingled  with  the  Indians,  until  all  trace  of 
them  was  lost. 

And  so  closed  his  endeavors  in  defeat.  Yet  he  had  not 
•worked  and  suffered  in  vain.  He  had  thrown  open  to  France 
and  the  world  an  immense  and  most  valuable  country;  had 
established  several  permanent  forts,  and  laid  the  foundation  of 
more  than  one  settlement  there.  Peoria,  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia, 
to  this  day,  are  monuments  of  La  Salle's  labors ;  for  though  he 
founded  neither  of  them,  (unless  Peoria,  which  was  built  nearly 
upon  the  sight  of  Fort  Crevecceur,)  it  was  by  those  whom  he 
led  into  the  West,  that  these  places  were  peopled  and  civilized. 
He  was,  if  not  the  discoverer,  the  first  settler  of  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  and  as  such  deserves  to  be  known  and  honored.* 

*The  authorities  in  relation  to  La  Salle  are  Hennepin;  a  narrative  published  in  tlie 
name  of  Tonti  in  1697,  but  disclaimed  by  him;  (Charlevoix  iii.  365. 


54  Mission  of  Father  Gravier.  1689. 

Tonti,  left  by  La  Salle  when  he  sailed  for  France,  after 
reaching  the  Gulf  Mexico  in  1682,  remained  as  commander 
of  that  Rock  Fort  of  St.  Louis,  which  he  had  begun  in  1680. 
Here  he  stayed,  swaying  absolutely  the  Indian  tribes,  and 
acting  as  viceroy  over  the  unknown  and  uncounted  French- 
men who  were  beginning  to  wander  through  that  beautiful 
country,  making  discoveries  of  which  we  have  no  records  left. 
In  1686,  looking  to  meet  La  Salle,  he  went  down  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi ;  but  discovering  no  signs  of  his  old  comrade, 
he  turned  northward  again.  [There  is  evidence  that  in  this 
voyage  he  proceeded  up  the  Arkansas,  and  left  a  corps  of  men 
at  the  place  long  known  as  the  "  Post,"  who  became  the  nu- 
cleus of  that  ancient  settlement.]  After  reaching  his  post  on 
the  Illinois,  he  found  work  to  do  ;  for  the  Iroquois,  long  threat- 
ening, were  now  in  the  battle-field,  backed  by  the  English, 
and  Tonti,  with  his  western  wild  allies,  was  forced  to  march 
and  fight.  Engaged  in  this  business,  he  appears  to  us  at  inter- 
vals in  the  pages  of  Charlevoix;  in  the  fall  of  1687  we  have 
him  with  Joutel,  at  Fort  St.  Louis;  in  April,  1689,  he  suddenly 
appears  to  us  at  Crevecoeur,  revealed  by  the  Baron  La  Hon- 
tan ;  and  again,  early  in  1700,  D'Iberville  is  visited  by  him  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  After  that  we  see  him  no  more, 
and  the  Biographic  Universelle  tells  us,  that,  though  he  re- 
mained many  years  in  Louisiana,  he  finally  was  not  there ; 
but  of  his  death,  or  departure  thence,  no  one  knows. 

Next  in  sequence,  we  have  a  glimpse  of  the  above-named 
Baron  La  Hbntan,  discoverer  of  the  Long  River,  and,  as 
that  discovery  seems  to  prove,  drawer  of  a  somewhat  long 
bow.  By  his  volumes,  published  a  la  Haye,  in  1706,  we 
learn,  that  he  too,  warred  against  the  Iroquois  in  1687  and 
1688;  and,  having  gone  so  far  westward  as  the  Lake  of  the 
Illinois,  thought  he  would  contribute  his  mite  to  the  discove- 
ries of  those  times.  So,  with  a  sufficient  escort,  he  crossed  by 
Marquette's  old  route,  Fox  River  and  the  Wisconsin,  to  the 
Mississippi ;  and,  turning  up  that  stream,  sailed  thereon  till 
he  came  to  the  mouth  of  a  river,  called  Long  River,  coming 
from  the  West.  [  It  is  marked  on  the  map  of  Mr.  Nicollet,  as 
a  small  stream  entering  the  Mississippi  a  short  distance  below 

letter  of  Marcst,  xi.  303,  original  edition.  Introduction  to  Sparks'  Life  of  La  Salle:)  the 
work  of  Le  Clercq,  already  mentioned ;  Joutel's  Journal ;  and  Sparks'  Life :  the  last  is 
especially  valuable. 


1693.  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia  Founded.  55 

St.  Peters.  He  represents  this  river  as  of  immense  size,  up 
which  he  sailed  more  than  eighty  days,  and  did  not  reach  half 
the  distance  of  its  navigable  waters,  and  that  in  the  depth  of 
winter !  Very  little  dependence  can  be  placed  on  the  story  of 
La  Hontan.] 

After  La  Hontan's  alleged  discoveries,  we  have  few  events 
worth  recording  in  the  annals  of  the  north-west  previous  to 
1750.  "La  Salle's  death,"  says  Charlevoix,  in  one  place,  "dis- 
persed the  French  who  had  gathered  upon  the  Illinois ;"  but  in 
another,  he  speaks  of  Tonti  and  twenty  Canadians,  as  estab- 
lished among  the  Illinois  three  years  after  the  Chevalier's  fate 
was  known  there.*  This,  however,  is  clear  that  before  1693, 
the  reverend  Father  Gravier  began  a  mission  among  the 
Illinois,  and  became  the  founder  of  Kaskaskia,  though  in  what 
year  we  know  not ;  but  for  some  time  it  was  merely  a  mis- 
sionary station,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  consisted 
entirely  of  natives,  it  being  one  of  three  such  villages,  the  other 
two  being  Cahokia  and  Peoria.  This  we  learn  from  a  let- 
ter written  by  Father  Gabriel  Marest,  dated  "Aux  Cascaskias, 
autrement  dit  de  Hmmaculee  Conception  de  la  Sainte  Vierge, 
le  9  Novembre  1712."  In  this  letter  the  writer,  after  tellins: 

'  O 

us  that  Gravier  must  be  regarded  as  the  founder  of  the  Illinois 
Missions,  he  having  been  the  first  to  reduce  the  principles  of 
the  language  of  those  Indians  to  grammatical  order,  and  so 
to  make  preaching  to  them  of  avail, — goes  on  near  the  close 
of  his  epistle  to  say,  "These  advantages  (rivers,  &c.)  favor  the 
design  which  some  French  have  of  establishing  themselves  in 
our  village.  *  *  If  the  French,  who  may  come 

among  us,  will  edify  our  neophytes  by  their  piety  and  good 
conduct,  nothing  would  please  us  better  than  their  coming; 
but  if  immoral,  and  perhaps  irreligious,  as  there  is  reason  to 
fear,  they  would  do  more  harm  than  we  can  do  good."f 

Soon  after  the  founding  of  Kaskaskia,  though  in  this  case 
also  we  are  ignorant  of  the  year,  the  missionary  Pinet  gath- 
ered a  flock  at  Cahokia  ;J  while  Peoria  arose  near  the  remains 

*New  France,  vol.  iii.  pp.  395,  383. 

|  Bancroft,  iii.  195.  Lettres  Edifiantes,  (Paris  1781,)  328,  339,  375.  Hall  and  others 
fpeak  of  the  Kaskaskia  records  as  containing  deeds  dated  1712;  these  may  have  been  to 
the  French  referred  to  by  Marest,  or  perhaps  to  converted  Indians. 

JBancroft,iii.l96. 


56  Adventures  of  D'Iberville.  1699. 

of  Fort  CrevecoBur.U  An  unsuccessful  attempt  was  also  made 
to  found  a  colony  on  the  Ohio,§  it  failed  in  consequence  of 
sickness.  In  the  north  De  la  Motte  Cadillac,  in  June,  1701, 
laid  the  foundation  of  Fort  Pontchartrain  on  the  Strait,  (le 
Detroit)T[  while  in  the  southwest  efforts  were  making  to  realize 
the  dreams  of  La  Salle.  The  leader  in  the  last  named  enter- 
prise was  Lemoine  D'Iberville,  a  Canadian  officer,  who,  from 
1694  to  1697,  distinguished  himself  not  a  little  by  battles  and 
conquests  among  the  icebergs  of  the  "Baye  d'Udson"  or  Hud- 
son's Bay.*  He  having,  in  the  year  last  named,  returned  to 
France,  proposed  to  the  minister  to  try,  what  had  been  given 
up  since  La  Salle's  sad  fate,  the  discovery  and  settlement  of 
Louisiana  by  sea.  The  Count  of  Pontchartrain,  who  was 
then  at  the  head  of  marine  affairs,  was  led  to  take  an  interest 
in  the  proposition;  and,  upon  the  17th  of  October,  1698, 
D'Iberville  took  his  leave  of  France,  handsomely  equipped 
for  the  expedition,  and  with  two  good  ships  to  forward  him  in 
his  attemptf 

Of  this  D'Iberville  we  have  no  very  clear  notion,  except 
that  he  was  a  man  of  judgment,  self-possession,  and  prompt 
action. 

Such  was  the  man  who,  upon  the  31st  of  January,  1699,  let 
go  his  anchor  in  the  Bay  of  Mobile.  Having  looked  about 
him  at  this  spot,  he  went  thence  to  seek  the  great  river  called 
by  the  savages,  says  Charlevoix,  "Malbouchia,"  and  by  the 
Spaniards,  "la  Palissade,"  from  the  great  number  of  trees 
about  its  mouth.  Searching  carefully,  upon  the  2d  of  March, 

1!  There  was  an  Old  Peoria  on  the  north-west  shore  of  the  l»ke  of  that  name,  a  mile  and 
a  half  above  the  outlet.  From  1778  to  1796  the  inhabitants  left  this  for  New  Peoria,  (Fort 
Clark,)  at  the  outlet.  American  State  Papers,  xviii.  476. 

? Judge  Law,  in  his  address  of  February,  1839,  before  the  Vincennes  Historical  Society, 
contends  that  this  post  was  on  the  Wabash,  and  at  Vincennes,  (p.  14, 15,  and  note  B.) 
Charlevoix,  (ii.  266,  edition  1744,)  says  it  was  "a  Ventree  A'«  la  Riviere  Ouabache,  quise 
decharge  dans  le  Micisiipi,  4"c." — "At  the  entrance  (or  mouth)  of  the  River  Oubache  which 
discharges  itself  into  the  Mississippi."  The  name  Ouabache  was  applied  to  the  Ohio  below 
the  mouth  of  what  we  now  call  the  Wabash.  See  all  the  more  ancient  maps,  &<s.  [  Fort 
Massac,  on  the  Ohio,  was  a  missionary  station  in  1712,  and  Ohio  was  then  called  Ouabache. 
—Ed.] 

f  Charlevoix,  ii.  234. — Le  Detroit  was  the  whole  Strait  from  Erie  to  Huron.  (Charlevoix, 
ii.  209,  note :  see  also  his  Journal.)  The  first  grants  of  land  at  Detroit,  i.  e.  Fort  Pont- 
chartrain, were  made  in  1707. — (Seo  American  State  Papers,  xvi.  263  to  2S4.  Lanman'a 
History  of  Michigan,  336.) 

*New  France,  vol.  iii.  pp.  215,  296.— Lettres  Edifiantts,  vol.  x.  p.  280. 
I  ffcw  France,  vol.  iii.  p.  377. 


1700.  A  British  Vessel.  57 

our  commander  found  and  entered  the  Hidden  River,  whose 
mouth  had  been  so  long  and  unsuccessfully  sought.  As  soon 
as  this  was  done,  one  of  the  vessels  returned  to  France  to  carry 
thither  the  news  of  D'Iberville's  success,  while  he  turned  his 
prow  up  the  Mississippi.  Slowly  ascending  the  vast  stream, 
he  found  himself  puzzled  by  the  little  resemblance  which  it 
bore  to  that  described  by  Tonti.  So  great  were  the  discrepan- 
cies, that  he  begun  to  doubt  if  he  were  not  upon  the  wrong 
stream,  when  an  Indian  chief  sent  to  him  Tonti's  letter  to  La 
Salle,  on  which,  through  thirteen  years,  those  wild  men  had 
been  looking  with  wonder  and  awe.  Assured  by  this,  that  he 
had  indeed  reached  the  desired  spot,  and  wearied  probably  by 
his  tedious  sail  thus  far,  he  returned  to  the  Bay  of  Biloxi,  be- 
tween the  Mississippi  and  the  Mobile  waters,  built  a  fort  in 
that  neighborhood,  and,  having  manned  it  in  a  suitable  manner, 
returned  to  France  himself.* 

While  he  was  gone,  in  the  month  of  September,  1699,  the 
lieutenant  of  his  fort,  M.  De  Bienville,  went  round  to  explore 
the  mouths  of  the  Mississippi,  and  take  soundings.  Engaged 
in  this  business,  he  had  rowed  up  the  main  entrance  some 
twenty-five  leagues,  when,  unexpectedly,  and  to  his  no  little 
chagrin,  a  British  corvette  came  in  sight,  a  vessel  carrying 
twelve  cannon,  slowly  creeping  up  the  swift  current.  M. 
Bienville,  nothing  daunted,  though  he  had  but  his  leads  and 
lines  to  do  battle  with,  spoke  up,  and  said,  that,  if  this  vessel 
did  not  leave  the  river  without  delay,  he  had  force  enough  at 
hand  to  make  her  repent  it.  All  which  had  its  effect;  the 
Britons  about  ship  and  stood  to  sea  again,  growling  as  they 
went,  and  saying,  that  they  had  discovered  that  country  fifty 
years  before,  that  they  had  a  better  right  to  it  than  the  French, 
and  would  soon  make  them  know  it.  The  bend  in  the  river, 
where  this  took  place,  is  still  called  "English  Turn."  This 
was  the  first  meeting  of  those  rival  nations  in  the  Mississippi 
Valley,  which,  from  that  day,  was  a  bone  of  contention  be- 
tween them  till  the  conclusion  of  the  French  war  of  1756,. 
Nor  did  the  matter  rest  long  with  this  visit  from  the  corvette. 
Englishmen  began  to  creep  over  the  mountains  from  Caro- 
lina, and  trading  with  the  Chicachas,  or  Chickasaws  of  our 
day,  stirred  them  up  to  acts  of  enmity  against  the  French. 

When  D'Iberville  came  back  from  France,  in  January,  1700, 

*  New  France,  rol.  iii.  p.  380,  et.  teq. 

4 


58  Expedition  of  Le  Sueur.  1708. 

and  heard  of  these  thing%,  he  determined  to  take  possession  of 
the  country  anew,  and  to  build  a  fort  upon  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi  itself.  So,  with  due  form,  the  vast  valley  of  the 
West  was  again  sworn  in  to  Louis,  as  the  whole  continent 
through  to  the  South  Sea  had  been  previously  sworn  in  by 
the  English  to  their  Kings;  and,  what  was  more  effectual,  a 
little  fort  was  built,  and  four  pieces  of  cannon  placed  thereon. 
But  even  this  was  not  much  to  the  purpose ;  for  it  soon  disap- 
peared, and  the  marshes  about  the  mouth  of  the  Great  River 
were  again,  as  they  had  ever  been,  and  long  must  be,  unin- 
habited by  men. 

D'Iberville,  in  the  next  place,  having  been  visited  and  guided 
up  the  river  by  Tonti  in  1700,  proposed  to  found  a  city  among 
the  Natchez, — a  city  to  be  named,  in  honor  of  the  Countess  of 
Pontchartrain,  Rosalie.  Indeed,  he  did  pretend  to  lay  the  cor- 
ner-stone of  such  a  place,  though  it  was  not  till  1714  that  the 
fort  called  Rosalie  was  founded,  where  the  city  of  Natchez  is 
standing  at  this  day. 

Having  thus  built  a  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  River, 
and  designated  a  choice  spot  above  for  a  settlement,  D'Iber- 
ville once  more  sought  Europe,  having,  before  he  left,  ordered 
M.  Le  Sueur  to  go  up  the  Mississippi  in  search  of  a  copper 
iRine,  which  that  personage  had  previously  got  a  clue  to,  upon 
a.  'branok  of  the  St.  Peters  river;*  which  order  was  fulfilled, 
and  much  'metal  obtained,  though  at  the  cost  of  great  suffer- 
ing. Mining  was  always  a  Jack-a-lantern  with  the  first  set- 
tlers of  America,  and  our  French  friends  were  no  wiser  than 
their  neighbors.  The  products  of  the  soil  were,  indeed,  scarce, 
though  valuable  on  a  large  scale,  it  being  supposed  that  the 
wealth  of  Louisiana  consisted  in  its  pearl-fishery,  its  mines, 
and  the  wool  of  its  wild  cattle.f  In  1701  the  commander 
came  again,  and  began  a  new  establishment  upon  the  river 
Mobile,  one  which  superseded  that  at  Biloxi,  which  thus  far 
had  been  the  chief  port  in  that  southern  colony.  After  this, 
things  \vent  on  but  slowly  until  1708  ;  D'Iberville  died  on  one 
of  his  voyages  between  the  mother  country  and  her  sickly 
daughter,  and  after  his  death  little  was  done.  In  1708,  how- 
ever, M.  D'Artaguette  came  from  France  as  commissary  of 

*,Charlevoix,  vol.  iv.  pp.  162, 164.    In  Long's  Second  Expedition,  p.  318,  may  be  leen 
j  detailed  account  of  Le  Sueur's  proceedings,  taken  from  a  manuscript  statement  of  them. 
OUC,  vol.  iii.  p.  389. 


1717.  The  Great  Bank  of  Law.  69 

Louisiana,  and,  being  a  man  of  spirit  and  energy,  did  more 
for  it  than  had  been  done  before.  But  it  still  lingered  ;  and, 
under  the  impression  that  a  private  man  of  property  might 
manage  it  better  than  the  government  could,  the  king,  upbn1 
the  14th  of  September,  1712,  granted  to  Crozat,  a  man  of  great 
wealth,  the  monopoly  of  Louisiana  for  fifteen  years,  and  the 
absolute  ownership  of  whatever  mines  he  might  cause  to  be 
opened.* 

Crozat,  with  whom  was  associated  Cadillac,  the  founder  of 
Detroit,  and  Governor  of  Louisiana,  relied  mainly  upon  two 
things  for  success  in  his  speculation ;  the  one,  the  discovery  of 
mines;  the  other,  a  lucrative  trade  with  New  Mexico.  In  re- 
gard to  the  first,  after  many  years'  labor,  he  was  entirely  dis- 
appointed ;  and  met  with  no  better  success  in  his  attempt  to 
open  a  trade  with  the  Spaniards,  although  he  sent  to  them 
both  by  sea  and  land. 

Crozat,  therefore,  being  disappointed  in  his  mines  and  his 
trade,  and  having,  withal,  managed  so  badly  as  to  diminish 
the  colony,  at  last,  in  1717,  resigned  his  privileges  to  the  king 
again,  leaving  in  Louisiana  not  more  than  seven  hundred 
souls.f 

Then  followed  the  enterprises  of  the  far-famed  Mississippi 
Company  or  Company  of  the  West,  established  to  aid  the  im- 
mense banking  and  stock-jobbing  speculations  of  John  Law, 
a  gambling,  wandering  Scotchman,  who  seems  to  have  been 
possessed  with  the  idea  that  wealth  could  be  indefinitely  in- 
creased by  increasing  the  circulating  medium  in  the  form  of 
notes  of  credit.  The  public  debt  of  France  was  selling  at  60 
to  70  per  cent,  discount ;  Law  was  authorized  to  establish  a 
Bank  of  circulation,  the  shares  in  which  might  be  paid  for  in 
public  stock  at  par,  and  to  induce  the  public  to  subscribe  for  the 
bank  shares,  and  to  confide  in  them,  the  Company  of  the  West 
was  established  in  connection  with  the  Bank,  having  the  ex- 
clusive right  of  trading  in  the  Mississippi  country  for  twenty- 
five  years,  and  with  the  monopoly  of  the  Canada  beaver  trade. 
This  was  in  September,  1717;  in  1718  the  monopoly  of  tobac- 
co was  also  granted  to  this  favored  creature  of  the  State;  in 
1719,  the  exclusive  right  of  trading  in  Asia,  and  the  East 

*The  grant  may  be  found,  Land  Laws  944. 

|  By  Louisiana  here  is  to  be  understood  Louisiana  proper;  not  the  Illinois  country  com- 
monly included  at  that  period. — Ed. 


60  The  Great  Bankruptcy.  1722. 

Indies;  and  soon  after  the  farming  of  the  public  revenue,  to- 
gether with  an  extension  of  all  these  privileges  to  the  year 
1770 ;  and  as  if  all  this  had  been  insufficient,  the  exclusive 
right  of  coining,  for  nine  years,  was  next  added  to  the  im- 
mense grants  already  made  to  the  Company  of  the  West.* 
Under  this  hot  bed  system,  the  stock  of  the  Company  rose  to 
500,  600,  800,  1000,  1500,  and  at  last  2050  per  cent.;  this  was 
in  April,  1720.  At  that  time  the  notes  of  the  Bank  in  circula- 
tion exceeded  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  and  this  abun- 
dance of  money  raised  the  price  of  every  thing  to  twice  its 
true  value.  Then  the  bubble  burst ;  decree  after  decree  was 
made  to  uphold  the  tottering  fabric  of  false  credit,  but  in  vain; 
in  January,  1720,  Law  had  been  made  minister  of  finance,  and 
as  such  he  proceeded. first,  to  forbid  all  persons  to  have  on 
hand  more  than  about  one  hundred  dollars  in  specie,  any 
amount  beyond  that  must  be  exchanged  for  paper,  and  all 
payments  for  more  than  twenty  dollars  were  to  be  made  in 
paper ;  and  this  proving  insufficient,  in  March,  all  payments 
over  two  dollars  were  ordered  to  be  in  paper,  and  he  who 
dared  attempt  to  exchange  a  bill  for  specie  forfeited  both. 
Human  folly  could  go  no  farther ;  in  April  the  stock  began  to 
Call,  in  May  the  Company  was  regarded  as  bankrupt,  the  notes 
of  the  Bank  fell  to  ten  cents  on  the  dollar,  and  though  a  de- 
cree made  it  an  offence  to  refuse  them  at  par,  they  were  soon 
worth  little  more  than  waste  paper. 

Under  the  direction  of  a  Company  thus  organized  and  con- 
trolled, and  closely  connected  with  a  bank  so  soon  ruined,  but 
little  could  be  hoped  for  a  colony,  which  depended  on  good 
management  to  develop  its  real  resources  for  trade  and  agri- 
culture.f  In  1718,  colonists  were  sent  from  Europe,  and  New 
Orleans  laid  out  with  much  ceremony  and  many  hopes  ;  but 
in  January,  1722,  Charlevoix  writing  thence,  says:  "if  the 
eight  hundred  fine  houses  and  the  five  parishes  that  were  two 
years  since  represented  by  the  journals,  as  existing  here, 
shrink  now  to  a  hundred  huts,  built  without  order, — a  large 
wooden  magazine, — two  or  three  houses  that  would  do  but 
little  credit  to  a  French  village, — and  half  of  an  old  store- 
house, which  was  to  have  been  occupied  as  a  chapel,  but  from 

*  After  1719,  called  the  Company  of  the  Indiee. 

fA  set  of  regulations  for  governing  the  Company,  passed  in  1721,  may  be  found  in  Dil- 
lon's Indiana,  4,1  k>  41. 


1722  Condition  of  New  Orleans.  61 

which  the  priests  soon  retreated  to  a  tent  as  preferable,  if  all 
this  is  so,  still  how  pleasant  to  think  of  what  this  city  will  one 
day  be,  and  instead  of  weeping  over  its  decay  and  ruin  to  look 
forward  to  its  growth  to  opulence  and  power."*  And  again, 
"The  best  idea  you  can  form  of  New  Orleans,  is  to  imagine 
two  hundred  persons,  sent  to  build  a  city,  but  who  have  en- 
camped on  the  river-bank,  just  sheltered  from  the  weather, 
and  waiting  for  houses. — They  have  a  beautiful  and  regular 
plan  for  this  metropolis,  but  it  will  prove  harder  to  execute 
than  to  draw."f  Such,  not  in  words  precisely,  but  in  sub- 
stance, were  the  representations  and  hopes  of  the  wise  his- 
torian of  New  France,  respecting  the  capital  of  the  colony 
of  Law's  great  corporation ;  and  we  may  be  sure  that  with 
the  chief  place  in  such  a  condition,  not  much  had  been  done 
for  the  permanent  improvement  of  the  country  about  it.  The 
truth  was,  the  same  prodigality  and  folly  which  prevailed  in 
France  during  the  government  of  John  Law,  over  credit  and 
commerce,  found  their  way  to  his  western  possessions ;  and 
though  the  colony  then  planted,  survived,  and  the  city  then 
founded  became  in  time  what  had  been  hoped, — it  was  long 
before  the  influence  of  the  gambling  mania  of  1718,  19  and 
20  passed  away.  Indeed  the  returns  from  Louisiana  never 
repaid  the  cost  and  trouble  of  protecting  it,  and,  in  1732,  the 
Company  asked  leave  to  surrender  their  privileges  to  the 
crown,  a  favor  which  was  granted  them. 

But  though  the  Company  of  the  West  did  little  for  the  en- 
during welfare  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  it  did  something ;  the 
cultivation  of  tobacco,  indigo,  rice  and  silk,  was  introduced, 
the  lead  mines  of  Missouri  were  opened,  though  at  vast  ex- 
pense and  in  hope  of  finding  silver;  and,  in  Illinois,  the  culture 
of  wheat  began  to  assume  some  degree  of  stability  and,  of 
importance.  In  the  neighborhood  of  the  river  Kaskaskia, 
Charlevoix  found  three  villages,  and  about  Fort  Chartres,  the 
head  quarters  of  the  Company  in  that  region,  the  French 
were  rapidly  settling.]: 

All  the  time,  however,  during  which  the  great  monopoly 
lasted,  was,  in  Louisiana,  a  time  of  contest  and  trouble.  The 

*Charlevoix,  iiL  430— ed.  1744. 
•fCharlevoix,  iii.  441— ed.  1744. 
JSoe  Appendix — Annals  of  Illinois. 


62  Destruction  of  the  Natchez.  1729. 

English,  who,  from  an  early  period,  had  opened  commercial 
relations  with  the  Chickasaws,  through  them  constantly  inter- 
fered with  the  trade  of  the  Mississippi.  Along  the  coast  from 
Pensacola  to  the  Rio  del  Norte,  Spain  disputed  the  claims  of 
her  northern  neighbor :  and  at  length  the  war  of  the  Natchez 
struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  both  white  and  red  men.  Amid 
that  nation,  as  we  have  said,  D'Iberville  had  marked  out  Fort 
Rosalie,  in  1700,  and  fourteen  years  later  its  erection  had  been 
commenced.  The  French,  placed  in  the  midst  of  the  natives, 
and  deeming  them  worthy  only  of  contempt,  increased  their 
demands  and  injuries  until  they  required  even  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  chief  town  of  the  Natchez,  that  the  intruders 
.might  use  its  site  for  a  plantation.  The  inimical  Chickasaws 
heard  the  murmurs  of  their  wronged  brethren,  and  breathed 
into  their  ears  counsels  of  vengeance  ;  the  sufferers  determin- 
ed on  the  extermination  of  their  tyrants.  On  the  28th  of  No- 
vember, 1729,  every  Frenchman  in  that  colony  died  by  the 
hands  of  the  natives,  with  the  exception  of  two  mechanics : 
the  women  and  children  were  spared.  It  was  a  fearful  re- 
venge, and  fearfully  did  the  avengers  suffer  for  their  murders. 
Two  months  passed  by,  and  the  French  and  Choctaws  in 
one  day  took  sixty  of  their  scalps;  in  three  months  they  were 
driven  from  their  country  and  scattered  among  the  neighbor- 
ing tribes ;  and  within  two  years  the  remnants  of  the  nation, 
chiefs  and  people,  were  sent  to  St.  Domingo  and  sold  into 
slavery.  So  perished  this  ancient  and  peculiar  race,  in  the 
same  year  in  which  the  Company  of  the  West  yielded  its 
grants  into  the  royal  hands. 

When  Louisiana  came  again  into  the  charge  of  the  govern- 
ment of  France,  it  was  determined,  as  a  first  step,  to  strike 
terror  into  the  Chickasaws,  who,  devoted  to  the  English,  con- 
stantly interfered  with  the  trade  on  the  Mississippi.  For  this 
purpose  the  forces  of  New  France,  from  New  Orleans  to  De- 
troit, were  ordered  to  meet  in  the  country  of  the  inimical 
Indians,  upon  the  10th  of  May,  1736,  to  strike  a  blow  which 
should  be  final.  D'Artaguette,  governor  of  Illinois,  with  the 
young  and  gallant  Vincennes,  leading  a  small  body  of  French 
and  more  than  a  thousand  northern  Indians,  on  the  day  ap- 
pointed, was  at  the  spot  appointed ;  but  Bienville,  who  had 
returned  as  the  king's  lieutenant  to  that  southern  land  which 
he  had  aided  to  explore,  was  not  where  the  commanders  from 


1736.    .  D'Artaguette  and  Vincennes  Killed.  63 

above  expected  to  meet  him.  During  ten  days  they  waited, 
and  still  saw  nothing,  heard  nothing  of  the  forces  from  the 
south.  Fearful  of  exhausting  the  scant  patience  of  his  red 
allies,  at  length  D' Artaguette  ordered  the  onset ;  a  first  and  a 
second  of  the  Chickasaw  stations  were  carried  successfully, 
but  in  attacking  a  third  the  French  leader  fell ;  when  the  Illi- 
nois saw  their  commander  wounded,  they  turned  and  fled, 
leaving  him  and  de  Vincennes,  who  would  not  desert  him,  in 
the  hands  of  the  Chickasaws.  Five  days  afterwards,  Bien- 
ville  and  his  followers,  among  whom  were  great  numbers  of 
Choctaws,  bribed  to  bear  arms  against  their  kinsmen,  came 
creeping  up  the  stream  of  the  Tombecbee  ;  but  the  savages 
were  on  their  guard,  English  traders  had  aided  them  to  fortify 
their  position,  and  the  French  in  vain  attacked  their  log  fort. 
On  the  20th  of  May,  D'Artaguette  had  fallen ;  on  the  27th 
Bienville  had  failed  in  his  assault ;  on  the  31st,  throwing  his 
cannon  into  the  river,  he  and  his  white  companions  turned  their 
prows  to  the  south  again.  Then  came  the  hour  of  barbarian 
triumph,  and  the  successful  Chickasaws  danced  around  the 
flames  in  which  were  crackling  the  sinews  of  D'Artaguette, 
Vincennes,  and  the  Jesuit  Senat,  who  stayed  and  died  of  his 
own  free  will,  because  duty  bade  him. 

Three  years  more  passed  away,  and  again  a  French  army 
of  nearly  four  thousand  white,  red  and  black  men,  was  gath- 
ered upon  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  to  chastise  the  Chicka- 
saws. From  the  summer  of  1739  to  the  spring  of  1740,  this 
body  of  men  sickened  and  wasted  at  Fort  Assumption,  upon 
the  site  of  Memphis.  In  March  of  the  last  named  year,  with- 
out a  blow  struck,  peace  was  concluded,  and  the  province  of 
Louisiana  once  more  sunk  into  inactivity.* 

Of  the  ten  years  which  followed,  we  know  but  little  that  is 
interesting  in  relation  to  the  West:*and  of  its  condition  in 
1750,  we  can  give  no  better  idea  than  may  be  gathered  from 
the  following  extracts  of  letters  written  by  Vivier,  a  missiona 
ry  among  the  Illinois. 

Writing  "Aux  Illinois,"  six  leagues  from  Fort  Chartres, 
June  8th,  1750,  Vivier  says  :  "We  have  here,  Whites,  Negroes 

#In  reference  to  Crozat,  Law,  and  events  in  Louisiana,  we  refer  to  Bancroft  iii. — Penny 
Cyclopedia,  articles  "Law;"  "Mississippi  Company;."  Charlevoix,  vol.  ii.;  Du  Pratz's  Louis- 
iana; Niles'  Register,  ii.  161,  189;  and  the  collection  of  documents  (mostly  official)  rela- 
tive to  the  Company  of  the  West,  published  at  Amsterdam,  in  1720,  in  the  work  callsd 
'•'Relations  de  la  Louisiane,  et  du  Fleuve  Mississippi,"  2  yols. 


64  Population  of  Rlinois.  .      1750. 

and  Indians,  to  say  nothing  of  cross-breeds.  There  are  five 
French  villages,  and  three  villages  of  the  natives,  within  a 
space  of  twenty-one  leagues,  situated  between  the  Mississippi 
and  another  river  called  the  Karkadiad  (Kaskaskia.)  In  the 
five  French  villages  are,  perhaps,  eleven  hundred  whites, 
three  hundred  blacks,  and  some  sixty  red  slaves  or  savages. 
The  three  Illinois  towns  do  not  contain  more  than  eight  hun- 
dred souls,  all  told.*  Most  of  the  French  till  the  soil ;  they 
raise  wheat,  cattle,  pigs  and  horses,  and  live  like  princes. 
Three  times  as  much  is  produced  as  can  be  consumed  ;  and 
great  quantities  of  grain  and  flour  are  sent  to  New  Orleans.'* 
In  this  letter,  also,  Vivier  says  that  which  shows  Father 
Marest's  fears  from  French  influence  over  the  Indian  neo- 
phytes to  have  been  well  founded.  Of  the  three  Illinois 
towns,  he  tells  us,  one  was  given  up  by  the  missionaries  as  be- 
yond hope,  and  in  a  second  but  a  poor  harvest  rewarded  their 
labors ;  and  all  was  owing  to  the  bad  example  of  the  French, 
and  the  introduction  by  them  of  ardent  spirits.f 

Again,  in  an  epistle  dated  November  17,  1750,  Vivier  says  : 
"  For  fifteen  leagues  above  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  one 
sees  no  dwellings,  the  ground  being  too  low  to  be  habitable. 
Thence  to  New  Orleans  the  lands  are  only  partially  occupied. 
New  Orleans  contains,  black,  white  and  red,  not  more,  I 
think,  than  twelve  hundred  persons.  To  this  point  come  all 
kinds  of  lumber,  bricks,  salt-beef,  tallow,  tar,  skins  and  bear's 
grease ;  and  above  all,  pork  and  flour  from  the  Illinois.  These 
things  create  some  commerce,  forty  vessels  and  more  have 
come  hither  this  year.  Above  New  Orleans  plantations  are 
again  met  with ;  the  most  considerable  is  a  colony  of  Germans, 
some  ten  leagues  up  the  river.  At  Point  Coupee,  thirty-five 
leagues  above  the  German  settlement,  is  a  fort.  Along  here, 
withm  five  or  six  leagues,  are  not  less  than  sixty  'habitations.' 
Fifty  leagues  farther  up  is  the  Natchez  post,  where  we  have  a 
garrison  who  are  kept  prisoners  by  their  fear  of  the  Chicka- 
saws  and  other  savages.  Here  and  at  Point  Coupee,  they 
raise  excellent  tobacco.  Another  hundred  leagues  brings  us 

*  There  was  a  fourth,  (Peoria  probably,)  eighty  leagues  distant,  nearly  as  large  as  the 
three  referred  to;  this  is  stated  in  another  part  of  the  same  letter.  See  appendix — An- 
nals of  Illinois,  art  Aborigines. — Ed. 

f  Criminals,  vagabonds  and  strumpets,  were  largely  exported  to  Louisiana,  when  the  first 
settlements  were  made.— Father  Poisson  in  Lettres  Edifiantes,  (Paris,  1781,)  vi.  393,  Ac. 


1760.  Lead  and   Copper  Mines.  65 

to  the  Arkansas,  where  we  have  also  a  fort  and  garrison,  for 
the  benefit  of  river  traders.  There  were  some  inhabitants 
about  here  formerly,  but  in  1748,  the  Chickasaws  attacked  the 
post,  slew  many,  took  thirteen  prisoners,  and  drove  the  rest 
into  the  fort.  From  the  Arkansas  to  the  Illinois,  near  five 
hundred  leagues,*  there  is  not  a  settlement.  There  should, 
however,  be  a  good  fort  on  the  Oubache,  (Ohio)  the  only  path 
by  which  the  English  can  reach  the  Mississippi.  In  the  Illi- 
nois are  numberless  mines,  but  no  one  to  work  them  as  they 
deserve.  Some  individuals  dig  lead  near  the  surface,  and 
supply  the  Indians  and  Canada.  Two  Spaniards,  now  here, 
who  claim  to  be  adepts,  say  that  our  mines  are  like  those  of 
Mexico,  and  that  if  we  would  dig  deeper,  we  should  find  sil- 
ver under  the  lead  ;  at  any  rate  the  lead  is  excellent.  There 
are  also  in  this  country  copper  mines  beyond  doubt,  as  from 
time  to  time  large  pieces  are  found  in  the  streams."! 

•Distances  are  overrated  in  all  the  old  French  journals.    The  distance  in  fact,  was  about 
400  English  miles,  instead  of  French  leagues. 
fLettres  Edifiantes,  (Paris,  1781,)  vii.  79  to  106. 
[S»e  Annals  of  Missouri,  Appendix,  for  a  Sketch  of  the  Lead  and  Copper  mines,— Ed  J 


CHAPTER  II. 
ENGLISH  DISCOVERIES  AND  CLAIMS. 

English  Discoveries  by  Virginia — By  Pennsylvania — Daniel  Cose — British  Purchases  of 
the  Five  Nations — Ohio  and  other  Companies  formed — Agency  of  Gist — Fort  attacked 
by  the  French,  and  the  Natives  killed  and  Traders  carried  to  Canada — Gen.  Washing- 
ton's Mission — Preparations  for  War — Pittsburgh  Taken. 

We  have  now  sketched  the  progress  of  French  discovery  in 
the  Valley  of  the  Mississippi.  The  first  travelers  reached  that 
river  in  1673,  and  when  the  new  year  of  1750  broke  upon  the 
great  wilderness  of  the  West,  all  was  still,  except  those  little 
spots  upon  the  prairies  of  Illinois,  and  among  the  marshes  of 
Louisiana,  which  we  have  already  named.  Perhaps  we 
ought  also  to  except  Vincennes,  or  St.  Vincent's,  on  the  Wa- 
bash,*  as  there  is  cause  to  believe  that  place  was  settled  as 
early  as  1735,  at  least.  But  the  evidence  in  relation  to  this 
matter  is  of  a  kind  which  we  think  worth  stating,  not  from 
the  importance  of  the  matter  itself,  but  to  illustrate  the  diffi- 
culty which  besets  an  inquirer  into  certain  points  of  our  early 
western  history.  Volney,  by  conjecture,  fixes  the  settlement 
of  Vincennes  about  1735  ;f  Bishop  Brute,  of  Indiana,  speaks 
of  a  missionary  station  there  in  1700,  and  adds,  "The  friendly 
tribes  and  traders  called  to  Canada  for  protection,  and  then 
M.  de  Vincennes  came  with  a  detachment,  I  think,  of  Carig- 
nan,  and  was  killed  in  1735."J  Mr.  Bancroft  says  a  military 
establishment  was  formed  there  in  1716,  and  in  1742,  a  settle- 
ment of  herdsmen  tookplace.||  Judge  Law  regards  the  post 
as  dating  back  to  1710  or  1711,  supposing  it  to  be  the  same 
with  the  Ohio  settlement  noticed  on  page  30,  and  quotes  also 
an  Act  of  Sale,  existing  at  Kaskaskia,  (if  we  understand  him 
aright,)  which  in  January,  1735,  speaks  of  M.  de  Vinsenne,  as 
"Commandant  auPoste  de  Ouabache."§  Again,  in  a  petition 
of  the  old  inhabitants  at  Vincennes,  dated  in  November,  1793, 
we  find  the  settlement  spoken  of  as  having  been  made  before 
1742  ;^[  and  such  is  the  general  voice  of  tradition.  On  the 

*Also  called  Post  St.  Vincent's  and  Au  Poste  or  O'Post. 

fVolney's  View,  p.  336. 

JButler's  Kentucky,  Introduction,  xix.,  note. 

J  History  United  States,  iii.  346. 

§Law's  Address,  1839,  p.  21. 

^[American  State  Papers,  xvi.  32. 


1735.  Settlement  of  Vincennes.  67 

other  hand,  Charlevoix,  who  records  the  death  of  Yincennes, 
which  took  place  among  the  Chickasaws,  (see  ante  p.  63,)  in 

1736,  makes  no  mention  of  any  post  on  the  Wabash,  or  any 
missionary  station  there  ;    neither  does  he  mark  any  upon  his 
map,  although  he  gives  even  the  British  forts  upon  the  Tennes- 
see and  elsewhere.      Vivier,  a  part  of  whose  letters  we  have 
already  quoted,  says  in  1750,  nothing  of  any  mission  on  the 
Wabash,  although  writing  in  respect  to  western  missions,  and 
speaks  of  the  necessity  of  a  fort  upon  the  "Ouabache;"  by  this, 
it  is  true,  he  meant  doubtless  the  Ohio,  but  how  natural  to  refer 
to  the  post  at  Vincennes,  if  one  existed.    In  a  volume  of  "Me- 
moires"  on  Louisiana,  compiled  from  the  minutes  of  M.  Du- 
mont  and  published  in  Paris,  in  1753,  but  probably  prepared 
1749,*  though  we  have   an  account  of  the  Wabash  or  St. 
Jerome,  its  rise  and  course,  and  the  use  made  of  it  by  the 
traders,  not  a  word  is  found  touching  any  fort,  settlement  or 
station  on  it.     Vaudreuil,  when  Governor  of  Louisiana,  in 
1751  mentions  even  then  no  post  on  the  Wabash,  although  he 
speaks  of  the  need  of  a  post  on  the  Ohio,  near  to  where  Fort 
Massac  or  Massacre  was  built  afterwards,  and  names  Fort 
Miami,  on  the  Maumee. f     The  records  of  Vincennes,  Judge 
Law  says,  show  no  earlier  mission  than  1749.J      Still  farther, 
in  "  The  Present  State  of  North  America,"    a  pamphlet  pub- 
lished in  London,  in  1755,  with  which  is  a  map  of  the  French 
posts  in  the  West,  we  have  it  stated  that  in  1750  a  fort  was 
founded  at  Vincennes,  and  that  in  1754,  three  hundred  families 
were  sent  to  settle  about  it. 

Such  is  the  state  of  proof  relative  to  Vincennes:  one  thing 
however,  seems  certain,  which  is,  that  the  Wabash  was  very, 
early  frequented.  Hennepin,  in  1663-4,  had  heard  of  the 
"Hohio";  the  route  from  the  lakes  to  the  Mississippi,  by  the 
Wabash,  was  explored  in  1676  ;||  and  in  Hennepin's  volume 

*Memoires  Historiques  sur  La  Louisiana,  Ac. 

[fThere  were/owr  places  called  "Miami,"  or  "Maumee;"  one  at  the  junction  of  the  Little 
St.  Joseph  and  Ste.  Marie,  in  Indiana,  now  called  Fort  Wayne. 

Th«  second  was  on  the  St.  Joseph  river  of  Michigan. 

The  third  was  on  the  Illinois  river,  and  placed  by  Charlevoix  on  his  Map  of  New  France 
1723. 

The  fourth  was  the  fort  erected  by  the  British  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids  of  the  Maumee, 
about  fifteen  miles  from  the  west  end  of  Lake  Erie. 

Some  of  the  authorities  quoted,  by  the  "  Ouabache  "  mean  the  Ohio  river,  which  had  the 
name  of  "Ouabache,"  in  French  and  English  documents  until  about  1735. — Ed.] 
.     f  Address,  p.  17. 

flHistoire  General  des  Voyages,  xiv.  753. 


68  The  British  in  the  West.  1749. 

of  1698,  is  a  journal,  said  to  be  that  sent  by  La  Salle  to  Count 
Froritenac,  in  1682  or  '3,  which  mentions  the  route  by  the 
Maumee*  and  Wabash  as  the  most  direct  to  the  great  western 
river. 

In  1749,  therefore,  when  the  English  first  began  to  move 
seriously  about  sending  men  into  the  West,  there  were  only 
the  Illinois  and  the  lower  country  settlements,  and  perhaps 
Vincennes;  the  present  States  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  Ken- 
tucky, being  still  substantially  in  possession  of  the  Indians. 
From  this,  however,  it  must  not  be  inferred  that  the  English 
colonists  were  ignorant  of,  or  indifferent  to,  the  capacities  of 
the  West,  or  that  the  movements  of  the  French  were  unob- 
served up  to  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Governor 
Spotswood,  of  Virginia,  as  early  as  1710,  had  commenced 
movements,  the  object  of  which  was  to  secure  the  country 
beyond  the  Alleghenies  to  the  English  crown.  He  caused  the 
mountain  passes  to  be  examined,  and  with  much  pomp  and  a 
great  retinue,  undertook  the  discovery  of  the  regions  on  their 
western  side.  Then  it  was  that  he  founded  "  The  Tramontine 
Order,"  giving  to  each  of  those  who  accompanied  him  a  golden 
horse  shoe,  in  commemoration  of  their  toilsome  mountain 
march,  upon  which  they  were  forced  to  use  horse-shoes,  which 
were  seldom  needed  in  the  soft  soil  of  the  eastern  vallies.  In 
Pennsylvania,  also,  Governor  Keith  and  James  Logan,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Province,  from  1719  to  1731  represented  to  the 
powers  in  England,  the  necessity  of  taking  steps  to  secure 
the  western  lands.f  Nothing,  however,  was  done  by  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  mother  country,  except  to  take  certain,  diplo- 
matic steps  to  secure  the  claim  of  Britain  to  those  distant  and 
unexplored  wildernesses. 

England,  from  the  outset,  claimed  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific,  on  the  ground  that  the  discovery  and  possession  of  the 
seacoast  was  a  discovery  and  possession  of  the  country ;  and, 
as  is  well  known,  her  grants  to  Virginia,  Connecticut,  and 
other  colonies  were  through  to  the  South  Sea.  It  was  not 
upon  this,  however,  that  Great  Britain  relied  in  her  contest 
with  France  ;  she  had  other  grounds,  namely,  actual  discovery, 
and  purchase  or  title  of  some  kind  from  the  Indian  owners. 

*Until  this  century,  usually  called  the  Miami,  and  sometimes  the  Tawa  or  Ottawa  Rrrer- 
tBancroft,  iii.    344;  Jones'  Present  State  of  Virginia,  (1724,)  14;  Universal  History, 
*1.  192. 


1742.  British  Explorations.  69 

Her  claim  on  the  score  of  actual  discovery  was  poorly  sup- 
ported however,  and  little  insisted  on. 

"King  Charles  the  First,  in  the  fifth  year  of  his  reign  (1630) 
granted  unto  Sir  Robert  Heath,  his  attorney  general,  a  patent 
of  all  that  part  of  America,"  which  lies  between  thirty-one 
and  thirty-six  degrees  north  latitude,  from  sea  to  sea.  Eight 
years  afterwards,  Sir  Robert  conveyed  this  very  handsome 
property  to  Lord  Maltravers,  who  was  soon,  by  his  father's 
death,  Earl  of  Arundel.  From  him,  we  know  not  by  what 
course  of  conveyance,  this  grant,  which  formed  the  province 
of  Carolana  (not  Carolina,)  came  into  the  hands  of  Dr.  Dan- 
iel Coxe,  who  was,  in  the  opinion  of  the  attorney-general  of 
England,  true  owner  of  that  Province  in  the  year  of  D'lber- 
ville's  discovery,  1699.* 

[We  will  give  a  brief  sketch  of  .the  British  through  the  dis- 
coveries of  Coxe  and  others. 

Daniel  Coxe  states  that  one  Colonel  Wood  of  Virginia,  dis- 
covered at  different  times,  several  branches  of  the  great  rivers 
Ohio  and  "Meschasebe," — says  that  he,  (Coxe,)  had  seen  the 
journal  of  a  Mr.  Needham,  who  was  employed  by  Col.  Wood. 
He  tells  of  another  journal,  which  he  affirms  was  in  his  pos- 
session for  some  time,  written  by  some  one  in  English,  who 
had  gone  up  the  Mississippi  to  the  "Yellow  or  Muddy  river, 
otherwise  called  the  Missouri," — that  a  number  of  persons 
went  from  New  England  one  hundred  and  fifty  leagues  beyond 
the  river  "Meschasebe,"  to  New  Mexico.  He  claims  to  have 
made  discoveries  himself,  by  sailing  up  the  Mississippi  in  1698. 
This  was  probably  the  English  expedition  met  by  Bienville  at 
the  "English  Turn."  These  statements  of  Dr.  Coxe  are 
found  in  his  "Memorial  to  King  William,"  but  are  unsup- 
ported by  any  other  authority  except  his  voyage  up  the  Mis- 
sissippi when  he  came  in  contact  with  Bienville,  and  made 
the  "English  Turn." 

There  is  a  tradition,!  that  in  1742  John  Howard  crossed  the 
mountains  of  Virginia,  went  down  the  Ohio  in  a  canoe  made 
of  a  buffaloe  skin,  and  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  French  on 
the  Mississippi.  In  the  London  edition  of  Du  Pratz,  published 

*  A  Description  of  the  English  Province  of  Carolana,,  &c.,  by  Daniel  Coxe,  Edquire. 
London  1722,  pp.  113  et  seq.  By  "Carolana,"  Coxo  includes  what  is  called  the  "Valley  of 
the  Mississippi,"  and  not  the  States  of  "Carolina." — Ed. 

fKercheval's  Valley  of  Virginia.  « 


70  Purchase  from  the  Iroquois.  1754. 

in  1774,  the  same  facts  of  Howard  are  stated  in  a  note,  and 
reference  given  to  an  official  report  of  the  Governor  of  Vir- 
ginia. This  visit  of  Howard,  though  it  could  give  the  gov- 
ernment no  claim  to  this  Valley,  is  mentioned  as  the  first 
English  exploration  to  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  which  is 
fairly  authenticated. 

The  next  adventurer  under  British  authority  was  Conrad 
Weiser,  an  Interpreter  to  the  Indians,  in  1748.  Weiser  was 
sent  from  Philadelphia  to  the  Indians  at  Logstown  on  the 
Ohio  river,  between  Pittsburgh  and  Big  Beaver  creek,  to  carry 
presents  and  a  friendly  ''talk ;"  and  English  traders  are  refer- 
red to  as  residing  in  that  vicinity.  That  "traders"  resided 
amongst  the  Indians  on  the  Ohio  at  an  early  period,  is  well 
authenticated. 

The  Government  of  Pennsylvania  recalled  its  traders  from 
Ohio  in  1732,  in  consequence  of  troubles  with  the  French. 
The  Indians  at  a  council  in  Albany,  in  1754,  acknowledged 
the  English  had  been  on  the  Ohio  thirty  years. 

Mr.  Butler,  in  his  History  of  Kentucky,  Introduction  to  the 
second  edition,  gives  the  adventures  of  one  "Sailing,"  in  the 
West,  as  early  as  1730,  but  in  a  note  to  Du  Pratz,  he  is  named 
as  having  been  with  Howard  in  1742. 

But  the  principal  ground  of  claim  of  the  British  to  the 
country  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  was  by  treaties  of  purchase 
from  the  "Five  Nations,"  or  Iroquois.  This  was  the  only  con- 
federacy of  Indian  tribes  that  deserved  the  name  of  govern- 
ment in  this  part  of  North  America.  They  had  the  rude  ele- 
ments of  a  confederated  republic,  and  they  were  the  con- 
querors of  most  of  the  other  tribes  from  Lower  Canada  to  the 
Mississippi  and  even  beyond.  The  facts  and  proofs  of  these 
conquests  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix.  Different  from  the 
policy  of  all  the  other  tribes,  they  left  the  conquered  nations 
to  manage  their  own  internal  affairs  as  they  might  choose, 
but  exacted  tributes,  and  especially  claimed  the  right  as  con- 
querors to  dispose  of  their  country.  On  this  right  the  Five 
Nations  sold  in  treaty  with  the  British  authorities,  the  country 
on  the  Ohio,  including  Western  Virginia,  and  Kentucky;  a 
large  part  of  Illinois,  and  the  country  along  the  northern 
lakes  into  Upper  Canada. 

Waiving  for  the  present,  all  questions  as  to  the  justice  of 
their  claims,  we  only  state  a  fact  now  fully  established,  that 


1754.  Claims  of  the  English.  71 

this  confederacy  did  set  up  claims  to  the  whole  country,  now 
embraced  in  Kentucky  and  Western  Virginia  north  of  the 
Cherokee  claims,  and  the  Northwestern"  Territory  except  a 
district  in  Ohio  and  Indiana  and  a  small  section  in  South- 
western Illinois,  which  w#s  claimed  and  held  by  the  Miami 
confederacy. 

In  1684,  Lord  Howard,  Governor  of  Virginia,  held  a  treaty 
with  the  Five  Nations,  at  Albany,  when  at  the  request  of 
Colonel  Dungan,  Governor  of  New  York,  they  placed  them- 
selves under  the  protection  of  the  British  ration.*  They 
made  a  deed  of  sale  by  treaty  to  the  British  Government  of  a 
vast  tract  of  country  South  and  East  of  the  Illinois  river,  and 
extending  across  Lake  Huron  into  Canada. 

Another  formal  deed  was  drawn  up,  and  signed  by  the 
Chiefs  of  the  National  Confederacy  in  1726,  by  which  their 
lands  were  conveyed  in  trust  to  England,  "to  be  protected  and 
defended  by  his  Majesty,  to  and  for  the  use  of  the  grantors 
and  their  heirs."f 

•If,  then,  the  Six  Nations  had  a  good  claim  to  the  western 
country,  there  could  be  but  little  doubt  that  England  was  justi- 
fied in  defending  that  country  against  the  French,  as  France, 
by  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  had  agreed  not  to  invade  the  lands 
of  Britain's  Indian  allies.  But  this  claim  of  the  New  York 
savages  has  been  disputed.  Among  others  General  William 
H.  Harrison  has  attempted  to  disprove  it,  and  show,  that  the 
Miami  confederacy  of  Illinois  and  Ohio  could  not  have  been 
conquered  by  the  Iroquois.t  W«  shall  not  enter  into  the  con- 
troversy ;  but  will  only  say,  that  to  us  the  evidence  is  very 
strong,  that,  before  1680,  the  Six  Nations  had  overrun  the 
western  lands,  and  were  dreaded  from  Lakes  Erie  and  Michi- 
gan to  the  Ohio,  and  west  to  the  Mississippi.  In  1673,  Allouez 
and  Dablon  found  the  Miamis  upon  Lake  Michigan,  fearing  a 
visit  from  the  Iroquois,§  and  from  this  time  forward  we  hear 

*  Plain  Facts,  Philadelphia,  1781,  pp.  22,  28. 

•fThis  may  be  found  at  length  in  Pownall's  Administration  of  the  Colonies,  fourth  edition, 
London,  1768,  p.  269. 

JSee  Harrison's  Historical  Address,  1837. 

General  Harrison,  probably,  was  not  aware  the  Iroqnois  made  their  ingress  and  egress 
into  the  Illinois  country  by  the  Ohio  and  the  Lakes.  We  have  no  evidence  they  conquer- 
ed the  Miami  confederacy,  and  at  one  period  the  two  confederacies  appear  to  have  been 
confirmed  by  terms.— Ed. 

?  George  Croghan,  the  Indian  agent,  took  an  oath  that  the  Iroquois  claimed  no  farther 
oa  the  north  side  of  the  Ohio  than  the  Great  Miami  or  Stony  river;  (called  also  Rocky 


72  Western  Lands  claimed  by  ike  British.  1744. 

of  them  in  that  far  land  from  all  writers,  genuine  and  spuri- 
ous, as  may  be  easily  gathered  from  what  we  have  said 
already  of  Tonti  and  his  wars.*  We  cannot  doubt,  therefore, 
that  they  did  overrun  the  lands  claimed  by  them,  and  even 
planted  colonies  in  what  is  now  Ohio ;  but  that  they  had  any 
claim,  which  a  Christian  nation  should  have  recognized,  to 
most  of  the  territory  in  question,  we  cannot  for  a  moment, 
think,  as  for  half  a  century  at  least  it  had  been  under  the  rule 
of  other  tribes,  and,  when  the  difference  between  France  and 
England  began,  was,  with  the  exception  of  the  lands  just 
above  the  head  of  the  Ohio,  the  place  of  residence  and  the 
hunting-ground  of  other  tribes. f 

But  some  of  the  western  lands  were  also  claimed  by  the 
British,  as  having  actually  been  purchased.  This  purchase 
was  said  to  have  been  made  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania,  in 
1744,  when  a  treaty  was  held  between  the  colonists  and  the 
Six  Nations,  relative  to  some  alleged  settlements  that  had 
been  made  upon  the  Indian  lands  in  Pennsylvania,  Virginia, 
and  Maryland ;  and  to  this  treaty,  of  which  we  have  a  very 
good  and  graphic  account,  written  by  Witham  Marshe,  who 
went  as  secretary  with  the  commissioners  for  Maryland,  we 
now  turn.  The  Maryland  commissioners  reached  Lancaster 
upon  the  21st  of  June,  before  either  the  governor  of  Penn- 
sylvania, the  Virginia  commissioners,  or  the  Indians  had  arri- 
ved ;  though  all  but  the  natives  came  that  evening. 

The  next  forenoon  wore  wearily  away,  and  all  were  glad 
to  sit  down,  at  one  o'clock,  to  a  dinner  in  the  court-house, 
which  the  Virginians  gave  their  friends,  and  from  which  not 
many  were  drawn,  even  by  the  coming  of  the  Indians,  who 
came,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred  and  fifty-two,  with  squaws 
and  little  children  on  horseback,  and  with  their  fire-arms,  and 
bows,  and  arrows,  and  tomahawks,  and,  as  they  passed  the 

river,  Great  Mineatni;  and  Assereniet.)  Hutchin'a  G«ographical  Description,  25.  The 
purport  of  this  oath  has  been  misunderstood,  it  says  nothing  of  what  the  Iroquois  trans- 
ferred to  England  in  1768.  See  Butler's  Kentucky,  5,  6. — Hall's  Statistics  of  the  West, 
Preface,  viii.  Butler's  Chronology,  9. — The  oath  is  given,  American  State  Papers,  xvii. 
HO. 

*See  CharlovoLx,  De  La  Hontan,  Hennepin,  Tonti,  Ac. 

f ''In  1774,  when  the  Lancaster  treaty  was  held  with  the  Six  Nations,  some  of  their 
number  were  making  war  upon  the  Catawbas." — Marsh's  Journal,  Massachusetts  Histori- 
cal Collections,  vol.  vii.  pp.  190, 191. 

[S«e  the  facts  stated  in  the  Appendix,  Annals  of  Illinois,  Art.  Aborigines.] 


1748.  Ohio    Company  Proposed.  73 

court-house,  invited  the  white  men  with  a  song  to  renew  their 
former  treaties.  Cn  the  outskirts  of  the  town,  vacant  lots 
had  been  chosen  for  the  savages  to  build  their  wigwams  upon, 
and  thither  they  marched  on  with  Conrad  Weiser,  their  friend 
and  interpreter,*  while  the  Virginians  "  drank  the  loyal 
healths,"  and  finished  their  entertainment.  [Here  follows  a 
minute  description  of  the  drunkenness  and  festivity  of  the 
Indians,  which  continued  at  intervals  for  several  days.  It 
appears,  however,  in  Marshe's  journal,  that  the  chiefs  "nar- 
rowly scanned"  the  goods  paid  by  the  commissioners  of 
Maryland  for  the  lands  that  colony  purchased,  amounting  to 
£220  Pennsylvania  currency.  The  commissioners  of  Virginia 
paid  £200  in  gold  and  a  like  sum  in  goods,  with  a  promise 
that  as  settlements  increased  more  should  be  paid.]  The 
commissioners  from  Virginia,  at  this  treaty  of  Lancaster, 
were  Col.  Thomas  Lee  and  Col.  William  Beverly.f 

On  the  5th  of  July,  everything  having  been  settled  satisfac- 
torily, the  commissioners  left  "  the  filthy  town"  of  Lancaster, 
and  took  their  homeward  way,  having  suffered  much  from  the 
vermin  and  the  water,  though  when  they  used  the  latter 
would  be  a  curious  enquiry. 

Such  was  the  treaty  of  Lancaster,  upon  which,  as  a  corner- 
stone, the  claim  of  the  colonists  to  the  West,  by  purchase} 
rested ;  and  upon  this,  and  the  grant  from  the  Six  Nations, 
Great  Britain  relied  in  all  subsequent  steps. 

As  settlements  extended,  and  the  Indians  murmured,  the 
promise  of  further  pay  was  called  to  mind,  and  Weiser  was 
sent  across  the  Alleghenies  to  Logstown,  in  1748,J  with  pre- 
sents, to  keep  the  Indians  in  good  humor;  and  also  to  sound 
them,  probably,  as  to  their  feeling  with  regard  to  large  settle- 
ments in  the  West,  which  some  Virginians,  with  Col.  Thomas 
Lee,  the  Lancaster  commissioner,  at  their  head,  were  then 
contemplating.§  The  object  of  these  proposed  settlements 

*For  some  idea  of  Weiser,  see  Proud's  History  of  Pennsylvania,  vol.  ii.,  p.  316,  where 
a  long  letter  by  him  is  given.  Day's  Historical  Collections  of  Pennsylvania,  134. 

| Plain  Facti,  being  an  Examination,  4*c.,  and  a  Vindication  of  the  Grant  from  the 
Six  United  Nations  of  Indians  to  the  Proprietors  of  Indiana,  vs.  the  Decision  of  the  Legis- 
lature of  Virginia.  Pp.  29-39.  Philadelphia :  E.  Aitken.  1781,  Sparks'  Washington,, 
vol.  ii.  p.  480.  Marshe's  Journal.  The  whole  proceedings  may  be  found  in  Colden's  His- 
tory of  the  Iroquois,  given  with  proper  formal  solemnity. 

JPlain  Facts,  pp.  40,  119, 120. 

^Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  478.    Scarce  anything  was  known  of  the  old  Ohio  Com- 
pany, until  Mr.  Spark's  inquiries  led  to  the  note  referred  to;  and  even  now  so  littleis 
5 


74  Ohio  Company.  1760. 

was  not  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  but  the  monopoly  of  the 
Indian  trade,  which,  with  all  its  profits,  had  till  that  time 
been  in  the  hands  of  unprincipled  men,  half  civilized,  half 
savage,  who,  through  the  Iroquois,  had  from  the  earliest  period 
penetrated  to  the  lakes  of  Canada  and  competed  everywhere 
with  the  French  for  skins  and  furs.*  It  was  now  proposed  in 
Virginia  to  turn  these  fellows  out  of  their  good  berth  beyond 
the  mountains,  by  means  of  a  great  company,  which  should 
hold  lands  and  build  trading-houses,  import  European  goods 
regularly,  and  export  the  furs  of  the  West  in  return  to  Lon- 
don. Accordingly,  after  Weiser's  conference  with  the  Indians  . 
at  Logstown,  which  was  favorable  to  their  views,  Thomas  Lee, 
with  twelve  other  Virginians,  among  whom  were  Lawrence 
and  Augustine,  brothers  of  George  Washington,  and  also  Mr. 
Hanbury  of  London,  formed  an  association  which  they  called 
the  "  Ohio  Company,"  and  in  1748,  petitioned  the  king  for  a 
grant  beyond  the  mountains.  This  petition  was  approved  by 
the  monarch,  and  the  government  of  Virginia  was  ordered  to 
grant  to  tlue  petitioners  half  a  million  of  acres  within  the 
bounds  of  that  colony,  beyond  the  Alleghenies,  two  hundred 
thousand  of  which  were  to  be  located  at  once.  This  portion 
was  to  "be  held  for  ten  years  free  of  quit-rent,  provided  the 
company  would  put  there  one  hundred  families  within  seven 
years,  and  build  a  fort  sufficient  to  protect  the  settlement;  all 
which  the  company  proposed,  and  prepared  to  do  at  once, 
and  sent  to  London  for  a  cargo  suited  to  the  Indian  trade, 
which  was  to  come  out  so  as  to  arrive  in  November,  1749. 

Other  companies  were  also  formed  about  this  time  in  Vir- 
ginia, to  colonize  the  West.  Upon  the  12th  of  June,  1749,  a 
grant  of  800,000  acres,  from  the  line  of  Canada,  on  the  north 
and  west,  was  made  to  the  Loyal  Company ;  and,  upon  the 
29th  of  October,  1751,  another  of  100,000  acres  to  the  Green- 
briar  Company.f 

But  the  French  were  not  blind  all  this  while.  They  saw, 
that  if  the  British  once  obtained  a  strong-hold  upon  the  Ohio, 

known,  that  we  cannot  but  hope  some  Historical  Society  will  prevail  on  Charles  Fenton 
Mercer,  formerly  of  Virginia,  who  holds  the  papers  of  that  Company,  to  allow  their  publi- 
cation. No  full  history  of  the  West  can  be  written,  until  the  facts  relative  to  the  great 
land  companies  are  better  known. 

#See  Charlevoix,  first  and  second  volume  in  many  places;  especially  i.  502,  515,  ii.  133, 
269,  373-  The  English  were  at  Mackinac  as  early  as  1686. 

•[Revised  Statutes  of  Virginia,  by  W.  B.  Leigh,  ii.  347. 


1749.  Movements  of  the  French.  75 

they  might  not  only  prevent  their  settlements  upon  it,  but 
must  at  last  come  upon  their  lower  posts,  and  so  the  battle  be 
fought  sooner  or  later.  To  the  danger  of  the  English  pos- 
sessions in  the  West,  Vaudreuil,  the  French  governor,  had 
been  long  alive.  Upon  the  10th  of  May,  1744,  he  wrote 
home  representing  the  consequences  that  must  come  from 
allowing  the  British  to  build  a  trading-house  among  the 
Creeks  ;*  and,  in  November,  1748,  he  anticipated  their  seizure 
of  Fort  Prudhomme,  which  was  upon  the  Mississippi  below 
the  Ohio.f  Nor  was  it  for  mere  sickly  missionary  stations 
that  the  governor  feared;  for,  in  the  year  last  named,  the  Illi- 
nois settlements,  few  as  they  were,  sent  flour  and  corn,  the 
hams  of  hogs  and  bears,  pickled  pork  and  beef,  myrtle  wax, 
cotton,  tallow,  leather,  tobacco,  lead,  iron,  copper,  some  little 
buffalo  wool,  venison,  poultry,  bear's  grease,  oil,  skins,  and 
coarse  furs  to  the  New  Orleans  market.  Even  in  1746,  from 
five  to  six  hundred  barrels  of  flour,  according  to  one  authority, 
and  two  thousand  according  to  another,  went  thither  from 
Illinois,  convoys  annually  going  down  in  December  with  the 
produce.J  Having  these  fears,  and  seeing  the  danger  of  the 
late  movements  of  the  British,  Gallisoniere,  then  Governor  of 
Canada,  determined  to  place  along  the  Ohio,  evidences  of  the 
French  claim  to,  and  possession  of  the  country ;  and  for  that 
purpose,  in  the  summer  of  1749,  sent  Louis  Celeron  with  a 
party  of  soldiers,  to  place  plates  of  lead,  on  which  were  writ- 
ten out  the  claims  of  France,  in  the  mounds,  and  at  the 
mouths  of  the  rivers.§  Of  this  act  William  Trent,  who  was 
sent  out  in  1752,  by  Virginia,  to  conciliate  the  Indians,  heard 
while  upon  the  Ohio,  and  mentioned  it  in  his  Journal;  and 
within  a  few  years,  one  of  the  plates,  with  the  inscription 

*  Pownall's  Memorial  on  Service  in  America,  as  before  quoted.  Vaudreuil  came  out  as 
Governor  of  Canada  in  1755. — Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,  vol.  vii.,  p.  105.  See 
also  Holmes  Annalt,  vol.  ii.  p.  23. 

fPownall's  Memorial. 

JIbid.  ^presentations  to  Earl  of  Hillsborough,  1770,  quoted  in  Filson's  Kentucky, 
178-1 :  also,  in  Hutchins'  Geographical  Description,  p.  15. 

§  Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  430.  Atwater's  History  of  Ohio,  first  edition,  p.  109. 
Transactions  of  the  American  Antiquarian  Society,  vol.  ii.  pp.  535-641.  De  Witt  Clinton 
received  the  plate  mentioned  in  the  toxt  from  Mr.  Atwater,  who  says  it  was  found  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Muskingum,  though  marked  as  having  been  placed  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ve- 
nango  (Yenangue)  river,  (French  Creek,  we  presume.)  Celeron  wrote  from  an  old  Shawnee 
town  on  tha  Ohio  to  Governor  Hamilton  of  Pennsylvania,  respecting  the  intrusion  of  tra- 
ders from  that  colony  into  the  French  dominions.  Minutes  of  the  Council  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, quoted  in  Dillon's  History  of  Indiana,  i.  66. 


7&  Gist's  Exploration..  1751, 

partly  defaced,  has  been  found  near  the  mouth  of  the  Muskin- 
gum.  Of  this  plate,  the  date  upon  which  is  August  16th,  1749  r 
a  particular  account  was  sent,  by  De  Witt  Clinton,  to  the 
American  Antiquarian  Society,  in  whose  second  volume  (p. 
536-41)  the  inscription  may  be  found  at  length.  By  this- 
step,  the  French,  perhaps,  hoped  t&  quiet  the  title  of  the 
river,  "  Oyo ;"  but  it  produced  not  the  least  result.  In  that 
very  year,  we  are  told,  a  trading-bouse  was  built  by  the  Eng- 
lish, upon  the  Great  Miami,  at  the  spot  since  called  Loramie's 
Store  ;*  while,  from  another  source,  we  learn,  that  two  traders 
were,  in  1749,  seized  by  the  French  upon  the  Maumee.  At 
any  rate,  the  storm  was  gathering;  the  English  company  was 
determined  to  carry  out  its  plan,  and  the  French  were  deter- 
mined to  oppose  them. 

During  1750,  we  hear  of  no  step,  by  either  party;  but  in 
February,  1751,  we  find  Christopher  Gist,  the  agent  who  had 
been  appointed  by  the  Ohio  Company  to  examine  the  western 
lands,  upon  a  visit  to  the  Twigtwees  or  Tuigtuis,  who  lived 
upon  the  Miami  River,  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  its 
mouth.t  In  speaking  of  this  tribe,  Mr.  Gist  says  nothing  of  a 
trading-house  among  them,  (at  least  in  the  passage  from  hi» 
Journal  quoted  by  Mr.  Sparks,)  but  he  tells  us,  they  left  the 
Wabash  for  the  sake  of  trading  with  the  English ;  and  we  have 
no  doubt,  that  the  spot  which  he  visited  was  at  the  mouth  of 
Loramie's  Creek,  where,  as  we  have  said,  a  trading-house 
was  built  about  or  before  this  time.  Gist  says,  the  Twigtwees 
were  a  very  numerous  people,  much  superior  to  ,the  Six  Na- 
tions, and  that  they  were  formerly  in  the  French  interest. 
Wynne  speaks  of  them  as  the  same  with  the  Ottowas ;  but  Gist 
undoubtedly  meant  the  great  Miamis  confederacy ;  for  he  says 
that  they  are  not  one  tribe,  but  "  many  different  tribes,  under 
the  same  form  of  government."J  [The  journey  of  Gist  com- 

* Contest  in  America,  by  an  Impartial  Hand.  Once  this  writer  speaks  of  this  post  a» 
upon  th«  Wabash,  but  he  doubtless  meant  that  on  the  Miami. 

fSparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  37. 

JSee  Harrison's  Discourse,  already  quoted.  Franklin,  following  a  Twigtwee  chief  pre- 
sent at  Carlisle,  in  1753,  (Minutes  of  that  Council,  p.  7.  Sparks'  Franklin,  vol.  iv.  p.  71,) 
•peaks  of  the  Piankeshaws,  a  tribe  of  the  Twigtwees;  and  again,  of  the  Miamis  or  Twig- 
twees (ibid.  Tol.  iii.  p.  72.)J  The  aame  is  spelt  in  the  Minutes  of  the  Provincial  Council  of 
Pennsylvania,  Twechtwese,  and  they  are  described  as  those  Indians,  called  by  the  French, 
Miamis,  (iii.  479.)  On  Evans'  map,  of  1755,  they  are  called  Tawisti,  and  are  mentioned 
among  the  confederated  nations  of  the  West.  See  also  General  Harrison's  letter  of  March 
22,  1814,  in  McAfee,  p.  43. 


3.751.  Conference  at  Logstown,  77 

meneed  October  31,  1750,  and  lasted  until  May  175L  From 
the  head  of  the  Potomac,  he  went  to  the  forks  of  the  Ohio 
{Pittsburgh),  thence  across  what  is  now  the  State  of  Ohio  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Scioto ;  then  to  the  Twigtwee  towns  on  the 
Miami;  from  thence  returned  to  the  Scioto,  then  followed 
the  Ohio  to  within  fifteen  miles  of  the  Falls,  which  he  dared 
not  visit  on  account  of  the  Indians  there  ;  and  thence  returned 
to  the  settlements  by  Kentucky  river  and  Cumberland  Gap. 
A  journal  of  his  tour  was  published  as  an  Appendix  to  Pow- 
nall's  Topography,  London,  1776;  and  large  extracts  are 
given  by  Dr.  Hildreth.*] 

Having  thus  generally  examined  the  land  upon  the  Ohio, 
in  November  Gist  commenced  a  thorough  survey  of  the  tract 
south  of  the  Ohio  and  east  of  the  Kanawha,  which  was  that 
on  whick  the  Ohio  Company  proposed  to  make  their  first 
settlement.  He  spent  the  winter  in  that  labor.  In  1751,  also, 
General  Andrew  Lewis,  commenced  some  surveys  in  the 
Greenbriar  country,  on  behalf  of  the  company  already  men- 
tioned, to  which  one  hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  had 
been  granted  in  that  region  ;f  but  his  proceedings,  as  well  as 
Gist's,  were  soon  interrupted.  Meanwhile  no  treaty  of  a  defi- 
nite character  had  yet  been  held  with  the  western  Indians ; 
and,  as  the  influence  both  of  the  French  and  of  the  indepen- 
dent English  traders,  was  against  the  company,  it  was  thought 
necessary  to  do  something,  and  the  Virginia  government  was 
desired  to  invite  the  chiefs  to  a  conference  at  Logstown, 
which  was  done- 
All  this  time  the  French  had  not  been  idle.  They  not  only 
stirred  up  the  savages,  but  took  measures  to  fortify  certain 
points  on  the  upper  waters  of  the  Ohio,  from  which  all  low- 
er posts  might  be  easily  attacked,  and,  beginning  at  Presqu'Ile, 
or  Erie,  on  the  lake,  prepared  a  line  of  communication  with 
the  Allegheny.  This  was  done  by  opening  a  wagon-road  from 
Erie  to  a  little  lake  lying  at  the  head  of  French  Creek,  where 
a  second  fort  was  built,  about  fifteen  miles  from  that  at  Erie. 
When  this  second  fort  was  made,  we  do  not  clearly  learn ;  but 

*Pownall's  work  was  a  folio  of  46  pages,  called,  "Topographical  Description  of  such 
parts  of  North  America  as  are  contained  in  the  annexed  Map."  The  Map  -was  Evans'. 
•Grist's  Journal  occupies  ten  pages.  MS.  Letters  of  L.  C.  Draper  and  Dr.  Sparks  to  Mr. 
Perkins. — Ed. 

t  Stuart's  Memoir  of  Indian  War.    J3order  Warfare,  48. 


78  First  English  Settlement  Destroyed.  1750. 

some  time  in  1752,  we  believe.*  But  lest,  while  these  little 
castles  were  quietly  rising  amid  the  forest,  the  British  also  might 
strengthen  themselves  too  securely  to  be  dislodged,  a  party  of 
soldiers  was  sent  to  keep  the  Ohio  clear;  and  this  party, 
early  in  1752,  having  heard  of  the  trading-house  upon  the 
Miami,  and,  very  likely,  of  the  visit  to  it  by  Gist,  came  to  the 
Twigtwees  and  demanded  the  traders,  as  unauthorized  intru- 
ders upon  French  lands.  The  Twigtwees,  however,  were 
neither  cowards  nor  traitors,  and  refused  to  deliver  up  their 
friends.f  The  French,  assisted  by  the  Ottowas  and  Chip- 
pewas,  then  attacked  the  trading-house,  [where  several  fami- 
lies lived,]  which  was  probably  a  block-house,  and  after  a 
severe  battle,  in  which  fourteen  of  the  natives  were  killed,J 
and  others  wounded,  took  and  destroyed  it,  carrying  the  tra- 
ders away  to  Canada  as  prisoners,  or,  as  one  account  says, 
burning  some  of  them  alive.  This  fort,  or  trading-house,  was 
called  by  the  English  writers  Picka  will  any  .§ 

Such  was  the  fate  of  the  first  British  settlement  in  the  Ohio 
valley,  of  which  we  have  any  record.  It  was  destroyed  early 
in  1752,  as  we  know  by  the  fact,  that  its  destruction  was  re- 
ferred to  by  the  Indians  at  the  Logstown  treaty  in  June. 
What  traders  they  were  who  were  taken,  we  do  not  know 
with  certainty.  Some  have  thought  them  agents  of  the  Ohio 
Company ;  but  the  Gist's  proceedings  about  the  Kanawha  do 
not  favor  the  idea,  neither  do  the  subsequent  steps  of  the 
company  ;  and  in  the  "History  of  Pennsylvania,"  ascribed  to 
Franklin,  we  find  a  gift  of  condolence  made  by  that  Province 
to  the  Twigtwees  for  those  slain  in  defence  of  the  traders 

*Washington's  Journal  of  1753. — Mante,  in  his  History  of  the  War,  says,  early  in  1753, 
but  there  was  a  post  at  Erie  when  the  traders  were  taken,  before  June,  1752. 

fSparks'  Franklin,  vol.  iv.  p.  71. — vol.  iii.  p.  230.  Plain  Facts,  p.  42.  Contest  in  North 
Ameriea,  Ac,  p.  36.  Western  Monthly  Magazine,  1833.  This  fort  was  always  referred  to 
in  the  early  treaties  of  the  United  States  with  the  Indians ;  see  Land  Lawj  and  Treaties, 
post.  Several  other  captures  beside  this  are  referred  to  by  Franklin  and  others.  The 
attack  on  Logstown,  spoken  of  by  Smollett  and  Russell,  was  doubtless  this  attack  on  the 
Miami  post.  Smollett,*  George  II.  chap.  ix.  See  also  Burk's  Virginia,  vol.  iii.  p.  170. 

JAmong  them  a  king  of  the  Piankesbaws.  (Minutes  of  the  Council  of  Carlisle,  1753.) 
From  those  Minutes  we  learn  also  that  the  Ottowas  and  Chippewas  aided  the  French. 

§  "Washington's  Journal  (London,  1754)  has  a  map  on  which  the  name  is  printed  "Pik- 
kawalinna." — A  memorial  of  the  king's  minister,  in  1755,  refers  to  it  as  "Pickawillanea, 
in  the  centre  of  the  territory  between  the  Ohio  and  the  Wabash."  Sparks'  Franklin,  vol. 
iv.  p.  330.)  The  name  is  probably  some  variation  of  Piqua  or  Pickaway :  in  1773,  written 
by  Her.  David  Jones  "Pickawake."  (Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  i.  265.) 


1752  Treaty  Negotiations.  79 

among  them,  in  1752,  which  leads  us  to  believe  that  they  were 
independent  merchants  from  that  colony.* 

Blood  had  now  been  shed,  and  both  parties  became  more 
deeply  interested  in  the  progress  of  events  in  the  West.  The 
English,  on  their  part,  determined  to  purchase  from  the  Indians 
a  title  to  the  lands  they  wished  to  occupy,  by  fair  means  or 
foul ;  and,  in  the  spring  of  1752,  Messrs.  Fry,f  Lomax,  and  Pat- 
ton,  were  sent  from  Virginia  to  hold  a  conference  with  the  na- 
tives at  Logstown,  to  learn  what  they  objected  to  in  the  treaty 
of  Lancaster,  of  which  it  was  said  they  complained,  and  to 
settle  all  difficulties.!  On  the  9th  of  June,  the  commissioners 
met  the  red  men  at  Logstown  :  this  was  a  little  village,  seven- 
teen miles  and  a  half  below  Pittsburgh,  upon  the  north  side 
of  the  Ohio.§  It  had  long  been  a  trading  point,  but  had  been 
abandoned  by  the  Indians  in  1750.||  Here  the  Lancaster  treaty 
was  produced,  and  the  sales  of  the  western  lands  insisted 
upon ;  but  the  chiefs  said,  "No :  they  had  not  heard  of  any 
sale  west  of  the'warrior's  road,K  which  ran  at  the  foot  of  the 
Allegheny  ridge."  The  commissioners  then  offered  goods  for 
a  ratification  of  the  Lancaster  treaty ;  spoke  of  the  proposed 
settlement  by  the  Ohio  Company ;  and  used  all  their  persua- 
sions to  secure  the  land  wanted.  Upon  the  llth  of  June,  the 
Indians  replied  :  "They  recognized  the  treaty  of  Lancaster, 
and  the  authority  of  the  Six  Nations  to  make  it,  but  denied 
that  they  had  any  knowledge  of  the  western  lands  being  con- 
veyed to  the  English  by  said  deed ;  and  declined,  upon  the 

*The  Twigtwees  met  the  Pennsylvanians  at  Lancaster,  in  July,  1743,  and  made  a 
treaty  with  them.  (Dillon's  Indiana,  i.  63.)  Croghan,  also,  (Butler's  Kentucky,  471,) 
speaks  of  them  as  connected  with  Pennsylvania.  The  Shawnees,  from  the  West,  went  to 
Philadelphia  to  make  treaties,  in  1732.  (Minutes  of  the  Provincial  Council  of  Pennsylva- 
nia, iii.  491.) 

•("Afterwards  Commander  in  Chief  over  Washington,  at  the  commencement  of  the  French 
war  of  17*5—63 ;  he  died  at  Will's  Creek,  (Cumberland)  May  31. 1754.  Sparks'  Wash- 
ington, ii.  27.  note. 

%  Plain,  Facts,  p.  40. — Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  iL  p.  480. 

g  Croghan,  in  his  Journal  says,  that  Logstown  was  south  of  the  Ohio.  (Butler's  Ken- 
tucky, App.)  The  river  is  itself  nearly  north  and  south  at  the  spot  in  question ;  but  we 
always  call  the  Canada  side  the  north  side,  having  reference  to  the  general  direction  of  the 
stream. 

||  Bancroft's  Exptdition,  London,  1766,  p.  10. — Logstown  is  given  on  the  map  accompany- 
ing the  volume. 

^  Washington  (Sparks'  ii.  526,)  speaks  of  a  warrior's  path  coming  out  upon  the  Ohio 
about  thirty  miles  above  the  Great  Kanawha; — Filsons  and  Hutchins  (see  map)  make  the 
one  referred  to  by  them  terminate  below  the  Scioto. — One  may  have  been  a  branch  used 
by  the  Muskingum  and  Hocking  tribes,  the  other  by  those  of  the  Scioto  Valley. 


80  Terms  agreed  upon.  1752. 

whole,  having  any  thing  to  do  with  the  treaty  of  1744."  "How- 
ever," said  the  savages,  "as  the  French  have  already  struck 
the  Tvvigtwees,  we  shall  be  pleased  to  have  your  assistance 
and  protection,  and  wish  you  would  build  a  fort  at  once  at 
the  Forks  of  the  Ohio."*  But  this  permission  was  not  what 
the  Virginians  wanted ;  so  they  took  aside  Montour,  the  inter- 
preter, who  was  a  son  of  the  famous  Catharine  Montour ,f  and 
a  chief  among  the  Six  Nations,  being  three-fourths  of  Indian 
blood,  and  persuaded  him,  by  valid  arguments,  (of  the  kind 
which  an  Indian  mostly  appreciates  doubtless,)  to  use  his  in- 
fluence with  his  fellows.  This  he  did;  and,  upon  the  13th  of 
June,  they  all  united  in  signing  a  deed,  confirming  the  Lan- 
caster treaty  in  its  full  extent,  consenting  to  a  settlement  south- 
east of  the  Ohio,  and  guaranteeing  that  it  should  not  be  dis- 
turbed by  them.J  By  such  means  was  obtained  the  first  treaty 
writh  the  Indians  in  the  Ohio  valley. 

All  this  time  the  two  powers  beyond  the  Atlantic  were  in  a 
professed  state  "of  profound  peace ;"  and  commissioners  were 
at  Paris  trying  to  out-manoeuvre  one  another  with  regard  to 
the  disputed  lands  in  America,§  though  in  the  West  all  looked 
like  war.  We  have  seen  how  the  English  outwitted  the 
Indians,  and  secured  themselves,  as  they  thought,  by  their 
politic  conduct.  But  the  French,  in  this  as  in  all  cases,  proved 
that  they  knew  best  how  to  manage  the  natives;  and,  though 
they  had  to  contend  with  the  old  hatred  felt  toward  them  by 
the  Six  Nations,  and  though  they  by  no  means  refrained  from 
strong  acts,  marching  through  the  midst  of  the  Iroquois  coun- 
try, attacking  the  Twigtwees,  and  seizing  the  English  traders, 
nevertheless  they  did  succeed,  as  the  British  never  did,  in  at- 
taching the  Indians  to  their  cause.  As  an  old  chief  of  the 
Six  Nations  said  at  Easton,  in  1758:  "The  Indians  on  the  Ohio 
left  you  because  of  your  own  fault.  When  we  heard  the  French 
were  coming,  we  asked  you  for  help  and  arms,  but  we  did  not 

*  Plain  Facts,  p.  42. 

t  For  a  sketch  of  this  woman,  see  Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,  First  Series,  vol. 
vii.  p.  189,  or  Stone's  Life  of  Brant,  vol.  i.  p.  339.  She  had  two  sons,  Andrew  and  Henry. 
The  latter  was  a  Captain  among  the  Iroquois,  the  former  a  common  interpreter,  appa- 
rently. Andrew  was  taken  by  the  French  in  1749.  Which  of  them  was  at  Logstown  we 
are  sot  told ;  but,  from  his  influence  with  the  Indians,  it  was  probably  Henry. 

J  Plain  Facts,  pp.  38-44.  The  Virginia  commissioners  were  men  of  high  character,  but 
treated  with  the  Indians  according  to  the  ideas  of  their  day. 

gSee  Smollet ;  George  II.,  chap.  viii.  and  ix. 


1753.  Preparations  for  Hostilities.  81 

get  them.  The  French  came,  they  treated  us  kindly,  and 
gained  our  affections.  The  Governor  of  Virginia  settled  on 
our  lands  for  his  own  benefit,  and,  when  we  wanted  help, 
forsook  us."* 

So  stood  matters  at  the  close  of  1752.  The  English  had 
secured  (as  they  thought)  a  title  to  the  Indian  lands  southeast 
of  the  Ohio,  and  Gist  was  at  work  laying  out  a  town  and  fort 
there  on  Chartier's  Creek,  about  two  miles  below  the  Fork.f 
Eleven  families  also  were  crossing  the  mountains  to  settle  at 
the  point  where  Gist  had  fixed  his  own  residence,  west  of 
Laurel  Hill,  and  not  far  from  the  Youghiogany.  Goods,  too, 
had  come  from  England  for  the  Ohio  Company,  which,  how- 
ever, they  could  not  well,  and  dared  not,  carry  beyond  Will's 
Creek,  the  point  where  Cumberland  now  stands,  whence  they 
were  taken  by  the  traders  and  Indians ;  and  there  was  even 
some  prospect  of  a  road  across  the  mountains  to  the  Monon- 
gahela. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  French  were  gathering  cannon  and 
stores  upon  Lake  Erie,  and,  without  treaties  or  deeds  for  land, 
were  gaining  the  good  Mill  of  even  inimical  tribes,  and  pre- 
paring, when  all  was  ready,  to  strike  the  blow.  Some  of  the 
savages,  it  is  true,  remonstrated.  They  said  they  did  not  un- 
derstand this  dispute  between  the  Europeans,  as  to  which  of 
them  the  western  lands  belonged,  for  they  did  not  belong  to 
either.  But  the  French  bullied  when  it  served  their  turn,  and 
flattered  when  it  served  their  turn,  and  all  the  while  went  on 
with  their  preparations,  which  were  in  an  advanced  state 
early  in  1753.J 

In  May  of  that  year,  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania  informed 
the  Assembly  of  the  French  movements,  a  knowledge  of  which 
was  derived,  in  part  at  least,  from  Montour,  who  had  been 
present  at  a  conference  between  the  French  and  Indians  rela- 
tive to  the  invasion  of  the  West.§  The  Assembly,  thereupon, 
voted  six  hundred  pounds  for  distribution  among  the  tribes, 
besides  two  hundred  for  the  presents  of  condolence  to  the 
Twigtwees,  already  mentioned.  This  money  was  not  sent, 

*Plain  Facts,  p.  55. — Pownall's  Memoir  on  Service  in  North  America. 
f  Sparks'  Washington,  voL  ii.  pp.  433,  482,  and  map,  p.  38. 

J  See  in  Washington's  Journal,  the  speech  of  Half-king  to  the  French  commander  and 
his  answer. — Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  484. 

\  Sparks'  Franklin,  vol.  iii.  p.  219. 


82  Another  Treaty.  1753. 

but  Conrad  Weiser  was  despatched  in  August  to  learn  how 
things  stood  among  the  Ohio  savages.*  Virginia  was  moving 
also.  In  June,  or  earlier,  a  commissioner  was  sent  westward 
to  meet  the  French,  and  ask  how  they  dared  to  invade  his 
Majesty's  province.  The  messenger  went  to  Logstown,  but 
was  afraid  to  go  up  the  Allegheny,  as  instructed.!  Trent  was 
also  sent  off  with  guns,  powder,  shot  and  clothing  for  the 
friendly  Indians ;  and  then  it  was,  that  he  learned  the  fact 
already  stated,  as  to  the  claim  of  the  French,  and  their  burial 
of  medals  in  proof  of  it.  While  these  measures  were  taken, 
another  treaty  with  the  wild  men  of  the  debatable  land  was 
also  in  contemplation  ;  and  in  September,  1753,  William  Fair- 
fax met  their  deputies  at  Winchester,  Virginia,  where  he  con-, 
eluded  a  treaty,  with  the  particulars  of  which  we  are  unac- 
quainted, but  on  which,  we  are  told,  was  an  endorsement, 
stating  that  such  was  their  feeling,  that  he  had  not  dared  to 
mention  to  them  either  the  Lancaster  or  the  Logstown  treaty  ;J  a 
most  sad  comment  upon  the  modes  taken  to  obtain  those 
grants.  In  the  month  following,  however,  a  more  satisfactory 
interview  took  place  at  Carlisle,  between  the  representatives 
of  the  Iroquois,  Delawares,  Shawnees,  Twigtwees  and  Wyan- 
dots,  and  the  commissioners  of  Pennsylvania,  Richard  Peters, 
Isaac  Norris,  and  Benjamin  Franklin.  At  this  meeting  the 
attack  on  the  Twigtwees  was  talked  over,  the  plans  of  the 
French  discussed,  and  a  treaty  concluded.  The  Indians  had 
sent  three  messages  to  the  French,  warning  them  away;  the 
reply  was,  that  they  were  coming  to  build  forts  af'Wenengo," 
(Venango,)  [Mohongiala  forks,  (Pittsburgh,)  Logstown  and 
Beaver  Creek.  The  red  men  complained  of  the  traders  as 
too  scattered,  and  killing  them  with  rum;  they  wished  only 
three  trading  stations,  viz :  mouth  of  "Mohongely,"  (Pitts- 
burgh,) Logstown,  and  mouth  of  Conawa."§ 

Soon  after  this,  no  satisfaction  being  obtained  from  the 
Ohio,  either  as  to  the  force,  position,  or  purposes  of  the 
French,  Robert  Dinwiddie,  then  Governor  of  Virginia,  deter- 
mined to  send  to  them  another  messenger,  and  selected  a 
young  surveyor,  who,  at  the  age  of  nineteen,  had  received 
the  rank  of  major,  and  whose  previous  life  had  inured  him  to 

*  Sparks'  Franklin,  vol.  iii.  p.  230. 

fSparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  430. 

J  Plain  Facts,  p.  44. 

gMinutes  of  Treaty  at  Carlisle  in  October,  1753,  pp.  5  to  8. 


1753.  Washington.  83 

hardship  and  woodland  ways  ;  while  his  courage,  cool  judg- 
ment, and  firm  will,  all  fitted  him  for  such  a  mission.  This 
young  man,  as  all  know,  was  George  Washington,  who  was 
twenty-one  years  and  eight  months  old,  at  the  time  of  the 
appointment.*  With  Gist  as  his  guide,  Washington  left 
Will's  Creek,  where  Cumberland  now  is,  on  the  15th  of  Novem- 
ber, and,  on  the  22d,  reached  the  Monongahela,  about  ten 
miles  above  the  Fork.  Thence  he  went  to  Logstown,  where 
he  had  long  conferences  with  the  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations 
living  in  that  neighborhood.  Here  he  learned  the  position  of 
the  French  upon  the  Riviere  aux  B(zufs,  and  the  condition  of 
their  forts.  He  heard,  also,  that  they  had  determined  not  to 
come  down  the  river  till  the  following  spring,  but  had  warned 
all  the  Indians,  that,  if  they  did  not  keep  still,  the  whole 
French  force  would  be  turned  upon  them  ;  and  that,  if  they 
and  the  English  were  equally  strong,  they  would  divide  the 
land  between  them,  and  cut  off  all  the  natives.  These  threats, 
and  the  mingled  kindness  and  severity  of  the  French,  had 
produced  the  desired  effect.  Shingiss,  king  of  the  Delawares, 
feared  to  meet  Washington,  and  the.Shannoah  (Shawnee) 

chiefs  would  not  come  either. f 

i         . 

The  truth  was,  these  Indians  were  in  a  very  awkward 
position.  They  could  not  resist  the  Europeans,  and  knew 
not  which  to  side  with ;  so  that  a  non-committal  policy 
was  much  the  safest,  and  they  were  wise  not  to  return  by 
Washington  (as  he  desired  they  should)  the  wampum  they 
received  from  the  French,  as  that  would  be  equivalent  to 
breaking  with  them. 

Finding  that  nothing  could  be  done  with  these  people, 
Washington  left  Logstown  on  the  30th  of  November,  and, 
traveling  amid  cold  and  rain,  reached  Venango,J  an  old  In- 
dian town  at  the  mouth  of  French  Creek,  on  the  4th  of 
the  next  month.  Here  he  found  the  French  ;  and  through 
the  rum,  the  flattery,  and  the  persuasions  of  his  enemies, 
he  very  nearly  lost  all  his  Indians,  even  his  old  friend,  the 

*  Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii.  pp.  428 — 447. 

f  Shingiss,  or  Shingask,  was  the  great  Delaware  Warrior  of  that  day,  and  did  the 
British  much  mischief. — See  Hackewelder's  Narrative,  p.  64. 

J  A  corruption  of  Innungah;  (Day's  Historical  Collections  of  Pennsylvania,  636,  note. ) 
The  French  fort  there  was  called  Fort  Machault.  Meinoires  sur  la  Derniere  Guerre, 
iii.  181.) 


84  Washington's  Return.  1754. 


•s 


Half-king.  Patience  and  good  faith  conquered,  however, 
and,  after  another  effort  through  mires  and  creeks,  snow,  rain 
and  cold,  upon  the  llth  he  reached  the  head  of  French  Creek. 
Here  he  delivered  Governor  Dinwiddie's  letter,  took  his  ob- 
servations, received  his  answer,  and  upon  the  16th  set  out 
upon  his  return  journey,  having  had  to  combat  every  art 
and  trick  "which  the  most  faithful  brain  could  suggest,"  in 
order  to  get  his  Indians  away  with  him.  Flattery,  liquor, 
guns,  and  provisions  were  showered  upon  the  Half-king  and 
his  comrades,  while  Washington  himself  received  bows, 
smirks,  and  compliments,  with  a  plentiful  store  of  creature- 
comforts  also. 

From  Venango,  Washington  and  Gist  went  on  foot,  leaving 
their  Indian  friends  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  French.  Of 
their  hardships  and  dangers  on  this  journey  out  and  back,  we 
need  only  say,  that  three  out  of  five  men  who  went  with 
them  were  too  badly  frost-bitten  to  continue  the  journey.* — 
In  spite  of  all,  however,  they  reached  Will's  Creek,  on  the 
6th  of  January,  well  and  sound.f  During  the  absence  of  the 
young  messenger,  steps  had  been  taken  to  fortify  and  settle 
the  point  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  Monongahela  and 
Allegheny  ;  and  while  upon  his  return,  he  met  "seventeen 
horses,  loaded  with  materials  and  stores  for  a  fort  at  the  Fork 
of  the  Ohio,"  and,  soon  after,  "some  families  going  out  to  set- 
tle." These  steps  were  taken  by  the  Ohio  Company ;  but,  as 
soon  as  Washington  returned  with  the  letter  of  St.  Pierre, 
the  commander  on  French  Creek,  and  it  was  perfectly  clear 
that  neither  he  nor  his  superiors  meant  to  yield  the  West 
without  a  struggle,  Governor  Dinwiddie  wrote  to  the  Board 
of  Trade,  stating  that  the  French  were  building  another  fort 
at  Venango,  and  that  in  March  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred 
men  would  be  ready  to  descend  the  river  with  their  Indian 
allies,  for  which  purpose  three  hundred  canoes  had  been  col- 
lected ;  and  that  Logstown  was  then  to  be  made  head-quar- 
ters, while  forts  were  built  in  various  other  positions,  and  the 
whole  country  occupied.  He  also  sent  expresses  to  the  Gov- 
ernors of  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  calling  upon  them  for 
assistance ;  and  with  the  advice  of  his  council,  proceeded  to 

*  Sparks'  Washington,  ii.  55. 

|  Gist's  Journal  of  this  Expedition  maj  be  found  in  the  Massachusetts  Historical  Col- 
lections, third  series,  voL  v.  (1836,)  101  to  108. 


1754.  Fort  at  Venango  Finished.  85 

enlist  two  companies,  one  of  which  was  to  be  raised  by 
Washington,  the  other  by  Trent,  who  was  a  frontier  man.  . 
This  last  was  to  be  raised  upon  the  frontiers;  and  to  proceed 
at  once  to  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio,  there  to  complete  in  the  best 
manner,  and  as  soon  as  possible,  the  fort  begun  by  the  Ohio 
Company ;  and  in  case  of  attack,  or  any  attempt  to  resist  the 
settlements,  or  obstruct  the  works,  those  resisting  were  to  be 
taken,  and  if  need  were,  to  be  killed.* 

While  Virginia  was  taking  these  strong  measures,  which 
were  fully  authorized  by  the  letter  of  the  Earl  of  Holdernesse, 
Secretary  of  State,f  written  in  the  previous  August,  and  which 
directed  the  Governors  of  the  various  provinces,  after  repre- 
senting to  those  who  were  invading  his  Majesty's  dominions 
the  injustice  of  the  act,  to  call  out  the  armed  force  of  the 
province,  and  repel  force  by  force;  while  Virginia  was  thus 
acting,  Pennsylvania  was  discussing  the  question,  whether  the 
French  were  really  invading  his  Majesty's  dominions, — the 
Governor  being  on  one  side,  and  the  Assembly  on  the  other  ,J 
and  New  York  was  preparing  to  hold  a  conference  with  the 
Six  Nations,  in  obedience  to  orders  from  the  Board  of  Trade, 
written  in  September,  1753.§  These  orders  had  been  sent 
out  in  consequence  of  the  report  in  England,  that  the  natives 
would  side  with  the  French,  because  dissatisfied  \vith  the  oc- 
cupancy of  their  lands  by  the  English  ;  and  simultaneous  orders 
were  sent  to  the  other  provinces,  directing  the  Governors  to 
recommend  their  Assemblies  to  send  commissioners  to  Albany 
to  attend  this  grand  treaty,  which  was  to  heal  all  wounds. 
New  York,  however,  was  more  generous  when  called  on  by 
Virginia,  than  her  neighbor  on  the  south,  and  voted,  for  the 
assistance  of  the  resisting  colony,  five  thousand  pounds  cur- 
rency.|| 

It  was  now  April,  1754.  The  fort  at  Venango  was  finished, 
and  all  along  the  line  of  French  Creek  troops  were  gathering ; 
and  the  wilderness  echoed  the  strange  sounds  of  an  European 
camp, — the  watch-word,  the  command,  the  clang  of  muskets, 
the  uproar  of  soldiers,  the  cry  of  the  sutler ;  and  with  these 

*Sparks'  Waihington,  vol.  ii.  pp.  1,  431,  446. — Sparks'  Franklin,  TO!,  iii.  p.  254. 

fSparks'  Franklin,  vol.  iii.  p.  251,  where  the  letter  is  given. 

%  Sparks'  Franklin,  vol.  iii.  pp.  254,  263. 

gPlain  Facts,  pp.  45,  46.    Sparks'  Franklin,  vol.  iii.  p.  253. 

^Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,  first  series,  vol.  vii.  p.  73. 


86  Volunteers  called  out.  1754. 

were  mingled  the  shrieks  of  drunken  Indians,  won  over  from 
their  old  friendship  by  rum  and  soft  words.  Scouts  were 
abroad,  and  little  groups  formed  about  the  tents  or  huts  of 
the  officers,  to  learn  the  movements  of  the  British.  Canoes 
were  gathering,  and  cannon  were  painfully  hauled  here 
and  there.  All  was  movement  and  activity  among  the  old 
forests,  and  on  hill-sides,  covered  already  with  young  wild 
flowers,  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Allegheny.  In  Philadelphia, 
meanwhile,  Governor  Hamilton,  in  no  amiable  mood,  had 
summoned  the  Assembly,  and  asked  them  if  they  meant  to 
help  the  King  in  the  defence  of  his  dominions ;  and  had  de- 
sired them,  above  all  things,  to  do  whatever  they  meant  to  do, 
quickly.  The  Assembly  debated,  and  resolved  to  aid  the  King 
with  a  little  money,  and  then  debated  again  and  voted  not  to 
aid  him  with  any  money  at  all,  for  some  would  not  give  less 
than  ten  thousand  pounds,  and  others  would  not  give  more 
than  five  thousand  pounds;  and  so,  nothing  being  practicable, 
they  adjourned  upon  the  10th  of  April  until  the  13th  of  May.* 
In  New  York,  a  little,  and  only  a  little  better  spirit,  was  at 
work  ;  nor  was  this  strange,  as  her  direct  interest  was  much 
less  than  that  of  Pennsylvania.  Five  thousand  pounds  indeed 
was,  as  we  have  said,  voted  to  Virginia ;  but  the  Assembly 
questioned  the  invasion  of  his  Majesty's  dominions  by  the 
French,  and  it  was  not  till  June  that  the  money  voted  was 
sent  forward.! 

The  Old  Dominion,  however,  was  all  alive.  As,  under  the 
provincial  law,  the  militia  could  not  be  called  forth  to  march 
more  than  five  miles  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  colony,  and  as 
it  was  doubtful  if  the  French  were  in  Virginia,  it  was  deter- 
mined to  rely  upon  volunteers.  Ten  thousand  pounds  had 
been  voted  by  the  Assembly ;  so  the  two  companies  were  now 
increased  to  six,  and  Washington  was  raised  to  the  rank  of 
lieutenant  colonel,  and  made  second  in  command  under 
Joshua  Fry.  Ten  cannon,  lately  from  England,  were  for- 
warded from  Alexandria;  wagons  were  got  ready  to  carry 
westward  provisions  and  stores  through  the  heavy  spring 
roads;  and  everywhere  along  the  Potomac  men  were  enlist- 
ing under  the  Governor's  proclamation,  which  promised  to 

*  Sparks'  Franklin,  vol.  iii.  pp.  264,  265. 

IMassachusetts  Historical  Collections,  first  series,  vol.  vii.  pp.  72,  73,  and  note. 


1754.  The   War  Begun.  87 

those  that  should  serve  in  that  war,  two  hundred  thousand 
acres  of  land  on  the  Ohio,  or,  already  enlisted,  were  gathering 
into  grave  knots,  or  marching  forward  to  the  field  of  action, 
or  helping  on  the  thirty  cannon  and  eighty  barrels  of  gun- 
powder, which  the  King  had  sent  out  for  the  western  forts. 
Along  the  Potomac  they  were  gathering,  as  far  as  to  Will's 
Creek  ;  and  far  beyond  Will's  Creek,  whither  Trent  had  come 
for  assistance,  his  little  band  of  forty-one  men  was  working 
away,  in  hunger  and  want,  to  fortify  that  point  at  the  Fork  of 
the  Ohio,  to  which  both  parties  were  looking  with  deep  inter- 
est. The  first  birds  of  spring  filled  the  forest  with  their  songs; 
the  redbud  was  here  and  there  putting  forth  its  flowers  on  the 
steep  Alleghe  ny  hill-sides,  and  the  swift  river  below  swept  by, 
swollen  by  the  melting  snows  and  April  showers;  a  few  In- 
dian scouts  were  seen  but  no  enemy  seemed  near  at  hand ; 
and  all  were  so  quiet,  that  Frazier,  an  old  Indian  trader,  who 
had  been  left  by  Trent  in  command  of  the  new  fort,  ventured 
to  his  home  at  the  mouth  of  Turtle  Creek,  ten  miles  up  the 
Monongahela.  But,  though  all  was  so  quiet  in  that  wilder- 
ness, keen  eyes  had  seen  the  low  entrenchment  that  was 
rising  at  the  Fork,  and  swift  feet  had  borne  the  news  of  it  up 
the  valley ;  and,  upon  the  17th  of  April,  Ensign  Ward,  who 
then  had  charge  of  it,  saw  upon  the  Allegheny  a  sight  that 
made  his  heart  sink;  sixty  batteaux  and  three  hundred  canoes, 
filled  with  men,  and  laden  deep  with  cannon  and  stores.  The 
fort  was  called  on  to  surrender ;  by  the  advice  of  the  Half- 
king,  Ward  tried  to  evade  the  act,  but  it  would  not  do  ;  Con- 
trecoeur,  with  a  thousand  men  about  him,  said  "Evacuate," 
and  the  Ensign  dared  not  refuse.  That  evening  he  supped 
with  his  captor,  and  the  next  day  was  bowed  off  by  the 
Frenchman,  and,  with  his  men  and  tools,  marched  up  the 
Monongahela.  From  that  day  began  the  war.* 

*  Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii.  The  number  of  French  troops  was  probably  over-stated, 
but  to  the  captives  there  seemed  a  round  thousand.  Burk,  in  his  History  of  Virginia, 
speaks  of  the  taking  of  Logstown  by  the  French  ;  but  Logstown  was  never  a  post  of  the 
Ohio  Company  as  he  represents  it,  as  is  plain  from  all  contemporary  letters  and  accounts. 
Burk's  ignorance  of  Western  matters  is  clear  in  this,  that  he  says  the  French  dropped 
down  from  Fort  Du  Quesne  to  Presqu'Ile  and  Venango ;  they,  or  a  part  of  them,  did  drop 
down  the  Ohio,  but  surely  not  to  posts,  one  of  which  was  on  Lake  Erie,  and  the  other  far 
up  the  Allegheny!  In  a  letter  from  Captain  Stobo,  written  in  July,  1754,  at  Fort  Du 
Quesne,  where  he  was  then  confined  as  hostage  under  the  capitulation  of  Great  Meadows, 
he  says  there  were  but  two  hundred  men  in  and  about  the  Fort  at  that  time. — (American 
Pioneer,  i.  236. — For  plan  of  Forts  Du  Quesne  and  Pitt,  see  article  in  Pioneer;  also.  Day's 
Historical  Collections  of  Pennsylvania,  77.) 


CHAPTER  111. 
WAR  OF  1754  TO  1763. 


Fort  Necessity — Proposed  compromise  by  the  French — March  of  Braddock — Defeat  of 
Braddock — Expedition  to  the  Indian  Towns  on  the  Ohio — Fort  Du  Quesne  taken  by  the 
British — Journey  of  Post — Treaty  at  Easton — Settlements  in  the  West — Treaty  of  Peace 
at  Paris. 


Washington  was  at  Will's  Creek,  (Cumberland,)  when  the 
news  of  the  surrender  of  the  Forks  reached  him.  He  was.on 
his  way  across  the  mountains,  preparing  roads  for  the  King's 
cannon,  and  aiming  for  the  mouth  of  Red  Stone  Creek, 
(Brownsville,)  where  a  store-house  had  been  already  built  by 
the  Ohio  Company ;  by  the  9th  of  May,  he  had  reached  Lit- 
tle Meadows,  on  the  head  waters  of  a  branch  of  the  Youghio- 
gheny,  toiling  slowly,  painfully  forward,  four,  three,  sometimes 
only  two  miles  a  day  !  All  the  while  from  traders  and  others 
he  heard  of  forces  coming  up  the  Ohio  to  reinforce  the  French 
at  the  Fork,  and  of  spies  out  examining  the  valley  of  the 
Monongahela,  flattering  and  bribing  the  Indians.  On  the 
•27  th  of  May  he  was  at  Great  Meadows,  west  of  the  Youghi- 
ogheny,  near  the  Fort  of  Laurel  Hill,  close  by  the  spot  now 
known  as  Braddock's  Grave.  He  had  heard  of  a  body  of 
French  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood,  and  on  the  27th,  his 
former  guide,  Gist,  came  from  his  residence  beyond  Laurel 
Hill,  near  the  head  of  Red  Stone  Creek,  and  gave  information 
of  a  body  of  French,  who  had  been  at  his  plantation  the  day 
before.  That  evening  from  his  old  friend  the  Half-king,  he 
heard  again  of  enemies  in  the  vicinity.  Fearing  a  surprise, 
Washington  at  once  started,  and  early  the  next  morning  at- 
tacked the  party  referred  to  by  the  Chief  of  the  Iroquois.  In 
the  contest  ten  of  the  French  were  killed,  including  M.  de 
Jumonville,  their  commander;  of  the  Americans  but  one  was 
lost.  This  skirmish  France  saw  fit  to  regard  as  the  commence- 
ment of  the  war,  and  inconsequence  of  a  report  made  by  M.  de 
ContreccEur,  to  the  Marquis  Du  Quesne,  founded  upon  the  tales 
told  by  certain  of  Jumonville's  men,  who  had  run  away  at  the 
first  onset,  it  has  been  usual  with  French  writers  to  represent 
the  attack  by  Washington  as  unauthorized,  and  the  party  as- 


1754.  Cvpitulation  of  Fort  Necessity.  89 

sailed  by  him  as  a  party  sent  with  peaceable  intentions;  and 
this  impression  was  confirmed  by  the  term  "assassination  of  M. 
de  Jumonville,"  used  in  the  capitulation  of  Great  Meadows  in 
the  following  July  ; — this  having  been  accepted  by  Washing- 
ton (to  whom  the  term  was  falsely  translated^)  it  was  naturally 
regarded  as  an  acknowledgment  by  him  of  the  improper 
character  of  the  attack  of  May  28th.  Mr,  Sparks,  in  his  ap- 
pendix to  Washington's  papers,  vol.  ii.  pp.  447,  459,  has  dis- 
cussed this  matter  at  length,  and  fully  answered  the  aspersions 
of  the  European  writers  ;  to  his  work  we  refer  our  readers. 

From  the  last  of  May  until  the  1st  of  July,  preparations 
were  made  to  meet  the  French  who  were  understood  to  be 
gathering  their  forces  in  the  West.  On  the  28th  of  June, 
Washington  was  at  Gist's  house,  and  new  reports  coming  in 
that  the  enemy  was  approaching  in  force,  a  council  of  war 
was  held,  and  it  was  thought  best,  in  consequence  of  the 
scarcity  of  provisions,  to  retreat  to  Great  Meadows,  and  even 
farther  if  possible.  When,  however,  the  retiring  body  of 
Provincials  reached  that  post,  it  was  deemed  impossible  to  go 
farther  in  the  exhausted  state  of  the  troops,  who  had  been 
eight  days  without  bread.  Measures  were  therefore  taken  to 
strengthen  the  fort,  which,  from  the  circumstances,  was  named 
Fort  Necessity.  On  the  1st  of  July,  the  Americans  reached 
their  position ;  on  the  3d,  alarm  was  given  of  an  approaching 
enemy;  at  eleven  o'clock,  A.  M.,  nine  hundred  in  number, 
they  commenced  the  attack  in  the  midst  of  a  hard  rain  ;  and 
from  that  time  until  eight  in  the  evening,  the  assailants  ceased 
not  to  pour  their  fire  upon  the  little  fortress.  About  eight 
the  French  requested  some  officer  to  be  sent  to  treat  with 
them;  Captain  Vanbraam,  the  only  person  who  pretended  to 
understand  the  language  of  the  enemy,  was  ordered  to  go  to 
the  camp  of  the  attacking  party,  whence  he  returned  bringing 
terras  of  capitulation,  which,  by  a  flickering  candle,  in  the 
dripping  quarters  of  his  commander,  he  translated  to  Wash- 
ington, and  as  it  proved,  from  intention  or  ignorance,  mis- 
translated. By  this  capitulation,  the  garrison  of  Fort  Neces- 
sity were  to  have  leave  to  retire  with  everything  but  their 
artillery;  the  prisoners  taken  May  28th  were  to  be  returned; 
and  the  party  yielding  were  to  labor  on  no  works  west  of  the 
mountains  for  one  year;  for  the  observance  of  these  condi- 
tions Captain  Vanbraam,  the  negotiator,  and  Captain  Stobo, 
6 


90  Resignation  of  Washington.  1754. 

were  to  be  retained  by  the  French  as  sureties.*  The  above 
provisions  having  been  agreed  to,  Washington  and  his  men, 
hard  pressed  by  famine,  hastened  to  the  nearest  depot  which 
was  at  Will's  Creek.  At  this  point,  immediately  afterwards, 
Fort  Cumberland  was  erected  under  the  charge  of  Colonel 
Innes,  of  North  Carolina,  who,  since  the  death  of  Colonel 
Fry,  had  been  Commander-in- Chief.  At  that  time  there  were 
in  service,  1st,  the  Virginia  militia ;  2nd,  the  Independent  Com- 
panies of  Virginia,  South  Carolina,  and  New  York,  all  of  whom 
were  paid  by  the  King ;  3d,  troops  raised  in  North  Carolina 
and  paid  by  the  Colony ;  and  4th,  recruits  from  Maryland ;  of 
these  the  Virginia  and  South  Carolina  troops  alone  had  been 
beyond  the  mountains. 

From  August  to  October  little  appears  to  have  been  done, 
but  in  the  latter  month  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  (Dinwiddie,) 
so  changed  the  military  organization  of  the  Colony,  as  to  leave 
no  one  in  the  army  with  a  rank  above  that  of  Captain ;  this 
was  done  in  order  to  avoid  all  contests  as  to  precedence 
among  the  American  officers,  it  being  clear  that  troops  from 
various  Provinces  would  have  to  be  called  into  the  field,  and 
that  the  different  commissions  from  the  Crown,  and  the  Colo- 
nies, would  give  large  openings  for  rivalry  and  conflict ;  but 
among  the  results  of  the  measure  was  the  resignation  of 
Washington,  who  for  a  time  retired  to  Mount  Vernon.f 

It  was  now  the  fall  of  1754.  In  Pennsylvania,  Morris,  who 
had  succeeded  Hamilton,  was  busily  occupied  with  making 
speeches  to  the  Assembly  and  listening  to  their  stubborn  re- 
plies ;  J,  while  in  the  north  the  Kennebec  was  fortified,  and  a 
plan  talked  over  for  attacking  Crown  Point  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain  the  next  spring ;  §  and  in  the  south  things  went  on  much 
as  if  there  were  no  war  coming.  All  the  colonies  united  in 
one  thing,  however,  in  calling  loudly  on  the  mother  country 
for  help.  During  this  same  autumn  the  pleasant  Frenchmen 
were  securing  the  West,  step  by  step ;  settling  the  valley  of 
the  Wabash ;  gallanting  with  the  Delawares,  and  coquetting 
with  the  Iroquois,  who  still  balanced  between  them  and  the 

*This  fact  would  seem  to  show  that  Vanbraam's  mistranslation  must  have  been  from 
ignorance  or  accident. 

•fSparks'  Washington,  ii.  64,  67,  and  generally,  the  whole  volume,  as  to  this  war. 
JSparks'  Franklin,  vol.  iii.  p.  282. 
^Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,  vol.  vii.  p.  88. 


1755.  Braddock  in  America.  91 

English.  The  forest  of  the  Ohio  shed  their  leaves,  and  the  prai- 
ries filled  the  sky  with  the  smoke  of  their  burning  ;  and  along 
the  great  rivers,  and  on  the  lakes,  and  amid  the  pathless 
woods  of  the  West,  no  European  was  seen,  whose  tongue  spoke 
other  language  than  that  of  France.  So  closed  1754. 

The  next  year  opened  with  professions,  on  both  sides,  of  the 
most  peaceful  intentions,  and  preparations  on  both  sides  to 
push  the  war  vigorously.  France,  in  January,  proposed  to  re- 
store every  thing  to  the  state  it  was  in  before  the  last  war, 
and  to  refer  all  claims  to  commissioners  at  Paris ;  to  which 
Britain,  on  the  22nd,  replied  that,  the  west  of  North  America 
must  be  left  as  it  was  at  the  treaty  of  Utrecht.  On  the  6th  of 
February,  France  made  answer,  that  the  old  English  claims  in 
America  were  untenable ;  and  offered  a  new  ground  of  compro- 
mise, namely,  that  the  English  should  retire  east  of  the  Alle- 
ghenies,  and  the  French  west  of  the  Ohio.  This  offer  was  long 
considered,  and  at  length  was  agreed  to  by  England  on  the  7th 
of  March,  provided  the  French  would  destroy  all  their  forts  on 
the  Ohio  and  its  branches ;  to  which,  after  twenty  days  had 
passed,  France  said,  "No."*  While  all  this  negotiation  was 
going  on,  other  things  also  had  been  in  motion.  General 
Braddock,  with  his  gallant  troops,  had  crossed  the  Atlantic,, 
and,  upon  the  20th  of  February,  had  landed  in  Virginia,  com- 
mander-in-chief  of  all  the  land  forces  in  America;  and  in  the 
north  all  this  while  there  was  whispering  of,  and  enlisting  for, 
the  proposed  attack  on  Crown  Point ;  and  even  Niagara,  far 
off  by  the  falls,  was  to  be  taken  in  case  nothing  prevented.  In 
France,  too,  other  work  had  been  done  than  negotiation  ;  fou 
at  Brest  and  Rochelle  ships  were  fitting  out,  and  troops  gathr 
ering,  and  stores  crowding  in.  Even  old  England  herself  had 
not  been  all  asleep,  and  Boscawen  had  been  busy  at  Plymouth, 
hurrying  on  the  slow  workmen,  and  gathering  the  unready  sai- 
lors.-f  In  March  the  two  European  neighbors  were  smiling 
and  doing  their  best  to  quiet  all  troubles  ;  in  April  they  still 
smiled,  but  the  fleets  of  both  were  crowding  sail  across  the  At- 
lantic and,  in  Alexandria,  Braddock,  Shirley,  and  their  fellow- 
officers  were  taking  counsel  as  to  the  summer's  campaign. 

In  America  four   points  were  to   be  attacked ;    Fort   Du 

•^Plain  Facts,  pp.  51,  52. — Secret  Journals,  vol.  iv.  p.  74. 

|Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  68. — Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,  vol.  vii.  p.  89. 
— Smollett.    George  II,  chapter  x. 


92  Difficulties  of  Braddock.  1755. 

Quesne,  Crown* Point,  Niagara,  and  the  French  posts  in  Nova 
Scotia.  On  the  20th  of  April,  Braddock  left  Alexandria  to 
march  upon  Du  Quesne,  whither  he  was  expressly  ordered, 
though  the  officers  in  America  looked  upon  it  as  a  mistaken 
movement,  as  they  thought  New  York  should  be  the  main 
point  for  regular  operations.  The  expedition  for  Nova  Scotia, 
consisting  of  three  thousand  Massachusetts  men,  left  Boston 
on  the  20th  of  May;  while  the  troops  which  General  Shirley 
was  to  lead  against  Niagara,  and  the  provincials  which  Will- 
iam Johnson  was  to  head  in  the  attack  upon  Crown  Point, 
slowly  collected  at  Albany. 

May  and  June  passed  away,  and  mid  summer  drew  nigh. 
The  fearful  and  desponding  colonists  waited  anxiously  for 
news;  and,  when  the  news  came  that  Nova  Scotia  had  been 
conquered,  and  that  Boscawen  had  taken  two  of  the  French 
men  of  war,  and  lay  before  Louisburg,  hope  and  joy  spread 
everywhere.  July  passed  away,  too,  and  men  heard  how  slowly 
and  painfully  Braddock  made  progress  through  the  wilderness, 
how  his  contractors  deceived  him,  and  the  colonies  gave  little 
help,  and  neither  horses  nor  wagons  could  be  had,  and  only 
one,  Benjamin  Franklin,  sent  any  aid  ;*  and  then  reports  came 
that  he  had  been  forced  to  leave  many  of  his  troops,  and  much 
of  his  baggage  and  artillery,  behind  him  ;  and  then,  about  the 
middle  of  the  month,  through  Virginia  there  went  a  whisper, 
that  the  great  general  had  been  defeated  and  wholly  cut  off; 
and,  as  man  after  man  rode  down  the  Potomac  confirming  it, 
the  planters  hastily  mounted,  and  were  off  to  consult  with 
their  neighbors;  the  country  turned  out;  companies  were 
formed  to  march  to  the  frontiers ;  sermons  were  preached, 
and  every  heart  and  mouth  was  full.  In  Pennsylvania  the 
Assembly  were  called  together  to  hear  the  "shocking  news;" 
and  in  New  York  it  struck  terror  into  those  who  were  there 
gathered  to  attack  the  northern  posts.  Soldiers  deserted  ;  the 
batteaux  men  dispersed ;  and  when  at  length  Shirley,  since 
Braddock's  death  the  commander-in-chief,  managed  with  infi- 
nite labor  to  reach  Oswego  on  Lake  Ontario,  it  was  too  late 
and  stormy,  and  his  force  too  feeble,  to  allow  him  to  more  than 
garrison  that  point,  and  march  back  to  Albany  again. f  John- 

*Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  77,  <tc. — Sparks'  Franklin,  vol.  vii.  p.  94,  &e. 

'  -fFor  a  full  account  of  Shirley's  Expedition,  see  the  paper  in  Massachusetts  Historical 
Collections,  vol.  vii. 


1755.  Services  of  Franklin.  93 

son  did  better ;  for  he  met  and  defeated  Baron  Dieskau  upon 
the  banks  of  Lake  George,  though  Crown  Point  was  not 
taken,  nor  even  attacked. 

But  we  must  turn  back  for  a  moment  to  describe  particu- 
larly the  events  of  Braddock's  famous  defeat,  connected  as  it 
is  with  the  history  of  the  West;  and  we  cannot  do  it  more 
perfectly  than  in  the  words  of  Mr.  Sparks  in  his  appendix  to 
the  second  volume  of  the  writings  of  Washington. 

The  defeat  of  General  Braddock,  on  the  banks  of  the  Monon- 
gahela,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  events  in  American 
history.  Great  preparations  had  been  made  for  the  expedi- 
tion, under  that  experienced  officer,  and  there  was  the  most 
sanguine  anticipation,  both  in  England  and  America,  of  its 
entire  success.  Such  was  the  confidence  in  the  prowess  of 
Braddock's  army,  according  to  Dr.  Franklin,  that,  while  he  was 
on  his  march  to  Fort  Du  Quesne,  a  subscription  paper  was 
handed  about  in  Philadelphia,  to  raise  money  to  celebrate  his 
victory  by  bonfires  and  illuminations,  as  soon  as  the  intelli- 
gence should  arrive. 

General  Braddock  landed  in  Virginia  on  the  20th  of  Feb- 
ruary, 1755,  with  two  regiments  of  the  British  army  from 
Ireland,  the  forty-fourth  and  forty-eighth,  each  consisting  of 
five  hundred  men,  one  of  them  commanded  by  Sir  Peter 
Halket,  and  the  other  by  Colonel  Dunbar.  To  these  were 
joined  a  suitable  train  of  artillery,  with  military  supplies 
and  provisions.  The  General's  first  head-quarters  were  at 
Alexandria,  and  the  troops  were  stationed  in  that  place 
and  its  vicinity,  till  they  marched  for  Will's  Creek,  where  they 
arrived  about  the  middle  of  May.  It  took  four  weeks  to 
effect  that  march.  In  letters  written  at  Will's  Creek,  General 
Braddock,  with  much  severity  of  censure,  complained  of  the 
lukewarmness  of  the  colonial  governments  and  tardiness  of 
the  people,  in  facilitating  his  enterprise,  the  dishonesty  of 
agents  and  the  faithlessness  of  contractors.  The  forces  which 
he  brought  together  at  Will's  Creek,  however,  amounted  to 
somewhat  more  than  two  thousand  effective  men,  of  whom 
about  one  thousand  belonged  to  the  royal  regiments,  and  the 
remainder  were  furnished  by  the  colonies.  In  this  number 
were  embraced  the  fragments  of  two  independent  companies 
from  New  York,  one  of  which  was  commanded  by  Captain 
Gates,  afterwards  a  Major- General  in  the  Revolutionary  war. 
Thirty  sailors  had  also  been  granted  for  the  expedition  by 
Admiral  Keppel,  who  commanded  the  squadron  that  brought 
over  the  two  regiments. 

At  this  post  the  army  was  detained  three  weeks,  nor  could 
it  then  have  moved,  had  it  not  been  for  the  energetic  personal 
services  of  Franklin,  among  the  Pennslyvania  farmers,  in  pro- 


94  BraddocVs  Defeat.  1755. 

curing  horses  and  wagons  to  transport  the  artillery,  provisions 
and  baggage. 

The  details  of  the  march  were  well  described  in  Colonel 
Washington's  letters.  The  army  was  separated  into  two 
divisions.  The  advanced  division,  under  General  Braddock, 
consisted  of  twelve  hundred  men,  besides  officers.  The  other, 
under  Colonel  Dunbar,  was  left  in  the  rear,  to  proceed  by 
slower  marches.  On  the  8th  of  July,  the  General  arrived 
with  his  division,  all  in  excellent  health  and  spirits,  at  the 
junction  of  the  Youghiogheny  and  Monongahela  rivers.  At 
this  place  Colonel  Washington  joined  the  advance  division, 
being  but  partially  recovered  from  a  severe  attack  of  fever, 
which  had  been  the  cause  of  his  remaining  behind.  The 
officers  and  soldiers  were  now  in  the  highest  spirits,  and  firm 
in  the  conviction,  that  they  should  within  a  few  hours,  vic- 
toriously enter  the  walls  of  Fort  Du  Quesne. 

The  steep  and  nigged  grounds  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Monongahela  prevented  the  army  from  marching  in  that  di- 
rection, and  it  was  necessary  in  approaching  the  Fort,  now 
about  fifteen  miles  distant,  to  ford  the  river  twice,  and  march 
part  of  the  way  on  the  south  side.  Early  on  the  morning  of 
the  9th,  all  things  were  in  readiness,  and  the  whole  train  pass- 
ed through  the  river  a  little  below  the  mouth  of  the  Youghio- 
gheny, and  proceeded  in  perfect  order  along  the  southern  mar- 
gin of  the  Monongahela. 

Washington  was  often  heard  to  say  during  his  lifetime,  that 
the  most  beautiful  spectacle  that  he  ever  beheld  was  the  dis- 
play of  the  British  troops  on  this  eventful  morning.  Every  man 
was  neatly  dressed  in  full  uniform,  the  soldiers  were  arranged 
in  columns  and  marched  in  exact  order,  the  sun  gleamed  from 
their  burnished  arms,  the  river  flowed  tranquilly  on  their 
right,  and  the  deep  forest  overshadowed  them  with  solemn 
grandeur  on  their  left.  Officers  and  men  were  equally  in- 
spired with  cheering  hopes  and  confident  anticipations. 

In  this  manner  they  marched  forward  till  about  noon,  when 
they  arrived  at  the  second  crossing  place,  ten  miles  from  Fort 
Du  Quesne.  They  halted  but  a  little  time,  and  then  began 
to  ford  the  river  and  regain  its  northern  bank.  As  soon  as 
they  had  crossed,  they  came  upon  a  level  plain,  elevated  but 
a  few  feet  above  the  surface  of  the  river,  and  extending 
northward  nearly  half  a  mile  from  its  margin.  Then  com- 
menced a  gradual  ascent  at  an  angle  of  about  three  degrees, 
which  terminated  in  hills  of  a  considerable  height  at  no  great 
distance  beyond.  The  road  from  the  fording  place  to  Fort  Du 
Quesne,  led  across  the  plain  and  up  this  ascent,  and  thence 
proceeded  through  an  uneven  country,  at  that  time  covered 
with  woods. 

By  the  order  of  march,  a  body  of  three  hundred  men,  under 
Colonel  Gage,  afterwards  General  Gage,  of  Boston  memory, 


1755.  Braddoctts  Defeat.  95 

made  the  advanced  party,  which  was  immediately  followed 
by  another  of  two  hundred.  Next  came  the  General  with 
the  columns  of  artillery,  the  main  body  of  the  army,  and  the 
baggage.  At  one  o'clock  the  whole  had  passed  the  river,  and 
almost  at  this  moment  a  sharp  firing  was  heard  upon  the  ad- 
vance parties,  who  were  now  ascending  the  hill,  and  had  got 
forward  about  a  hundred  yards  from  the  termination  of  the 
plain.  A  heavy  discharge  of  musketry  was  poured  in  upon 
their  front,  which  was  the  first  intelligence  they  had  of  the 
proximity  of  an  enemy,  and  this  was  suddenly  followed  by 
another  on  their  right  flank.  They  were  filled  with  great  con- 
sternation, as  no  enemy  was  in  sight,  and  the  firing  seemed  to 
proceed  from  an  invisible  foe.  They  fired  in  their  turn,  how- 
ever, but  quite  at  random,  and  obviously  without  effect,  as 
the  enemy  kept  up  a  discharge  in  quick,  continued  succession. 

The  General  advanced  speedily  to  the  relief  of  these  de- 
tachments; but  before  he  could  reach  the  spot  which  they  oc- 
cupied, they  gave  way  and  fell  back  upon  the  artillery  and 
the  other  columns  of  the  army,  causing  extreme  confusion, 
and  striking  the  whole  mass  with  such  a  panic,  that  no  order 
could  afterwards  be  restored.  The  General  and  the  officers 
behaved  with  the  utmost  courage,  and  used  every  effort  to 
rally  the  men,  and  bring  them  to  order,  but  all  in  vain.  In 
this  state  they  continued  nearly  three  hours,  huddling  together 
in  confused  bodies,  firing  irregularly,  shooting  down  their  own 
officers  and  men,  and  doing  no  perceptible  harm  to  the  enemy. 
The  Virginia  provincials  were  the  only  troops  who  seemed  to 
retain  their  senses,  and  they  behaved  with  a  bravery  and  reso- 
lution worthy  of  a  better  fate.  They  adopted  the  Indian 
mode,  and  fought  each  man  for  himself  behind  a  tree.  This 
was  prohibited  by  the  General,  who  endeavored  to  form  his 
men  into  platoons  and  columns,  as  if  they  had  been  manoeu- 
vring on  the  plains  of  Flanders.  Meantime  the  French  and 
Indians,  concealed  in  the  ravines  and  behind  trees,  kept  up  a 
deadly  and  unceasing  discharge  of  musketry,  singling  out 
their  objects,  taking  deliberate  aim,  and  producing  a  carnage 
almost  unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  modern  warfare.  More 
than  half  of  the  whole  army,  which  had  crossed  the  river  in  so 
proud  an  array,  only  three  hours  before,  were  killed  or  wound- 
ed ;  the  General  himself  had  received  a  mortal  wqund,  and 
many  of  his  best  officers  had  fallen  by  his  side. 

In  describing  the  action  a  few  days  afterwards,  Colonel 
Orme  wrote  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania :  "The  men 
were  so  extremely  deaf  to  the  exhortations  of  the  General  and 
the  officers,  that  they  fired  away  in  the  most  irregular  manner 
all  their  ammunition,  and  then  ran  off,  leaving  to  the  enemy 
the  artillery,  ammunition,  provisions  and  baggage  ;  nor  could 
they  be  persuaded  to  stop  till  they  had  got  as  far  as  Gist's  plan- 
tation, nor  there  only  in  part,  many  of  them  proceeding  as  far 


96  Braddoctts  Defeat.  1755. 

as  Colonel  Dunbar's  party,  who  lay  six  miles  on  this  side.  The 
officers  were  absolutely  sacrificed  by  their  good  behavior,  ad- 
vancing sometimes  in  bodies,  sometimes  separately,  hoping 
by  such  example  to  engage  the  soldiers  to  follow  them,  but  to 
no  purpose.  The  General  had  five  horses  shot  under  him, 
and  at  last  received  a  wound  through  his  right  arm  into  his 
lungs,  of  which  he  died  the  13th  instant.  Secretary  Shirley 
was  shot  through  the  head  ;  Captain  Morris,  wounded,  Colonel 
Washington  had  two  horses  shot  under  him,  and  his  clothes 
shot  through  in  several  places,  behaving  the  whole  time  with 
the  greatest  courage  and  resolution.  Sir  Peter  Halket  was 
killed  upon  the  spot.  Colonel  Burton  and  Sir  John  St.  Clair 
were  wounded."  In  addition  to  these,  the  other  field  officers 
wounded  were  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gage,  (afterwards  so  well 
known  as  the  commander  of  the  British  forces  in  Boston,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  Revolution,)  Colonel  Orme,  Major  Sparks, 
and  Brigade  Major  Halket.  Ten  Captains  were  killed,  and 
twenty-two  wounded ;  the  whole  number  of  officers  in  the 
engagement  was  eighty-six,  of  whom  twenty-six  were  killed, 
and  thirty-seven  wounded.  The  killed  and  wounded  of  the 
privates  amounted  to  seven  hundred  and  fourteen.  Of  these 
at  least  one-half  wrere  supposed  to  be  killed.  Their  bodies 
left  on  the  field  of  action  were  stripped  and  scalped  by  the 
Indians.  All  the  artillery,  ammunition,  provisions,  and  bag- 
gage, every  thing  in  the  train  of  the  army,  fell  into  the  ene- 
my's hands,  and  were  given  up  to  be  pillaged  by  the  savages. 
General  Braddock's  papers  were  also  taken,  among  which 
were  his  instructions  and  correspondence  with  the  ministry 
after  his  arrival  in  Virginia.  The  same  fate  befell  the  papers 
of  Colonel  Washington,  including  a  private  journal  and  his 
official  correspondence,  during  his  campaign  of  the  preceding 
year. 

M.  de  Contreco3ur,  the  commandant  of  Fort  Du  Quesne, 
received  early  intelligence  of  the  arrival  of  General  Braddock 
and  the  British  regiments  in  Virginia.  After  his  removal  from 
Will's  Creek,  French  and  Indian  scouts  were  constantly  abroad, 
who  watched  his  motions,  reported  the  progress  of  his  march, 
and  the  route  he  was  pursuing.  His  army  was  represented  to 
consist  of  three  thousand  men.  M.  de  Contrecoeur  was  hesi- 
tating what  measures  to  take,  believing  his  small  force  wholly 
inadequate  to  encounter  so  formidable  an  enemy,  when  M.  de 
Beaujeu,  a  Captain  in  the  French  service,  proposed  to  head  a 
detachment  of  French  and  Indians,  and  meet  the  enemy  in 
their  march.  The  consent  of  the  Indians  was  first  obtained. 
A  large  body  of  them  was  then  encamped  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  Fort,  and  M.  de  Beaujeu  opened  to  them  his  plan,  and  re- 
quested their  aid.  This  they  at  first  declined,  giving  as  a 
reason  the  superior  force  of  the  enemy,  and  the  impossibility 
of  success.  But  at  the  pressing  solicitation  of  M.  de  Beaujeu, 


1755.  Braddoctts  Defeat.  97 

they  agreed  to  hold  a  council  on  the  subject,  and  talk  with  him 
again  the  next  morning.  They  still  adhered  to  their  first  de- 
cision, and  when  M.  de  Beaujeu  went  out  among  them  to  in- 
quire the  result  of  their  deliberations,  they  told  him  a  second 
time  they  could  not  go.  This  was  a  severe  disappointment 
to  M.  de  Beaujeu,  who  had  set  his  heart  upon  the  enterprise, 
and  was  resolved  to  prosecute  it.  Being  a  man  of  great  good 
nature,  affability,  and  ardor,  and  much  beloved  by  the  savages, 
he  said  to  them,  "I  am  determined  to  go  out  and  meet  the 
enemy.  What !  will  you  suffer  your  father  to  go  out  alone  ? 
I  am  sure  we  shall  conquer."  With  this  spirited  harangue, 
delivered  in  a  manner  that  pleased  the  Indians,  and  won  upon 
their  confidence,  he  subdued  their  unwillingness,  and  they 
agreed  to  accompany  him. 

It  was  now  the  7th  of  July,  and  news  came  that  the  English 
were  within  six  leagues  of  the  Fort.  This  day  and  the  next 
were  spent  in  making  preparations,  and  reconnoitering  the 
ground  for  attack.  Two  other  Captains,  Dumas  and  Liquery 
were  joined  with  M.  de  Beaujeu,  and  also  four  Lieutenants,  six 
Ensigns  and  two  Cadets.  On  the  morning  of  the  9th  they 
were  all  in  readiness,  and  began  their  march  at  an  early 
hour.  It  seems  to  have  been  their  first  intention  to  make  a 
stand  at  the  ford,  and  annoy  the  English  while  crossing  the 
river,  and  then  retreat  to  the  ambuscade  on  the  side  of 
the  hill  where  the  contest  actually  commenced.  The  trees 
on  the  bank  of  the  river  afforded  a  good  opportunity  to 
effect  this  measure,  in  the  Indian  mode  of  warfare,  since  the 
artillery  could  be  of  little  avail  against  an  enemy,  where  every 
man  was  protected  by  a  tree,  and  at  the  same  time  the  En- 
glish would  be  exposed  to  a  point  blank  musket  shot  in  fording 
the  river.  As  it  happened,  however,  M.  de  Beaujeu  and  his 
party  did  not  arrive  in  time  to  execute  this  part  of  the  plan. 

The  English  were  preparing  to  cross  the  river,  when  the 
French  and  Indians  reached  the  defiles  on  the  rising  ground, 
where  they  posted  themselves,  and  waited  until  Braddock's 
advanced  columns  came  up.  This  was  the  signal  for  the  at- 
tack, which  was  made  at  first  in  front,  and  repelled  by  so  heavy 
a  discharge  from  the  British,  that  the  Indians  believed  it  pro- 
ceeded from  artillery,  and  showed  symptoms  of  wavering  and 
retreat.  At  this  moment  M.  de  Beaujeu  was  killed,  and  the 
command  devolving  on  M.  Dumas,  he  showed  great  presence 
of  mind  in  rallying  the  Indians,  and  ordered  his  officers  to 
lead  them  to  the  wings  and  attack  the  enemy  in  the  flank, 
while  he  with  the  French  troops  would  maintain  the  position 
in  front.  This  order  was  promptly  obeyed,  and  the  attack  be- 
came general.  The  action  was  warm  and  severely  contested 
for  a  short  time;  but  the  English  fought  in  the  European  method, 
firing  at  random,  which  had  little  effect  in  the  woods,  while 
the  Indians  fired  from  concealed  places,  took  aim,  and  almost 


98  B ruddock's  Defeat.  1755. 

every  shot  brought  down  a  man.  The  English  columns  soon 
got  into  confusion ;  the  yell  of  the  savages  with  which  the 
woods  resounded,  struck  terror  into  the  hearts  of  the  soldiers, 
till  at  length  they  took  to  flight,  and  resisted  all  the  endeavors 
of  their  officers  to  restore  any  degree  of  order  in  their  escape. 
The  route  was  complete,  and  the  field  of  battle  was  left  cov- 
ered with  the  dead  and  wounded,  and  all  the  artillery,  ammu- 
nition, provisions,  and  baggage  of  the  English  army.  The 
Indians  gave  themselves  up  to  pillage,  which  prevented  them 
from  pursuing  the  English  in  their  flight. 

Such  is  the  substance  of  the  accounts  written  at  the  time 
by  the  French  officers  and  sent  home  to  their  Government. 
In  regard  to  the  numbers  engaged,  there  are  some  slight  varia- 
tions in  the  three  statements.  The  largest  number  reported 
is  two  hundred  and  fifty  French  and  Canadians,  and  six  hun- 
dred Indians.  If  we  take  a  medium,  it  will  make  the  whole 
number  led  out  by  M.  de  Beaujeu,  at  least  eight  hundred  and 
fifty.  In  an  imperfect  return,  three  officers  were  stated  to  be 
killed,  and  four  wounded ;  about  thirty  soldiers  and  Indians 
killed,  and  as  many  wounded.  When  these  facts  are  taken 
into  view,  the  result  of  the  action  will  appear  much  less 
wonderful,  than  has  generally  been  supposed.  And  this  won- 
der will  still  be  diminished,  when  another  circumstance  is 
recurred  to,  worthy  of  particular  consideration,  and  that  is, 
the  shape  of  the  ground  upon  which  the  battle  was  fought. 
This  part  of  the  description,  so  essential  to  the  understanding 
of  military  operations,  and  above  all  in  the  present  instance, 
has  never  been  touched  upon,  it  is  believed,  by  any  writer. 
We  have  seen  that  Braddock's  advanced  columns,  after  cross- 
i  ng  the  valley  extending  nearly  half  a  mile  from  the  margin 
of  the  river,  began  to  move  up  a  hill,  so  uniform  in  its  ascent, 
that  it  was  little  else  than  an  inclined  plane  of  a  somewhat 
crowning  form.  Down  this  inclined  surface  extended  two 
ravines,  beginning  near  together,  at  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  from  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  and  proceeding  in  dif- 
ferent directions  till  they  terminated  in  the  valley  below.  In 
these  ravines  the  French  and  Indians  were  concealed  and  pro- 
tected. At  this  day  they  are  from  eight  to  ten  feet  deep,  and 
sufficient  in  extent  to  contain  at  least  ten  thousand  men.  At 
the  time  of  the  battle,  the  ground  was  covered  with  trees  and 
long  grass,  so  that  the  ravines  were  entirely  hidden  from  view, 
1ill  they  were  approached  within  a  few  feet.  Indeed,  at  the 
present  day,  although  the  place  is  cleared  from  trees,  and  con- 
verted into  pasture,  they  are  perceptible  only  at  a  very  short 
distance.  By  this  knowledge  of  the  local  peculiarities  of  the 
battle  ground,  the  mystery,  that  the  British  conceived  them- 
selves to  be  contending  with  an  invisible  foe,  is  solved.  Such 
was  literally  the  fact.  They  were  so  paraded  between  the 
ravines,  that  their  whole  front  and  right  flank  were  exposed 


1755.  Braddock' s  Defeat.  99 

to  the  incessant  fire  of  the  enemy,  who  discharged  their  mus- 
kets over  the  edge  of  the  ravines,  concealed  during  the  opera- 
tion by  the  grass  and  bushes,  and  protected  by  an  invisible 
barrier  below  the  surface  of  the  earth.  William  Butler,  a 
veteran  soldier  still  living  (1832,)  who  was  in  this  action,  and 
afterwards  at  the  plains  of  Abraham,  said  to  me,  "We  could 
only  tell  where  the  enemy  were  by  the  smoke  of  their  mus- 
kets." A  few  scattering  Indians  were  behind  trees,  and  some 
were  killed  venturing  out  to  take  scalps,  but  much  the  larger 
portion  fought  wholly  in  the  ravines. 

It  is  not  probable,  that  either  General  Braddock,  or  any  one 
of  his  officers  suspected  the  actual  situation  of  the  enemy, 
during  the  whole  bloody  contest.  It  was  a  fault  with  the 
General,  for  which  no  apology  can  be  offered,  that  he  did  not 
keep  scouts  and  guards  in  advance  and  on  the  wings  of  the 
army,  who  would  have  made  all  proper  discoveries  before  the 
whole  had  been  brought  into  a  snare.  This  neglect  was  the 
primary  cause  of  his  defeat;  which  might  have  been  avoided. 
Had  he  charged  with  the  bayonet,  the  ravine  would  have 
been  cleared  instantly ;  or  had  he  brought  his  artillery  to  the 
points  where  the  ravines  terminated  in  the  valley,  and  scoured 
them  with  grape-shot,  the  same  consequence  would  have  fol- 
lowed. 

But  the  total  insubordination  of  his  troops  would  have 
prevented  both  these  movements,  even  if  he  had  become  ac- 
quainted with  the  ground  in  the  early  part  of  the  action.  The 
disasters  of  this  day,  and  the  fate  of  the  commander,  brave 
and  resolute  as  he  undoubtedly  was,  are  to  be  ascribed  to  his 
contempt  of  Indian  warfare,  his  overweening  confidence  in 
the  prowess  of  veteran  troops,  his  obstinate  self-complacency, 
his  disregard  of  prudent  counsel,  and  his  negligence  in  leaving 
his  army  exposed  to  a  surprise  on  their  march.  He  freely  con- 
sulted Colonel  Washington,  whose  experience  and  judgment, 
notwithstanding  his  youth,  claimed  the  highest  respect  for  his 
opinions  ;  but  the  General  gave  little  heed  to  his  advice. 
While  on  his  march,  George  Croghan,  the  Indian  interpreter, 
joined  him  with  one  hundred  friendly  Indians,  who  offered 
their  services.  These  were  accepted  in  so  cold  a  manner,  and 
the  Indians  themselves  treated  with  so  much  neglect,  that 
they  deserted  him  one  after  another.  Washington  pressed 
upon  him  the  importance  of  these  men,  and  the  necessity  of 
conciliating  and  retaining  them,  but  without  effect. 

[A  report  has  prevailed  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  that 
Braddock  was  shot  by  a  provincial  soldier,  whose  brother  had 
been  sentenced  and  shot  by  a  court-martial,  and  an  old  man 
died  a  few  years  since  who  made  this  claim.] 

When  the  battle  was  over,  and  the  remnant  of  Braddock's 
army  had  gained,  in  their  flight,  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
river,  Colonel  Washington  was  dispatched  by  the  General  to 


100  Testimony  of  Smith.  1756. 

meet  Colonel  Dunbar,  and  order  forward  wagons  for  the 
\vounded  with  all  possible  speed.  But  it  was  not  till  the 
llth,  after  they  had  reached  Gist's  plantation  with  great  dif- 
ficulty and  much  suffering  from  hunger,  that  any  arrived. 
The  General  was  first  brought  off  in  a  tumbril ;  he  was  next 
put  on  horse-back,  but  being  unable  to  ride,  was  obliged  to  be 
carried  by  the  soldiers.  They  all  reached  Dunbar's  camp,  to 
which  the  panic  had  already  extended,  and  a  day  was  passed 
there  in  great  confusion.  The  artillery  was  destroyed,  and 
the  public  stores  and  heavy  baggage  were  burnt,  by  whose 
order  was  never  known.  They  moved  forward  on  the  13th, 
and  that  night  General  Braddock  died,  and  was  buried  in  the 
road,  for  the  purpose  of  concealing  his  body  from  the  Indians. 
The  spot  is  still  pointed  out,  within  a  few  yards  of  the  present 
national  road,  and  about  a  mile  west  of  the  site  of  Fort  Neces- 
sity at  the  great  meadows.  Captain  Stewart,  of  the  Virginia 
forces,  had  taken  particular  charge  of  him  from  the  time  he  was 
wounded  till  his  death.  On  the  17th,  the  sick  and  wounded 
arrived  at  Fort  Cumberland,  and  were  soon  after  joined  by 
Colonel  Dunbar  with  the  remaining  fragments  of  the  army. 

The  French  sent  out  a  party  as  far  as  Dunbar's  camp,  and 
destroyed  every  thing  that  was  left.  Colonel  Washington 
being  in  very  feeble  health,  proceeded  in  a  few  days  to  Mount 
Vernon. 

[Col.  James  Smith  was  a  prisoner  at  Fort  Du  Quesne  at  the 
time  of  this  celebrated  battle,  and  gives  in  his  "Narrative"  a 
particular  account  of  the  return  of  the  parties  of  the  French 
and  Indians.  He  saw  them  when  they  went  out  to  the  field 
and  when  they  returned,  and  witnessed  the  horrid  scene  of 
burning  their  prisoners.  The  insertion  cannot  add  to  the 
testimony  already  adduced,  nor  cast  any  additional  light  on 
the  disaster  to  the  British  and  colonial  troops.] 

Although  the  doings  of  1755,  recorded  above,  could  not  well 
be  looked  on  as  of  a  very  amicable  character,  war  was  not 
declared  by  either  France  or  England,  until  May  tke  following 
year ;  and  even  then  France  was  the  last  to  proclaim  the  con- 
test which  she  had  been  so  long  carrying  on,  though  more  than 
three  hundred  of  her  merch'ant  vessels  had  been  taken  by 
British  privateers.  The  causes  of  this  proceeding  are  not 
very  clear  to  us.  France  thought,  beyond  doubt,  that  George 
would  fear  to  declare  war,  because  Hanover  was  so  exposed  to 
attack ;  but  why  the  British  movements,  upon  the  sea  par- 
ticularly, did  not  lead  to  the  declaration  on  the  part  of  France, 
is  not  easily  suggested.  Early  in  1756,  however,  both  king- 


1756.  Expedition  of  Major  Lewis.  101 

doms  formed  alliances  in  Europe ;  France  with  Austria,  Rus- 
sia, and  Sweden  ;  England  with  the  Great  Frederic.  And  then 
commenced  forthwith  the  Seven  Years'  War,  wherein  most  of 
Europe,  North  America,  and  the  East  and  West  Indies  par- 
took and  suffered. 

Into  the  details  of  that  war  we  cannot  enter;  not  even  into 
those  of  the  contest  of  North  America.  In  Virginia  many 
things  worthy  of  notice  took  place,  but  most  of  them  took 
place  east  of  the  mountains — among  western  events  we  find 
only  the  following  : — Immediately  after  Braddock's  defeat,  the 
Indians  began  to  push  their  excursions  across  the  mountains, 
so  that  in  April,  1756,  Washington  writes  from  Winchester  : 
"The  Blue  Ridge  is  now  our  frontier,  no  men  being  left  in  this 
county  (Frederick)  except  a  few  who  keep  close,  with  a  num- 
ber of  women  and  children,  in  forts."  Under  these,  or  similar 
circumstances,  it  was  deemed  advisable  to  send  an  expedition 
against  the  Indian  towns  upon  the  Ohio ;  Major  Lewis,  in 
January  1756,  was  appointed  to  command  the  troops  to  be 
used  in  the  proposed  irruption,  and  the  point  aimed  at  was 
apparently  the  upper  Shawanese  town,*  situated  on  the  Ohio 
three  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanahwa.f  The 
attempt  proved  a  failure,  in  consequence,  it  is  said,  of  the 
swollen  state  of  the  streams,  and  the  treachery  of  the  guides, 
and  Major  Lewis  and  his  party  suffered  greatly. J  Of  this 
expedition,  however,  we  have  no  details,  unless  it  be,  as  we 
suspect,  the  same  with  the  "Sandy  Creek  voyage,"  described 
by  Withers,  in  his  Border  warfare,  as  occurring  in  1757,  during 
which  year  Washington's  letters  make  no  reference  to  any 
thing  of  the  kind.  Withers,  moreover,  says,  the  return  of  the 
party  was  owing  to  orders  from  Governor  Fauquier ;  but  Din- 
widdie  did  not  leave  until  January,  1758.§ 

Upon  a  larger  scale  it  was  proposed  during  1756,  to  attack 
Grown  Point,  Niagara,  and  Fort  du  Quesne,  but  neither  was 

*  The  lower  Shawanese  town  was  just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto.  See  Croghan's 
Journal — Butler's  Kentucky,  second  edition,  472. 

•f  Sparks'  Washington,  ii.  527. 

J  Sparks'  Washington,  ii.  125,  135,  136. 

§  Sparks'  Washington,  ii.  270.  Had  the  return  been  owing  to  the  Governor's  orders, 
would  Lieutenant  M'Xutt,  as  Withers  states,  have  presented  his  journal  blaming  Lewis 
for  returning,  to  the  very  Governor  whose  commands  he  obeyed?  Border  Warfare,  65. 

Mr.  L.  E.  Draper  wrote  Mr.  Perkins  he  had  complete  proof  from  the  MS.  journal  of 
CoL  William  Preston  of  this  "Sandy  Creek"  expedition,  and  that  it  occurred  in  1759,  as 
wo  have  corrected  the  Text. — Ed. 


102  Fort  D\L  Qucsne  Taken.  1758. 

attacked ;  for  Montcalm  took  the  forts  at  Oswego,  which  he 
destroyed,  to  quiet  the  jealousy  of  the  Iroquois,  within  whose 
territory  they  were  built,  and  this  stroke  seemed  to  paralyze 
all  arms.  One  bold  blow  was  made  by  Armstrong  at  Kittan- 
ing,  on  the  Allegheny,  in  September,*  and  the  frontiers  of 
Pennsylvania  for  a  time  were  made  safe  ;  but  otherwise  the 
year  in  America  wore  out  with  little  result. 

During  the  next  year,  1757,  nothing  took  place,  but  the 
capture  of  Fort  William  Henry,  by  Montcalm,  and  the  mas- 
sacre of  its  garrison  by  his  Indians ;  a  scene,  of  which  the 
readers  of  Cooper's  Last  of  the  Mohicans  need  scarce  be 
reminded.  This,  and  the  near  destruction  of  the  British  fleet 
by  a  gale,  off  Louisburg,  were  the  leading  events  of  this  dark 
season:  and  no  wonder  that  fear  and  despair  sank  deep  into  the 
hearts  of  the  colonists.  Nor  was  it  in  America  alone,  that  Bri- 
tain suffered  during  that  summer.  On  the  continent,  Frederic 
was  borne  down ;  in  the  Mediterranean,  the  navy  of  England 
had  been  defeated,  and  all  was  dark  in  the  East ;  and,  to  add 
to  the  weight  of  these  misfortunes,  many  of  them  came  upon 
Pitt,  the  popular  minister.* 

But  the  year  1758  opened  under  a  new  star.  On  sea  and 
land,  in  Asia,  Europe  and  America,  Britain  regained  what 
had  been  lost.  The  Austrians,  Russians  and  Swedes,  all  gave 
way  before  the  great  Captain  of  Prussia,  and  Pitt  sent  his 
own  strong,  and  hopeful,  and  energetic  spirit  into  his  subal- 
terns. In  North  America,  Louisburg  yielded  to  Boscawen ; 
Fort  Frontenac  was  taken  by  Bradstreet;  and  Du  Quesne 
was  abandoned  upon  the  approach  of  Forbes  through  Penn- 
sylvania. From  that  time,  the  post  at  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio 
was  Fort  Pitt. 

In  this  last  capture,  as  more  particularly  connected  with 
the  West,  we  are  now  chiefly  interested.  The  details  of  the 
gathering  and  the  march  may  be  seen  in  the  letters  of  Wash- 
ington, who,  in  opposition  to  Colonel  Bouquet,  was  in  favor 
of  crossing  the  mountains  by  Braddock's  road,  whereas,  Bou- 
quet wished  to  cut  a  new  one  through  Pennsylvania.  In  this 

*  Holmes'  Annals,  vol.  ii.  p.  73. — Burk's  Virginia,  vol.  iii.  p.  221. — Day's  Historical  Col- 
lection* of  Pennsylvania,  96.  Holmes,  (referring  to  New  York  Historical  Collections,  iii. 
399,)  says  the  Ohio  Indians  had  already  killed  one  thousand  persons  on  the  frontier  : 
Armstrong  did  not,  however,  destroy  more  than  forty  savages, 

|He  returned  to  office,  June  29th,  1757. 


1758  Route  to  Pennsylvania. 

division,  Bouquet  was  listened  to  by  the  General;  and  late  in 
the  season  a  new  route  was  undertaken,  by  which  such  delays 
and  troubles  were  produced,  that  the  whole  expedition  came 
near  proving  a  failure,  Braddock's  road  had,  in  early  times, 
been  selected  by  the  most  experienced  Indians  and  frontier 
men  as  the  most  favorable  whereby  to  cross  the^mountains, 
being  nearly  the  route  by  which  the  national  road  has  been 
since  carried  over  them.  In  1753,  it  was  opened  by  the  Ohio 
Company.  It  was  afterward  improved  by  the  Provincial 
troops  under  Washington,  and  was  finished  by  Braddock's 
engineers ;  *  and  this  route  was  now  to  be  given  up,  and  a 
wholly  new  one  opened,  probably,  as  Washington  suggested, 
through  Pennsylvania  influence,  that  her  frontiers  might  there- 
by be  protected,  and  a  way  opened  for  her  traders.  The 
hardships  and  dangers  of  the  march  from  Raystown  to  Fort 
Du  Quesne,  where  the  British  van  arrived  upon  the  25th  of 
November,  may  be  seen  slightly  pictured  by  the  letters  of 
Washington  and  the  second  journal  of  Post,f  and  may  be 
more  vividly  conceived  by  those  who  have  passed  through  the 
valley  of  the  upper  Juniata.J 

But,  turning  from  this  march,  let  us  look  at  the  position  of 
things  in  the  West,  during  the  autumn  of  1758.  We  have 
said,  that  in  the  outset  the  French  did  their  utmost  to  alienate 
the  Six  Nations  and  Delawares  from  their  old  connexion  with 
the  British  ;  and  so  politic  were  their  movements,  so  accurate 
their  knowledge  of  Indian  character,  that  they  fully  succeeded. 
The  English,  as  we  have  seen,  had  made  some  foolish  and  in- 
iquitous attempts  to  get  a  claim  to  the  western  lands,  and  by 
rum  and  bumbo  had  even  obtained  grants  of  those  lands;  but 
when  the  rum  had  evaporated,  the  wild  men  saw  how  they 
had  been  deceived,  and  listened  not  unwillingly  to  the  French 
professions  of  friendship,  backed  as  they  were  by  presents  and 
politeness,  and  accompanied  by  no  attempts  to  buy  or  wheedle 
land  from  them.§  Early,  therefore,  many  of  the  old  allies  of 
England  joined  her  enemies;  and  the  treaties  of  Albany, 

^Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  102. 
•fProud's  Pennsylvania,  vol.  ii.  Appendix. 

JGen.  Forbes  was  go  sick  on  this  march  as  to  be  carried  on  a  litter.  He  died  in  Phila- 
delphia a  few  days  after  the  British  took  possession  of  Fort  Du  Quesne,  now  Pittsburgh. 

?3ee  Post's  Journals;  Pownall's  Memoir  on  Service  in  North  America. 


104  Disaffection  of  the  Indians.  1758. 

Johnson  Hall,  and  Easton,*  did  little  or  nothing  towards  stop- 
ping the  desolation  of  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania,  Mary- 
land, and  Virginia.  The  Quakers  always  believed,  that  this 
state  of  enmity  between  the  Delawares  and  themselves,  or 
their  rulers,  might  be  prevented  by  a  little  friendly  com- 
munion; but  the  persuasions  of  the  French,  the  renegade 
English  traders,  and  others  who  had  gone  to  the  West,  were 
great  obstacles  to  any  friendly  conversation  on  the  one  side, 
and  the  common  feeling  among  the  whites  was  an  equal  diffi- 
culty on  the  other.  In  the  autumn  of  1756,  a  treaty  was  held 
at  Easton  with  the  Pennsylvania  Delawares,f  and  peace 
agreed  to.  But  this  did  not  bind  the  Ohio  Indians  even  of  the 
same  nation,  much  less  the  Shawanese  and  Mingoes ;  and 
though  the  Sachem  of  the  Pennsylvania  savages,  Teedyuscung, 
promised  to  call  his  western  relatives  with  a  loud  voice,  they 
did  not,  or  would  not  hear  him;  the  tomahawk  and  brand 
still  shone  among  the  rocky  mountain  fastnesses  of  the  inte- 
rior, i  or' cm  ;  ny  heart  but  pity  the  red  men.  They  knew 
not  whom  to  believe,  nor  where  to  look  for  a  true  friend. 
The  French  said  they  came  to  defend  them  from  the  English ; 
the  English  said  they  came  to  defend  them  from  the  French ; 
and  between  the  two  powers  they  were  wrasting  away,  and 
their  homes  disappearing  before  them.  "The  kings  of  France 
and  England,"  said  Teedyuscung,  "have  settled  this  land  so  as 
to  coop  us  up  as  if  in  a  pen.  This  very  ground  that  is,  under 
me  was  my  land  and  inheritance,  and  is  taken  fronmne  by 
fraud."  Such  being  the  feeling  of  the  natives,  and  success 
being  of  late  nearly  balanced  between  the  two  European  pow- 
ers, no  wonder  that  they  hung  doubting,  and  knew  not  which 
way  to  turn.  The  French  wished  the  eastern  Delawares  to 
move  west,  so  as  to  bring  them  within  their  influence  ;J  and  the 
British  tried  to  persuade  them  to  prevail  on  their  western 
brethren  to  leave  their  new  allies  and  be  at  peace. 

In  1758,  the  condition  of  affairs  being  as  stated,  and  Forbes' 

*Many  treaties  were  made  between  1753  and  1758,  which  amounted  to  little  or  nothing. 
See  Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,  -vol.  vii.  p.  97.  Sparks'  Franklin,  vol.  iii.  pp.  436 
450,  471.  Proxfd's  Pennsylvania,  vol.  ii.  app. ;  Friendly  Association's  Address,  and  Post's, 
Journals.  There  were  two  Easton  treaties:  one  with  the  Pennsylvania  Delawares,  in  1756, 
the  other  with  all  the  Indians  in  1758.  See,  also,  in  Proud's  Pennsylvania,  vol.  ii.  p.  331, 
an  inquiry  into  the  causes  of  quarrel  with  the  Indians,  and  extracts  from  treaties,  <tc. 

•[Sparks'  Franklin,  vol.  vii.  p.  125. 
JHeckewelder'*  Narrative,  p.  53. 


1758.  C.  F.  Post  sent  West.  105 

army  on  the  eve  of  starting  for  Fort  Du  Quesne,  and  the 
French  being  also  disheartened  by  the  British  success  else- 
where, and  their  force  at  Du  Quesne  weak,  it  was  determined  to 
make  an  effort  to  draw  the  western  Indians  over,  and  thereby 
still  further  to  weaken  the  force  that  would  oppose  General 
Forbes.  It  was  no  easy  matter,  however,  to  find  a  true  and 
trustworthy  man,  whose  courage,  skill,  ability,  knowledge, 
and  physical  power,  would  fit  him  for  such  a  mission.  He 
was  to  pass  through  a  wilderness  filled  with  doubtful  friends, 
into  a  country  filled  with  open  enemies.  The  whole  French 
interest  would  be  against  him,  and  the  Indians  of  the  Ohio 
were  little  to  be  trusted.  Every  stream  on  his  way  had  been 
dyed  with  blood,  every  hill-side  had  rung  with  the  death-yell, 
and  grown  red  in  the  light  of  burning  huts.  The  man  who 
was  last  chosen  was  a  Moravian,  who  had  lived  among  the 
savages  seventeen  years,  and  married  among  them ;  his  name 
Christian  Frederic  Post.  Of  his  journey,  sufferings,  and 
doings,  we  have  his  own  journal,  though  Heckewelder  tells 
us,  that  those  parts  which  redound  most  to  his  own  credit,  he 
omitted  when  printing  it.  He  left  Philadelphia  upon  the  15th 
of  July,  1758;  and,  against  the  protestations  of  Teedyuscung, 
who  said  he  would  surely  lose  his  life,  proceeded  up  the  Sus- 
quehanna,  passing  "  many  plantations  deserted  and  laid 
waste."  Upon  the  7th  of  August,  he  came  to  the  Allegheny, 
opposite  French  Creek,  and  was  forced  to  pass  under  the 
very  eyes  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Venango,  but  was  not  mo- 
lested. From  Venango  he  went  to  "Kushkushkee,"  which 
was  on  or  near  Big  Beaver  Creek.  "This  place,"  he  says, 
"contained  ninety  houses  and  two  hundred  able  warriors." 
At  this  place  Post  had  much  talk  with  the  chiefs,  who  seemed 
well  disposed,  but  somewhat  afraid  of  the  French.  The  great 
conference,  however,  it  was  determined,  should  be  held  oppo- 
site Fort  Du  Quesne,  where  there  were  Indians  of  eight  na- 
tions. The  messenger  was  at  first  unwilling  to  go  thither, 
fearing  the  French  would  seize  him ;  but  the  savages  said, 
"they  would  carry  him  in  their  bosom,  he  need  fear  nothing," 
and  they  well  redeemed  this  promise.  On  the  24th  of  Ab>.  ,st, 
Post,  with  his  Indian  friends,  reached  the  point  opposite  the 
Fort ;  and  there  immediately  followed  a  series  of  speeches, 
explanations  and  agreements,  for  which  we  must  refer  to  his 
Journal.  At  first  he  was  received  rather  hardly  by  an  old 
7 


106  Conference  at  Fort  Du  Quesne.  1758. 

and  deaf  Onondago,  who  claimed  the  land  whereon  they 
stood  as  belonging  to  the  Six  Nations ;  but  a  Delaware  re- 
buked him  in  no  very  polite  terms.  "That  man  speaks  not 
as  a  man,"  he  said ;  "he  endeavors  to  frighten  us  by  saying 
this  ground  is  his ;  he  dreams  ;  he  and  his  father  (the  French) 
have  certainly  drank  too  much  liquor ;  they  are  drunk  ;  pray 
let  them  go  to  sleep  till  they  are  sober.  You  do  not  know 
what  your  own  nation  does  at  home,  how  much  they  have  to 
say  to  the  English.  You  are  quite  rotten.  You  stink.  You 
do  nothing  but  smoke  your  pipe  here.  Go  to  sleep  with  your 
father,  and  when  you  are  sober  we  will  speak  to  you." 

It  was  clear  that  the  Delawares,  and  indeed  all  the  western 
Indians,  were  wavering  in  their  affection  for  the  French ;  and, 
though  some  opposition  was  made  to  a  union  with  the  colo- 
nists, the  general  feeling,  produced  by  the  prospect  of  a  quick 
approach  of  Forbes'  army,  and  by  the  truth  and  kindness  of 
Post  himself,  was  in  favor  of  England.  The  Indians,  howev- 
er, complained  bitterly  of  the  disposition  which  the  whites 
showed  in  claiming  and  seizing  their  lands.  "Why  did  you 
not  fight  your  battles  at  home  or  on  the  sea,  instead  of  coming 
into  our  country  to  fight  them  ?"  they  asked,  again  and  again ; 
and  were  mournful  when  they  thought  of  the  future.  "  Your 
heart  is  good,"  they  said  to  Post,  "  you  speak  sincerely ;  but 
we  know  there  is  always  a  great  number  who  wish  to  get 
rich ;  they  have  enough ;  look !  we  do  not  want  to  be  rich, 
and  take  away  what  others  have.  The  white  people  think 
we  have  no  brains  in  our  heads;  that  they  are  big,  and  we  a 
little  handful ;  but  remember,  when  you  hunt  for  a  rattlesnake 
you  cannot  find  it,  and  perhaps  it  will  bite  you  before  you  see 
it."  When  the  war  of  Pontiac  came,  this  saying  might  have 
been  justly  remembered. 

At  length,  having  concluded  a  pretty  definite  peace,  Post 
turned  :oward  Philadelphia,  setting  out  upon  the  9th  of  Sep- 
tember; <i.nd,  after  the  greatest  sufferings  and  perils  from 
French  scouts  and  Indians,  reached  the  settlements  unin- 
jured 

WbiK.  Post  was  engaged  upon  his  dangerous  mission,  the 
van  of  Forbes*  army  was  pressing  slowly  forward  under  the 
heats  of  August  from  Raystown,  (Bedford,)*  toward  Loyal- 
hanna,  hewing  their  way  as  they  went.  Early  in  September, 

•  Sparks'  Washington,  ii-  312. 


1758.  Major  Grant  Defeated.  107 

the  General  reached  Raystown,  whither  he  had  also  ordered 
Washington,  who  had  till  then  been  kept  inactive  among  his 
sick  troops  at  Fort  Cumberland.  Meantime  two  officers  of  the 
first  Virginia  regiment  had  gone  separately,  each  with  his 
party,  to  reconnoitre  Fort  du  Quesne,  and  had  brought  ac- 
counts of  its  condition  up  to  the  13th  of  August.*  It  being 
deemed  desirable,  however,  to  have  fuller  statements  than 
they  were  able  to  give,  a  party  of  eight  hundred  men  under 
Maj.  Grant,  with  whom  went  Maj.  Andrew  Lewis  of  Virginia, 
was  pushed  forward  to  gain  the  desired  information.  Grant 
appears  to  have  exceeded  his  orders,  which  were  merely  to  ob- 
tain all  the  knowledge  relative  to  the  French  which  he  could : 
and  after  having  unwisely  divided  his  force,  he,  with  equal 
want  of  sagacity,  brought  on  an  engagement ;  having  before 
him,  perhaps,  the  vain  hope  that  he  should  take  the  fort  he 
was  sent  to  examine.  In  the  skirmish  thus  needlessly  entered 
into,  Grant's  troops  were  thrown  into  confusion  by  their  Indi- 
an foes.  Lewis,  who  had  been  left  two  miles  behind,  hasten- 
ing forward  when  he  heard  the  sound  of  firearms,  to  relieve 
his  comrades,  was  unable  to  check  the  rout  which  had  com- 
menced, and,  together  with  his  commanding  officer,  was  taken 
prisoner.  Indeed,  the  whole  detachment  would  have  shared 
their  fate,  had  not  Capt.  Bullitt,  with  his  fifty  Virginians  res- 
cued them.  Ordering  his  men  to  lower  their  arms,  this  able 
officer  waited  until  the  Indians,  who  thought  the  little  band 
about  to  yield,  were  in  full  view,  then  giving  the  word,  poured 
upon  the  enemy  a  deadly  fire,  which  was  instantly  followed 
by  a  charge  with  bayonet,  a  proceeding  so  unlooked  for 
and  so  fatal  as  to  lead  to  the  complete  rout  of  the  assailants.. 
This  conduct  of  the  Virginians  was  much  admired,  and  Wash- 
ington received  publicly  the  compliments  of  the  Commander- 
in  Chief  on  account  of  it.f 

October  had  now  arrived,  and  Washington  was  engaged  in 
opening  the  road  toward  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio.    On  the  5th  of 
November,  he  was  still  at  Loyalhanna,  where  at  one  time  the 
General  thought  of  spending  the  winter ;  on  the  15th,  he  was 
at  Chesnut  ridge,  advancing  Irom  four  to  eight  miles  a  day ;, 

*See  map  in  Sparks'  Washington,  ii.;  also  plate  and  account  in  Am.  Pioneer,  ii.  147. 

fSparks'  Washington;  ii.  313;  note. — Butler's  Kentucky,  2d  edition.  Introduction,  xlir. 
— Marshall's  Life  of  Washington,  (edition  1804,  Philadelphia,)  ii.  fit;  This  defeat  oc- 
curred, September  21.  Washington  commanded  all  the  Virginia  troops. 


108  Fort  Du  Quesne  Taken.  1758. 

and  in  ten  days  more  stood  where  Fort  Du  Quesne  had  been ; 
the  French  having  destroyed  it,  when  they  embarked  for  the 
lower  posts  on  the  Ohio  the  preceding  day. 

[Another  great  Indian  council  was  held  at  Easton,  Pa., 
(1758)  in  October,  at  which  peace  was  concluded  with  the 
colonists.  Here  were  the  chiefs  of  the  "Six  Nations,"  (the 
Tuscaroras  having  joined  the  confederacy  in  1715,)  and  their 
allies.  Post,  the  Moravian,  was  sent  back  with  this  treaty, 
with  the  messengers  to  the  West,  within  five  weeks  after  his 
return.*]  He  followed  after  Gen.  Forbes,  from  whom  he  re- 
ceived messages  to  the  various  tribes,  with  which  he  once 
more  sought  their  chiefs ;  and  was  again  very  instrumental  in 
preventing  any  junction  of  the  Indians  with  the  French.  In- 
deed, but  for  Post's  mission,  there  would  in  all  probability 
have  been  gathered  a  strong  force  of  western  savages  to  way- 
lay Forbes  and  defend  Fort  Du  Quesne ;  in  which  case,  so  ad- 
verse was  the  season  and  the  way,  so  wearied  the  men,  and  so 
badly  managed  the  whole  business,  that  there  would  have 
been  great  danger  of  a  second  "Braddock's  field ; "  so  that 
our  humble  Moravian  friend  played  no  unimportant  part  in 
securing  again  to  his  British  Majesty  the  key  to  western 
America. 

With  the  fall  of  Fort  Du  Quesne,  all  direct  contest  between 
the  French  and  British  in  the  West  ceased.  From  that  time, 
Canada  was  the  only  scene  of  operations,  though  garrisons 
for  a  while  remained  in  the  forts  on  French  Creek.  In  1759, 
Ticonderoga,  Crown  Point,  Niagara,  and  at  length  Quebec 
itself  yielded  to  the  English ;  and,  on  the  8th  of  September, 
1760,  Montreal,  Detroit,  and  all  Canada  were  given  up  by 
Vaudreuil,  the  French  governor. 

But  the  French  had  not  been  the  only  dwellers  in  western 
America ;  and  when  they  were  gone,  the  colonists  still  saw 
before  them  clouds  of  dark  and  jealous  warriors.  Indeed,  no 
sooner  were  the  Delawares  quiet  in  the  north,  than  the  Chero- 
kees,  who  had  been  assisting  Virginia  against  her  foes,  were 
roused  to  war  by  the  thoughtless  and  cruel  conduct  of  the  fron- 
tier men,  who  shot  several  of  that  tribe,  because  they  took 
some  horses  which  they  found  running  at  large  in  the  woods. 

*See  a  note  in  Burk's  "History  of  Virginia,"  vol.  iii,  p.  239.  American  Pioneer,  i.  244, 
taken  from  the  Annual  Register  for  1759,  p.  191..  The  Iroquois  were  angry  at  the  promi- 
nence of  Teedyuscung  in  this  treaty. 


1760.  Settlements  in  the  West  Resumed.  109 

The  ill-feeling  bred  by  this  act  was  eagerly  fostered  by  the 
French  in  Louisiana ;  and,  while  Amherst  and  Wolfe  were 
pushing  the  war  into  Canada,  the  frontiers  of  Georgia,  the 
Carolinas  and  Virginia,  were  writhing  under  the  horrors  of 
Indian  invasion.  This  Cherokee  war  continued  through  1760, 
and  into  1761,  but  was  terminated  in  the  summer  of  the  last- 
named  year  by  Colonel  Grant.  We  should  be  glad,  did  it 
come  within  our  province,  to  enter  somewhat  at  large  into  the 
events  of  it,  as  then  came  forward  two  of  the  most  remarka- 
ble chiefs  of  that  day,  the  Great  Warrior  and  the  Little  Car- 
penter (Attakullakulla);  but  we  must  first  refer  our  readers  to 
the  second  volume  of  Thatcher's  "Indian  Biography." 

Along  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  and  northern  Virginia, 
the  old  plantations  had  been,  one  by  one,  reoccupied  since 
1758,  and  settlers  were  slowly  pushing  further  into  the  Indian 
country,  and  traders  were  once  more  bearing  their  burdens 
over  the  mountains,  and  finding  a  way  into  the  wigwams  of 
the  natives,  who  rested,  watching  silently,  but  narrowly,  the 
course  of  their  English  defenders  and  allies.  For  it  was,  pro- 
fessedly, in  the  character  of  defenders,  that  Braddock  and 
Forbes  had  come  into  the  West;*  and,  while  every  British 
finger  itched  for  the  lands  as  well  as  the  furs  of  the  wild  men, 
with  mistaken  hypocrisy  they  would  have  persuaded  them  that 
the  treasure  and  the  life  of  England  had  been  given  to  pre- 
serve her  old  allies,  the  Six  Nations,  and  their  dependents,  the 
Delawares  and  Shawanese,  from  French  aggression.  But  the 
savages  knew  whom  they  had  to  deal  with,  and  looked  at 
every  step  of  the  cultivator  with  jealousy  and  hate. 

In  1760,  the  Ohio  Company  once  more  prepared  to  pursue 
their  old  plan,  and  sent  to  England  for  such  orders  and  in- 
structions to  the  Virginia  government  as  would  enable  them 
to  do  so.f  During  the  summer  of  that  year,  also,  General 
Monkton,  by  a  treaty  at  Fort  Pitt,  obtained  leave  to  build  posts 
within  the  wild  lands,  each  post  having  ground  enough  about 
it  to  raise  corn  and  vegetables  for  the  use  of  the  garrison  .J 
Nor,  if  we  can  credit  one  writer,  were  the  settlements  of  the 

*Sparks'  Franklin,  vol.  iv.  p.  328. — Post's  Journal  shows  how  full  of  jealousy  the  Indi- 
ans were ;  see  there  also  Forbes'  letter,  sent  by  him. 

•fSparks'  Washington,  rol.  ii.  p.  482. — Plain  Facts,  p.  120,  where  a  letter  from  the  Com- 
pany, dated  September  9th,  1761,  is  given. 

\  Dated  August  20th.    Plain  Facts,  pp.  55,  56. 


110  Major  Rogers  Crosses  the  Ohio.  1760. 

Ohio  Company,  and  the  forts,  the  only  inroads  upon  the  hunt- 
ing grounds  of  the  savages;  for  he  says,  that  in  1757,  by  the 
books  of  the  Secretary  of  Virginia,  three  millions  of  acres  had 
been  granted  west  of  the  mountains.  Indeed,  we  know  that 
in  1758  she  tried  by  law  to  encourage  settlements  in  the 
West ;  and  the  report  of  John  Blair,  Clerk  of  the  Virginia 
Council,  in  1768  or  1769,  states  that  most  of  the  grants  be- 
yond the  mountains  were  made  before  August,  1754.*  At 
any  rate,  it  is  clear  that  the  Indians  early  began  to  murmur; 
for,  in  1762,  Bouquet  issued  his  proclamation  from  Fort  Pitt, 
saying  that  the  treaty  of  Easton,  in  1758,  secured  to  the  red 
men  all  lands  west  of  the  mountains  as  hunting-grounds ; 
wherefore  he  forbids  all  settlements,  and  orders  the  arrest  of 
the  traders  and  settlers  who  were  spreading  discontent  and 
fear  among  the  Ohio  Indians.f 

But  if  the  Ohio  Indians  were  early  ill-disposed  to  the  Eng- 
lish, much  more  was  this  the  case  among  the  Lake  tribes,  who 
had  known  only  the  French,  and  were  strongly  attached  to 
them  :  the  Ottaways,  Wyandots  and  Chippeways.  The  first 
visit  which  they  received  from  the  British  was  after  the  sur- 
render of  Vaudreuil,  when  Major  Robert  Rogers  was  sent  to 
take  charge  of  Detroit.  J  He  left  Montreal  on  the  13th  of 
September,  1760,  and  on  the  8th  of  October,  reached  Presqu'- 
Ile,  where  Bouquet  then  commanded.  Thence  he  went 
slowly  up  Lake  Erie  to  Detroit,  which  place  he  summoned  to 
yield  itself  on  the  19th  of  November.  It  was,  if  we  mistake 
not,  while  waiting  for  an  answer  to  this  summons,  that  he  was 
visited  by  the  great  Ottawa  chieftain,  Pontiac,  who  demanded 
how  the  English  dared  enter  his  country ;  to  which  the  answer 
was  given,  that  they  came  not  to  take  the  country,  but  to  open 
a'free  way  of  trade,  and  to  put  out  the  French,  who  stopped 
their  trade.  This  answer,  together  with  other  moderate  and 
kindly  words,  spoken  by  Rogers,  seemed  to  lull  the  rising 
fears  of  the  savages,  and  Pontiac  promised  him  his  protection. 
Beleter,  meantime,  who  commanded  at  Detroit,  had  not 
yielded ;  nay,  word  was  brought  to  Rogers  on  the  24th,  that 

*  Contest  in  North  America,  by  an  Impartial  Hand,  p.  36. — Secret  Journals,  TO!,  iii.  p. 
187. — Plain  Facts.    Appendix. 

t  Plain  Facts,  p.  56. — See  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  p.  64. 

JSee  his  Journal,  London,  1765.    Also,  his  Concise  Account  of  North  America.    Lon- 
don.   1765. 


1761.  Henry  at  Mackinac.  Ill 

his  messenger  had  been  confined,  and  a  flag-pole  erected, 
with  a  wooden  head  upon  it,  to  represent  Britain,  on  which 
stood  a  crow  picking  the  eyes  out,  as  emblematic  of  the  suc- 
cess of  France.  In  a  few  days,  however,  the  commander 
heard  of  the  fate  of  the  lower  posts,  and,  as  his  Indians  did 
not  stand  by  him,  on  the  29th  he  yielded.  Rogers  remained 
at  Detroit  until  December  23d,  under  the  personal  protection 
of  Pontiac,  to  whose  presence  he  probably  owed  his  safety. 
From  Detroit  the  Major  went  to  the  Maumee,  and  thence 
across  the  present  State  of  Ohio  to  Fort  Pitt;  and  his  Journal 
of  this  overland  trip  is  the  first  we  have  of  such  an  one  in  that 
region.  His  route  was  nearly  that  given  by  Hutchins,*  in 
Bouquet's  "Expedition,"  as  the  common  one  from  Sandusky 
to  the  Fork  of  the  Ohio.  It  went  from  Fort  Sandusky,  where 
Sandusky  City  now  is,  crossed  the  Huron  river,  then  called 
Bald  Eagle  Creek,  to  "  Mohickon  John's  Town,"  upon  what 
we  know  as  Mohicon  Creek,  the  northern  branch  of  White 
Woman's  River,  and  thence  crossed  to  Beaver's  Town,  a  Del- 
aware town  on  the  west  side  of  the  "Maskongam  Creek," 
opposite  "a  fine  river,"  which  from  Hutchins'  map,  we  presume 
was  Sandy  Creek.  At  Beaver's  Town  were  one  hundred  and 
eighty  warriors,  and  not  less  than  three  thousand  acres  of 
cleared  land.  From  there  the  track  went  up  Sandy  Creek 
and  across  to  the  Big  Beaver,  and  up  the  Ohio,  through  Logs- 
town,  to  Fort  Pitt,  which  place  Rogers  reached  January  23d, 
1760,  precisely  one  month  having,passed  while  he  was  upon 
the  way. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  following  Rogers'  visit,  (1761,) 
Alexander  Henry,  an  English  trader,  went  to  Michillimackinac 
for  purposes  of  business,  and  he  found  everywhere  the  strong- 
est feeling  against  the  English,  who  had  done  nothing  by 
word  or  act  to  conciliate  the  Indians.  Even  then  there  were 
threats  of  reprisals  and  war.  Having  by  means  of  a  Canadi- 
an dress,  managed  to  reach  Michillimackinac  in  safety,  he  was 
there  discovered,  and  was  waited  on  by  an  Indian  chief,  who 
was,  in  the  opinion  of  Thatcher,  Pontiac  himself.  This  chief, 
after  conveying  to  him  the  idea,  that  their  French  father 
would  soon  awake  and  utterly  destroy  his  enemies,  continued : 

"  Englishman !  Although  you  have  conquered  the  French, 

*  Thomas  Hutehins,  afterwards  Geographer  of  the  United  States,  was,  in  1764,  assistant 
engineer  in  Bouquet's  expedition. 


112  Treaty  at  Paris.  1763. 

you  have  not  conquered  us !  We  are  not  your  slaves  !  These 
lakes,  these  woods,  these  mountains,  were  left  to  us  by  our  an- 
cestors. They  are  our  inheritance,  and  we  will  part  with  them 
to  none.  Your  nation  supposes  that  we,  like  the  white  people, 
cannot  live  without  bread,  and  pork,  and  beef.  But  you  ought 
to  know  that  He,  the  Great  Spirit  and  Master  of  Life,  has 
provided  food  for  us  upon  these  broad  lakes  and  in  these 
mountains." 

He  then  spoke  of  the  fact  that  no  treaty  had  been  made 
with  them,  no  presents  sent  them,  and  while  he  announced 
their  intention  to  allow  Henry  to  trade  unmolested,  and  to 
regard  him  as  a  brother,  he  declared,  that  with  his  king  the 
red  men  were  still  at  war.* 

Such  were  the  feelings  of  the  north-western  savages  imme- 
diately after  the  English  took  possession  of  their  lands  ;  and 
these  feelings  were  in  all  probability  fostered  and  increased  by 
the  Canadians  and  French.  Distrust  of  the  British  was  gen- 
eral ;  and,  as  the  war  between  France  and  England  still  went 
on  in  other  lands,  there  was  hope  among  the  Canadians,  per- 
haps, that  the  French  power  might  be  restored  in  America. 
However  this  may  have  been,  it  is  clear  that  disaffection 
spread  rapidly  in  the  West,  though  of  the  details  of  the  years 
from  1759  to  1763  we  know  hardly  anything. 

Upon  the  10th  of  February,  1763,  the  treaty  of  Paris  was 
concluded,  and  peace  between  the  European  powers  restored. 
Of  that  treaty  we  give  the  essential  provisions  bearing  upon 
our  subject. 

ART.  4.  "His  most  Christian  Majesty  renounces  all  preten- 
sions which  he  has  heretofore  formed,  or  might  form,  to  Nova 
Scotia  or  Acadia  in  all  its  parts,  and  guarantees  the  whole  of 
it,  and  with  all  its  dependencies,  to  the  King  of  Great  Britain  : 
moreover,  his  most  Christian  Majesty  cedes  and  guarantees  to 
his  said  Britannic  Majesty,  in  full  right,  Canada,  with  all  its 
dependencies,  as  well  as  the  island  of  Cape  Breton,  and  all 
the  other  islands  and  coasts  in  the  gulf  and  river  of  St.  Law- 
rence ;  and,  in  general,  every  thing  that  depends  on  the  said 
countries,  lands,  islands,  and  coasts,  with  the  sovereignty, 
property,  possession,  and  all  rights  acquired  by  treaty  or 
otherwise,  which  the  most  Christian  King  and  crown  of  France 
have  had,  till  now,  over  the  said  countries,  islands,  lands, 
places,  coasts,  and  their  inhabitants ;  so  that  the  most  Christian 

•Travels  of  Alexander  Henry  in  ^Canada,  from  1760  to  1776.    New  York,  1809.— 
Thatcher's  Indian  Biography,  vol.  ii.  pp.  75,  et  teq. 


1763.  Treaty  at  Paris.  113 

King,  cedes  and  makes  over  the  whole  to  the  said  King,  and 
to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain,  and  that  in  the  most  ample 
manner  and  form,  without  restriction,  and  without  any  liberty 
to  depart  from  the  said  cession  and  guarantee  under  any  pre- 
tence, or  to  disturb  Great  Britain  in  the  possessions  above 
mentioned. 

ART.  7.  "In  order  to  establish  peace  on  solid  and  durable 
foundations,  and  to  remove  forever  all  subjects  of  dispute 
with  regard  to  the  limits  of  the  British  and  French  territories 
on  the  continent  of  America,  it  is  agreed  that  for  the  future, 
the  confines  between  the  dominions  of  his  Britaninc  Majesty 
and  those  of  his  most  Christian  Majesty  in  that  part  of  the 
world,  shall  be  fixed  irrevocably  by  a  line  drawn  along  the 
middle  of  the  river  Mississippi,  from  its  source  to  the  river 
Iberville,  and  from  thence  by  a  line  drawn  along  the  middle 
of  this  river,  and  the  lakes  Maurepas  and  Pontchartrain,  to 
the  sea;  and  for  this  purpose,  the  most  Christian  King  cedes, 
in  full  right,  and  guarantees  to  his  Britannic  Majesty,  the 
river  and  port  of  the  Mobile,  and  every  thing  which  he  pos- 
sesses or  ought  to  possess  on  the  left  side  of  the  river  Missis- 
sippi, with  the  exception  of  the  town  of  New  Orleans,  and  of 
the  island  in  which  it  is  situated,  which  shall  remain  to  France; 
it  being  well  understood  that  the  navigation  of  the  river  Mis- 
sissippi shall  be  equally  free,  as  well  to  the  subjects  of  Great 
Britain  as  to  those  of  France,  in  its  whole  breadth  and  length 
from  its  source  to  the  sea ;  and  expressly,  that  part  which  is 
between  the  said  island  of  New  Orleans,  and  the  right  bank 
of  that  river,  as  well  as  the  passage  both  in  and  out  of  its 
mouth.  It  is  further  stipulated  that  the  vessels  belonging  to, 
the  subjects  of  either  nations  shall  not  be  stopped,  visited,  or 
subjected  to  the  payment  of  any  duty  whatsoever." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

INDIAN  CONSPIRACY,  TREATIES,  AND  EXPLORATIONS  OP 
THE  WEST,  FROM  1763  TO  1774. 

Indian  Conspiracy  under  Pontiac— Stratagem  at  Detroit  Defeated—Massacre  atMackinac — 
Treaty  of  Detroit — Settlement  of  St.  Louis  and  transfer  of  Louisiana — Treaty  of  Fort 
Stanwix — Expedition  of  Col.  Croghan — Dr.  Walker's  Company — Col.  James  Smith's 
Expedition  to  Kentucky — Daniel  Boone's  Exploration — Emigration  to  Kentucky  and 


Again,  men  began  to  think  seriously  of  the  West.  Pamph- 
lets were  published  upon-  the  advantages  of  settlements  on 
the  Ohio ;  Colonel  Mercer  was  chosen  to  represent  the  old 
Company  in  England,  and  try  to  have  their  affairs  made 
straight,  for  there  were  counter-claims  by  the  soldiers  who 
had  enlisted,  in  1754,  under  Dinwiddie's  proclamation ;  and 
on  all  hands  there  were  preparations  for  movement.  But, 
even  at  that  moment,  there  existed  through  the  whole  West  a 
conspiracy  or  agreement  among  the  Indians,  from  Lake  Michi- 
gan to  the  frontiers  of  North  Carolina,  by  which  they  were, 
with  one  accord,  with  one  spirit,  to  fall  upon  the  whole  line 
of  British  posts  and  strike  every  white  man  dead.  Chippe- 
ways,  Ottoways,  Wyandotts,  Miamis,  Shawanese,  Delawares, 
and  Mingoes,  for  the  time,  laid  by  their  old  hostile  feelings, 
and  united  under  Pontiac  in  this  great  enterprise.  The  voice 
of  that  sagacious  and  noble  man  was  heard  in  the  distant 
North,  crying,  "Why,  says  the  Great  Spirit,  do  you  suffer  these 
dogs  in  red  clothing  to  enter  your  country  and  take  the  land 
I  have  given  you  ?  Drive  them  from  it !  Drive  them  !  When 
you  are  in  distress,  I  will  help  you." 

That  voice  was  heard,  but  not  by  the  whites.  The  unsus- 
pecting traders  journeyed  from  village -to  village;  the  soldiers 
in  the  forts  shrunk  from  the  sun  of  early  summer,  and  dozed 
away  the  day;  the  frontier  settler,  singing  in  fancied  security, 
sowed  his  crop,  or,  watching  the  sunset  through  the  girdled 
trees,  mused  upon  one  more  peaceful  harvest,  and  told  his 
children  of  the  horrors  of  the  ten  years'  war,  now, — thank 
God  !  over.  From  the  Alleghenies  to  the  Mississippi  the  trees 


1763.  Nine  Forts   Captured.  115 

had  leaved,  and  all  was  calm  life  and  joy.  But,  through  that 
great  country,  even  then,  bands  of  sullen  red  men  were  jour- 
neying from  the  central  valleys  to  the  lakes  and  the  eastern 
hills.  Bands  of  Chippeways  gathered  about  Michillimackinac. 
Ottaways  filled  the  woods  near  Detroit.  The  Maumee  post, 
Presqu'Ile,  Niagara,  Pitt,  Ligonier,  and  every  English  fort  was 
hemmed  in  by  mingled  tribes,  who  felt  that  the  great  battle 
drew  nigh  which  was  to  determine  their  fate  and  the  posses- 
sion of  their  noble  lands !  At  last  the  day  came.  The  traders 
everywhere  were  seized,  their  goods  taken  from  them,  and 
more  than  one  hundred  of  them  put  to  death.  Nine  British 
forts  yielded  instantly,  and  the  savages  drank,  "scooped  up  in 
the  hollow  of  joined  hands,"  the  blood  of  many  a  Briton.  The 
border  streams  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  ran  red  again. 
"We  hear,"  says  a  letter  for  Fort  Pitt,  "of  scalping  every 
hour."  In  Western  Virginia,  more  than  twenty  thousand 
people  were  driven  from  their  homes. 

[The  forts,  or  rather  trading  posts,  were  those  of  Green  Bay, 
St.  Joseph,  Ouiatenon,  Miamis,  Sandusky,  Presqu'Ile,  Lebceuf, 
Venango,  and  Michillimackinac.  Three  others,  Niagara,  Pitt, 
and  Detroit,  were  attacked  but  not  taken.  The  master  spirit 
of  this  enterprise  was  Pontiac,  an  Ottawa  chief,  who  resided 
near  Detroit.  He  was  one  of  those  heroic  men  who  stamp 
their  own  character  on  their  country  and  the  age.  No  Ameri- 
can Savage  has  shown  a  more  marked  character,  in  forming 
great  and  comprehensive  plans,  or  in  executing  them  with 
energy  and  boldness.  He  had  been  friendly  and  liberal  with 
the  French,  but  he  disliked  the  British,  though,  as  a  matter  of 
policy,  he  professed  friendship  at  first.  After  Canada  and  its 
dependencies  had  surrendered  to  the  British  arms,  in  1760, 
General  Amherst  of  Montreal,  dispatched  Major  R.  Rogers 
with  a  considerable  force,  to  take  possession  of  Detroit  and 
Mackinac.  These  were  the  first  English  troops  that  ever 
penetrated  that  region. 

Drawing  near  to  Detroit,  they  received  a  message  from 
Pontiac,  informing  Major  Rogers  that  their  chief  was  master 
of  the  country  they  had  entered.  The  commander  was  intro- 
duced to  the  great  chief,  who  condescended  to  smoke  the  pipe 
of  peace  and  make  a  treaty. 

One  of  the  speeches  of  Pontiac  we  here  insert  as  illustra- 
tive of  the  character  of  that  man : 


116  Attempt  on   Detroit.  1763. 

"Englishmen  !  It  is  to  you  that  I  speak — and  I  demand  your 
attention.  Englishmen  !  You  know  that  the  French  King  is 
our  father.  He  promised  to  be  such,  and  we,  in  return, 
promised  to  be  his  children— this  promise  we  have  kept. 

"Englishmen  !  It  is  you  that  have  made  war  with  this,  our 
father.  You  are  his  enemy — how  then  could  you  have  the 
boldness  to  venture  among  us,  his  children?  You  know  that 
his  enemies  are  ours  ! 

"Englishmen  !  We  are  informed  that  our  father,  the  King  of 
France,  is  old  and  infirm;  and  that,  being  fatigued  with  mak- 
ing war  upon  your  nation,  he  has  fallen  asleep.  During  his 
sleep  you  have  taken  advantage  of  him,  and  possessed  your- 
selves of  Canada.  But  his  nap  is  almost  at  an  end — I  think 
I  hear  him  already  stirring,  and  inquiring  for  his  children,  the 
Indians — and  when  he  does  awake,  what  must  become  of  you? 
He  will  destroy  you  utterly  !" 

After  deceiving  the  British  by  a  treaty,  Pontiac  laid  the  plan 
of  a  sudden  and  cotemporaneous  attack  upon  all  the  British 
forts  and  trading  posts  on  the  northern  lakes. 

He  sent  runners  with  a  "talk"  and  a  belt  of  wampum,  which 
he  pretended  had  been  sent  him  by  the  King  of  France,  to  the 
Indian  tribes  along  the  line  of  frontier,  by  which  means  he 
brought  into  a  conspiracy  the  Miamis,  the  Ottawas,  the  Chip- 
pewas,  the  Wyandots,  the  Potawatamies,  the  Missisaugas,  the 
Shawanoes,  the  Saukies,  the  Ottagamies,  and  the  Winneba- 
goes.  His  measures  were  taken  with  so  much  secrecy  that 
the  storm  burst  on  each  garrison  in  the  month  of  May,  before 
the  English  had  learned  the  plans  of  their  enemy,  or  had  made 
any  preparation  for  defence. 

Fort  Pitt  and  Niagara,  being  regular  fortifications,  were 
successfully  defended,  and  Detroit  was  saved  by  detection  of 
the  stratagem. 

This  post  was  attempted  by  Pontiac  in  person,  who,  with  a 
number  of  braves,  presented  himself  at  the  gate  on  the  8th  of 
May,  and  desired  to  speak  with  the  commanding  officer.  This 
was  Maj.  Gladwyn,  who,  unsuspicious  of  treachery,  and  believ- 
ing he  desired  to  trade,  and  that  "the  Indians  desired  to  take 
their  new  father,  the  King  of  England,  by  the  hand,"  gave  his 
consent,  and  the  council  was  to  be  held  next  day  in  the  fort. 

The  plan  of  Pontiac  was  to  gain  admittance  into  the  fort, 
with  a  number  of  his  braves,  who  had  cut  short  their  guns  so 
as  to  be  concealed  under  their  blankets,  and  at  a  signal  he 
would  give,  they  were  to  massacre  the  officers,  throw  open 


1763.  Macanac  Captured.  117 

the  gates,  admit  the  other  Indians,  and  complete  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  garrison. 

An  Indian  woman,  who  had  been  employed  by  the  comman- 
dant to  make  moccasins,  out  of  a  curiously  wrought  elk  skin, 
betrayed  the  conspirators.  Next  morning  the  garrison  was 
under  arms,  the  guards  were  doubled,  and  the  officers  armed 
with  swords  and  pistols.  Pontiac,  on  his  arrival,  enquired  of 
the  British  commandant  the  cause  of  this  unusual  display,  and 
received  for  answer,  it  was  necessary  to  keep  his  young  men 
from  being  idle.  The  council  opened,  the  speech  of  Pontiac 
was  bold  and  menacing,  and  his  voice  and  gesticulations 
vehement.  When  he  was  about  to  give  his  men  the  signal, 
the  drums  beat  the  charge,  the  guards  levelled  their  muskets, 
the  officers  drew  their  swords,  and  Pontiac,  though  a  brave 
man,  was  disconcerted.  Major  Gladwyn  approached  the 
chief,  turned  aside  his  blanket,  discovered  the  shortened  gun, 
exposed  his  plan,  reproached  him  for  his  treachery,  and 
ordered  him  and  his  braves  to  leave  the  fort.  The  garrison  in 
the  fort  consisted  of  122  men,  officers  included,  besides  some 
forty  traders  and  engagees  who  resided  in  the  fort. 

As  the  Indians  retired  they  gave  a  yell,  and  discharged  their 
guns  at  the  garrison.  They  also  murdered  an  aged  English 
woman  and  her  two  sons,  and  a  discharged  sergeant  and  his 
family  in  the  vicinity.  A  furious  attack  was  made  upon  the 
fort  for  several  days,  and  repeated  attempts  made  by  the 
Indians  to  gain  possession.  At  one  time  they  filled  a  cart 
with  combustibles  and  ran  it  against  the  pickets  to  set  them 
on  fire.  For  several  months  the  English  were  blockaded  and 
their  supplies  cut  off.  There  was  great  difficulty  in  sending 
aid  to  Detroit  from  the  Southern  posts.  Niagara  and  Fort 
Pitt  had  become  reduced  to  great  distress,  and  the  latter  was 
finally  relieved  by  Colonel  Bouquet,  who  penetrated  the 
wilderness  of  Pennsylvania  by  Bedford  and  Fort  Ligonier, 
with  300  men  and  forty  horses,  loaded  with  provisions. 

The  post  of  Michillimackinac  was  attacked,  entered,  and 
seventy  of  the  garrison  killed  and  scalped,  on  the  4th  of  June, 
the  same  year.  The  garrison  consisted  of  ninety  men,  besides 
two  subaltern  officers,  under  the  command  of  Major  Ethering- 
ton.  Sometime  previous,  this  officer  had  received  intelligence 
of  the  hostility  of  the  Indians,  but  he  would  not  believe  it. 
Besides  the  garrison,  there  were  \vithin  the  limits  of  the  stock- 


118  Stratagem  at  Mackinac.  1763. 

ade,  about  thirty  cabins,  inhabited  by  as  many  French  families. 
Among  the  traders  at  this  post  was  Mr.  Alexander  Henry, 
who,  after  a  narrow  escape  from  the  massacre,  wrote  a  narra- 
tive of  the  events  in  the  Northwest  at  this  period,  which  is 
reliable  history.  We  give  the  substance  of  his  account  of  the 
attack  on  this  post,  with  copious  references. 

"On  the  4th  of  June,  the  morning  was  sultry,  and  the 
Chippeways  projected  a  game  of  ball  called  Baggatiway,  with 
the  Sacks,  for  a  high  wager,  and  they  gave  an  invitation  to 
the  British  officers,  to  be  present.  This  game  is  played  with 
a  bat  and  ball ;  the  bat  being  about  four  feet  long,  curved,  and 
ending  in  a  sort  of  racket.  Two  posts  were  planted  in  the 
ground,  a  half  mile  or  more  apart,  and  the  issue  of  the  game 
consisted  in  striking  the  ball  beyond  either  post. 

On  the  ground,  midway  between  the  posts,  the  ball  is 
placed.  The  Indians  being  divided  into  two  parties,  played 
with  great  animation  and  much  noise  and  confusion.  In  the 
heat  of  the  contest  the  ball  was  frequently,  as  if  by  accident, 
sent  over  the  pickets  into  the  fort,  and  the  commandant,  with 
the  subalterns  and  a  part  of  the  soldiers,  went  out  to  witness 
the  game.  When  the  ball  was  sent  within  the  pickets,  num- 
bers of  both  parties  ran  within  the  fort,  until  the  artifice  was 
repeated  several  times,  and  the  British  thrown  off  their  guard, 
not  suspecting  treachery.  At  this  crisis,  the  ball  was  again 
thrown  over  the  pickets,  and  the  Indians,  in  great  numbers 
rushed  in,  as  if  to  recover  the  ball,  but  with  arms  concealed, 
and  commenced  a  furious  attack  on  the  garrison.  In  a  short 
time  they  had  possession  of  the  fort.  About  seventy,  including 
the  commander,  several  officers  and  traders,  and  the  garrison 
and  servants,  were  killed  and  scalped.  The  remainder,  being 
saved  as  prisoners,  were  taken  to  Montreal,  where  they  were 
redeemed.  Carver  says,  "the  Indians  had  the  humanity  to 
spare  the  lives  of  the  greatest  part  of  the  garrison  and 
traders."  The  Indians  numbered  nearly  400  braves."*] 

It  was  now  nearly  autumn,  and  the  confederated  tribes  had 

*For  further  particulars  of  Pontiac,  the  stratagem  at  Detroit,  massacre  at  Mackinac, 
and  events  of  1763,  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  following  authorities.  Carver's  Travels, 
p.  13,  Philadelphia  edition,  1796.  Henry's  Narrative.  Drake's  Captivities,  pp.  289,  292. 
Drake's  Book  of  the  Indians,  book  v,  art.  Pontiak,  pp.  52,  53.  Holmes'  Annals,  vol.  ii,  p. 
121.  Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii,  map  at  p.  38.  Day's  Historical  Collections  of  Penn- 
sylvania, 681.  Thatcher's  Indian  Biography,  vol.  ii,  p.  S3.  Lanman's  History  of  Michigan, 
pp.  121, 121.  Dillon's  Indiana,  vol.  i,  pp.  82,  83.  Brown's  Illinois,  pp.  pp.  192.  204. 


1763.  Royal  Proclamation.  119 

failed  to  take  the  three  most  important  fortresses  in  the  West, 
Detroit,  Pitt,  and  Niagara.  Many  of  them  became  disheart- 
ened ;  others  wished  to  return  home  for  the  winter  ;  others 
had  satisfied  their  longings  for  revenge.  United  merely  by 
the  hope  of  striking  and  immediate  success,  they  fell  from  one 
another  when  that  success  did  not  come;  jealousies  and  old 
enmities  revived ;  the  league  was  broken ;  and  Pontiac  was 
left  alone  or  with  few  followers. 

In  October,  also,  a  step  was  taken  by  the  British  govern- 
ment, in  part,  for  the  purpose  of  quieting  the  fears  and  sus- 
picions of  the  red  men,  which  did  much,  probably,  toward 
destroying  their  alliance  ;  a  proclamation  was  issued  contain- 
ing the  following  paragraphs  and  prohibitions : 

And,  whereas,  it  is  just  and  reasonable,  and  essential  to  our 
interest  and  the  security  of  our  colonies,  that  the  several  na- 
tions or  tribes  of  Indians  with  whom  we  are  connected,  and 
who  live  under  our  protection,  should  not  be  molested  or 
disturbed  in  the  possession  of  such  parts  of  our  dominions  and 
territories  as,  not  having  been  ceded  to,  or  purchased  by  us, 
are  reserved  to  them,  or  any  of  them,  as  their  hunting 
grounds;  we  do,  therefore,  with  the  advice  of  our  privy  coun- 
cil, declare  it  to  be  our  royal  will  and  pleasure,  that  no 
Governor  or  Commander-in-chief,  in  any  of  our  colonies  of 
Quebec,  East  Florida,  or  West  Florida,  do  presume,  upon  any 
pretence  whatever,  to  grant  warrants  of  survey,  or  pass  any 
patents  for  lands  beyond  the  bounds  of  their  respective  gov- 
ernments, as  described  in  their  commissions  ;  as,  also  that  no 
Governor  or  Commander-in-chief  of  our  other  colonies  or 
plantations  in  America,  do  presume  for  the  present,  and  until 
our  further  pleasure  be  known,  to  grant  warrants  of  survey, 
or  pass  patents  for  any  lands  beyond  the  heads  or  sources  of 
any  of  the  rivers  which  fall  into  the  Atlantic  ocean  from  the 
west  or  northwest;  or  upon  any  lands  whatever,  which,  not 
having  been  ceded  to,  or  purchased  by  us,  as  aforesaid,  are 
reserved  to  the  said  Indians  or  any  of  them. 

And  we  do  further  declare  it  t>  be  our  royal  will  and 
pleasure,  for  the  present,  as  aforesaid,  to  reserve  under  our 
sovereignty,  protection,  and  dominion,  for  the  use  of  the  said 
Indians,  all  the  land  and  territories  not  included  within  the 
limits  of  our  said  three  new  governments,  or  within  the 
limits  of  the  territory  granted  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company; 
as  also  all  the  lands  and  territories  lying  to  the  westward  of 
the  sources  of  the  rivers  which  fall  into  the  sea  from  the  west 
and  northwest  as  aforesaid;  and  we  do  hereby  strictly  forbid, 
on  pain  of  our  displeasure,  all  our  loving  subjects  from  making 
any  purchases  or  settlements  whatever,  or  taking  possession 


120  Royal  Proclamation.  1763. 

of  any  of  the  lands  above  reserved,  without  our  special  leave 
and  license  for  that  purpose  first  obtained. 

And  we  do  further  strictly  enjoin  and  require  all  persons 
whatever,  who  have  either  wilfully  or  inadvertently  seated 
themselves  upon  any  lands  within  the  countries  above  descri- 
bed, or  upon  any  other  lands,  which,  not  having  been  ceded 
to,  or  purchased  by  us,  are  still  reserved  to  the  said  Indians,  as 
aforesaid,  forthwith  to  remove  themselves  from  such  settle- 
ments. 

And  whereas,  great  frauds  and  abuses  have  been  committed 
in  the  purchasing  lands  from  the  Indians,  to  the  great  preju- 
dice of  our  interests,  and  to  the  great  dissatisfaction  of  the 
Indians;  in  order,  therefore,  to  prevent  such  irregularities  for 
the  future,  and  to  the  end  that  the  Indians  may  be  convinced 
of  our  justice  and  determined  resolution  to  remove  all  reason- 
able cause  of  discontent,  we  do,  with  the  advice  of  our  privy 
council,  strictly  enjoin  and  require  that  no  private  person  do 
presume  to  make  any  purchase  from  the  said  Indians,  of  any 
lands  reserved  to  the  said  Indians,  within  those  parts  of  our 
colonies  where  we  have  thought  proper  to  allow  settlement ; 
but  that,  if  at  any  time,  any  of  the  said  Indians  should  be 
inclined  to  dispose  of  the  said  lands,  the  same  shall  be  pur- 
chased only  for  us,  in  our  name,  at  some  public  meeting  or 
assembly  of  the  said  Indians,  to  be  held  for  that  purpose,  by 
the  Governor  or  Commander-in-chief  of  our  colony,  respec- 
tively, within  which  they  shall  lie  :  and  in  case  they  shall  lie 
within  the  limits  of  any  proprietaries,  conformable  to  such 
directions  and  instructions  as  we  or  they  shall  think  proper 
to  give  for  that  purpose  :  and  we  do,  by  the  advice  of  our 
privy  council,  declare  and  enjoin,  that  the  trade  with  the  said 
Indians  shall  be  free  and  open  to  all  our  subjects  whatever  : 
Provided,  That  every  person  who  may  incline  to  trade  with 
the  said  Indians,  do  take  out  a  license,  for  carrying  on  such 
trade,  from  the  Governor  or  Commander-in-chief  of  any  of 
our  colonies,  respectively,  where  such  person  shall  reside ; 
and  also  give  security  to  observe  such  regulations  as  we  shall, 
at  any  time,  think  fit,  by  ourselves  or  commissaries,  to  be  ap- 
pointed for  this  purpose,  to  direct  and  appoint,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  said  trade ;  and  we  do  hereby  authorize,  enjoin,  and 
require  the  Governors  and  Commanders-in  chief  of  all  our 
colonies,  respectively,  as  well  those  under  our  immediate 
government  as  those  under  the  government  and  direction  of 
proprietaries,  to  grant  such  licenses  without  fee  or  reward, 
taking  especial  care  to  insert  therein  a  condition  that  such 
license  shall  be  void,  and  the  security  forfeited,  in  case  the 
person  to  whom  the  same  is  granted  shall  refuse  or  neglect  to 
observe  such  regulations  as  we  shall  think  proper  to  prescribe 
as  aforesaid. 


1763.  Settlement  of  St.  Louis.  121 

To  assist  the  effect  of  this  proclamation,  it  was  determined 
to  make  two  movements  in  the  spring  and  summer  of  1764  ; 
General  Bradstreet  being  ordered  into  the  country  upon  Lake 
Erie,  and  Bouquet  into  that  upon  the  Ohio.  The  former 
moved  to  Niagara  early  in  the  summer,  and  there  in  June, 
accompanied  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  held  a  grand  council 
with  twenty  or  more  tribes,  all  of  whom  sued  for  peace  ;  and, 
upon  the  8th  of  August,  reached  Detroit,  where,  about  the 
21st  of  that  month,  a  definite  treaty  was  made  with  the 
Indians.  Among  the  provisions  of  this  treaty  were  the  fol- 
lowing :  * 

1.  All  prisoners  in  the  hands  of  the  Indians  were  to  be 
given  up. 

2.  All  claims  to  the  Posts  and  Forts  of  the  English  in  the 
West  were  to  be  abandoned ;  and  leave  given  to  erect  such 
other  forts  as  might  be  needed  to  protect  the  traders,  &c. 
Around  each  fort  as  much  land  was  ceded  as  a  "Cannon-shot" 
would  fly  over. 

3.  If  any  Indian  killed  an  Englishman  he  was  to  be  tried 
by  English  law,  the  Jury  one-half  Indians. 

4.  Six  hostages  were  given  by  the  Indians  for  the  true  ful- 
filment of  the  conditions  of  the  treaty.f 

[During  the  period  of  the  Indian  conspiracy  under  Pontiac, 
and  the  negotiations  for  peace,  a  series  of  events  were  open- 
ing in  another  quarter,  of  which,  British  authorities  took  no 
notice.  We  allude  to  the  settlement  of  St.  Louis,  and  the 
progress  of  civilization  along  the  Mississippi.  The  lead  busi- 
ness commenced,  under  Philip  Francis  Renault,  in  1720,  and 
was  prosecuted  at  various  periods,  and  the  trade  with  the 
Indians  in  peltry  was  conducted  by  individual  enterprise. 
But  in  1763,  Pierre  Ligucste  Laclcdc,  an  enterprising  trader, 
obtained  a  grant  from  M.  D'Abadie,  director  general  of  Louis- 
iana, with  "the  necessary  powers  to  trade  with  the  Indians  of 
the  Missouri,  and  those  west  of  the  Mississippi,  above  the 
Missouri,  as  far  north  as  the  river  St.  Peters." 

*Annual  Register,  1764.— (State  Papers,  181.) 

•fHenry's  Narrative  (New  York  edition,  1809,  pp.  185,  186.  Henry  was  with  Bradstreet. 
The  Annual  Register  of  1764,  (State  Papers,  p.  181,  says  the  treaty  was  made  at  Presqu'Ile, 
(Erie.)  Mr.  Harvey,  of  Erie,  (quoted  by  Day  in  his  Historical  Collections  of  Pennsylvania, 
314,  sayi  the  same.  Others  have  named  the  Maumee,  where  a  truce  was  agreed  to,  Au- 
gust 6th.  (See  Henry.)  There  may  have  been  two  treaties,  one  at  Detroit  with  the  Otta. 
was,  &c.,  and  one  at  Erie  with  the  Ohio  Indians. 

8 


122  Site  of  St.  Louis  Described.  1764. 

Laclede  organized  a  company  under  the  firm  of  "  Laclede, 
Maxan  &  Co.,"  fitted  out  an  expedition,  and  started  from 
New  Orleans  on  the  third  day  of  August,  1763,  and  reached 
Ste.  Genevieve,  (then  a  small  village  on  the  bank  of  the 
Mississippi)  on  the  3d  of  November,  just  three  months  after 
his  departure.  Finding  no  place  in  which  to  store  his  goods, 
he  proceeded  to  Fort  Chartres,  then  under  command  of  M.  St. 
Ange  de  Belle  Rive.  He  left  this  point  early  in  February, 
1764,  with  the  men  he  brought  from  New  Orleans,  with  a 
reinforcement  from  Ste.  Genevieve,  Fort  Chartres  and  Kas- 
kaskia,  and  stopped  a  short  time  at  Cahokia,  then  called 
"Notre  Dame  des  Kahokias"  and  engaged  several  families  to 
accompany  him  to  his  projected  settlement.  On  the  fifteenth 
of  February,  the  party  landed  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  the  city  of  St.  Louis,  and 
commenced  cutting  down  the  trees,  and  erecting  cabins  for  the 
accommodation  of  his  goods  and  men.  He  laid  off  a  village 
plat,  with  narrow  streets,  which  he  named  ST.  Louis,  in  honor 
of  Louis  XV.  of  France. 

At  that  time  a  skirt  of  tall  timber  lined  the  bank  of  the 
river,  free  from  undergrowth,  which  extended  back  to  a  line 
about  the  range  of  Eighth  street.  In  the  rear  was  an  exten- 
sive prairie.  The  first  cabins  were  erected  near  the  river  and 
Market  street.  No"Bloody  Island,"  or  "Duncan's  Island,"  then 
existed.  Directly  opposite  the  Old  Market  square,  the  river 
was  narrow  and  deep,  and  until  about  the  commencement  of 
the  present  century,  persons  could  be  distinctly  heard  from 
the  opposite  shore.  Opposite  Duncan's  Island  and  South  St. 
Louis  was  an  island,  covered  with  heavy  timber  and  separated 
from  the  Illinois  shore  by  a  slough.  Many  persons  are  now 
living  (1850)  who  recollect  the  only  ferry  from  Illinois  to  St. 
Louis,  passed  from  Cahokia,  below  this  island,  and  landed  on 
the  Missouri  shore  near  the  site  of  the  United  States  Arsenal. 

It  deserves  note  that  at  this  period,  Louisiana  belonged  to 
Spain,  and  the  Illinois  country,  the  north-west  and  Canada,  to 
Great  Britain. 

By  a  secret  treaty,  signed  on  the  third  of  November,  1762, 
between  the  French  and  Spanish  kings,  the  former  ceded  to 
the  latter  the  part  of  the  province  of  Louisiana,  which  lay 
on  the  western  side  of  the  Mississippi  river,  including  the 
island  and  city  of  New  Orleans,  on  the  eastern  side,  but  it 


1769.  Change  of  Government.  123 

was  not  until  the  2lst  of  April,  1764,  that  the  governor,  M. 
D'Abadie,  received  orders  from  Louis  XV.  to  proclaim  this 
change  to  the  colony. 

The  governor  was  so  deeply  distressed  at  these  orders,  that 
it  caused  his  death.* 

The  administration  remained  in  the  hands  of  the  French 
under  Aubri,  the  successor  of  M.  D'Abadie.  The  colonists 
had  a  great  aversion  to  the  Spanish  government,  and  when 
the  Court  of  Madrid  sent,  as  Captain  General,  Don  Antonio 
D'Ulloa,  a  man  of  prudence  and  discretion,  he  could  not 
openly  exercise  his  authority.  The  colonists  sent  deputies  to 
Versailles  for  permission  from  the  King  to  remain  subjects  of 
France.  Louis  XV.  declared  the  cession  was  irrevocable. 

The  Spanish  general,  Don  Alexander  O'Reilly,  was  ap- 
pointed as  the  successor  of  D'Ulloa  in  1769,  with  special  power 
to  compel  subjection,  with  three  thousand  soldiers.  The  col- 
onists at  New  Orleans  attempted  to  prevent  his  landing,  and 
it  was  only  by  the  influence  of  the  French  magistrates,  who 
saw  the  hopelessness  of  a  violent  contest  with  the  crown  of 
Spain,  unaided  by  their  former  government,  that  he  obtained 
possession.  O'Reilly  was  a  tyrant  and  barbarian,  and  ruled 
only  by  superior  force.  Six  principal  citizens  were  con- 
demned and  shot  by  his  orders  !  f 

For  our  authority,  concerning  the  appearance  of  the  site 
of  St.  Louis  and  the  aspect  of  the  river,  we  are  indebted  to 
the  late  Auguste  Chouteau,  Sen.,  and  several  other  inhabitants 
of  St.  Louis,  who  were  living  thirty  years  since. 

We  cannot  well  give  the  Annals  of  St.  Louis,  of  Missouri, 
and  of  Illinois,  with  the  correctness  and  particularity  desirable, 
in  the  body  of  the  work,  prepared  by  Mr  Perkins,  without 
trenching  on  the  narrative  of  events  that  transpired  in  other 
parts  of  the  West  at  the  same  period.  Our  readers  will  find 
the  whole  in  the  APPENDIX.] 

Bouquet,  meanwhile,  collected  troops  at  Fort  Pitt,  and  in 
the  autumn  marched  across  from  Big  Beaver  to  the  upper 
Muskingum,  and  thence  to  the  point  where  the  White  Wo- 
man's river  comes  into  the  main  stream.  There,  upon  the  9th 
of  November,  he  concluded  a  peace  with  the  Delawares  and 
Shawanese,  and  received  from  them  two  hundred  and  six  pris- 

*Marbois'  History  of  Louisiana,  p.  136. 

•fTbid.    Also,  Martin's  History  of  Louisiana,  vol.  ii.  p.  7. 


124  Captives  Delivered  up.  1765. 

oners,  eighty-one  men  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
women  and  children.  He  also  received,  from  the  Shawanese, 
hostages  for  the  delivery  of  some  captives,  who  could  not  be 
brought  to  the  Muskingum  at  that  time.  These  hostages 
escaped,  but  the  savages  were  of  good  faith,  and  upon  the 
9th  of  May,  1765,  the  remaining  whites  were  given  up  to 
George  Croghan,  the  deputy  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  at  Fort 
Pitt.*  Many  anecdotes  are  related  in  the  account  of  the  de- 
livery of  the  captives  to  Bouquet,  going  to  show  that  strong 
attachments  had  been  formed  between  them  aud  their  cap- 
tors ;  and  West's  pencil  has  illustrated  the  scene  of  their  de- 
livery. But  we  have  little  faith  in  the  representations  of 
either  writer  or  painter.f 

Pontiac,  the  leading  spirit  in  the  past  struggle,  finding  his 
attempts  to  save  his  country  and  his  race  at  that  time  hopeless, 
left  his  tribe  and  went  into  the  West,  and  for  some  years  after 
was  living  among  the  Illinois,  and  in  St.  Louis,  attempting, 
but  in  vain,  to  bring  about  a  new  union  and  new  war.  He 
was  in  the  end  killed  by  a  Kaskaskia  Indian.  So  far  as  we 
can  form  a  judgment  of  this  chieftain,  he  was,  in  point  of 
talent,  nobleness  of  spirit,  honor,  and  devotion,  the  superior 
of  any  red  man  of  \vhom  we  have  an  account.  His  plan  of 
extermination  was  most  masterly;  his  execution  of  it  equal 
to  its  conception.  But  for  the  treachery  of  one  of  his  follow- 
ers, he  would  have  taken  Detroit  early  in  May.  His  whole 
force  might  then  have  been  directed  in  one  mass,  first  upon 
Niagara,  and  then  upon  Pitt,  and  in  all  probability  both  posts 
would  have  fallen.^  Even  disappointed  as  he  was  at  Detroit, 
had  the  Six  Nations,  with  their  dependent  allies,  the  Dela- 
wares  and  Shawanese,  been  true  to  him,  the  British  might 
have  been  long  kept  beyond  the  mountains ;  but  the  Iroquois, 
— close  upon  the  colonies,  old  allies  of  England,  very  greatly 

*See,  however,  American  Archives,  fourth  series,  i.  1015,  where  the  good  faith  of  the 
Shawanese  is  disputed. 

j- "  An  Historical  Account  of  the  Expedition  against  the  Ohio  Indians  in  the  year  1764, 
under  the  command  of  Henry  Bouquet,  Esquire,  Ac.  Published  from  Authentic  Docu- 
ments, by  a  Lover  of  his  Country.  London,  1766.  This  volume  was  first  printed  in 
Philadelphia. 

JThatcher's  Indian  Biography,  vol.  ii.  Our  knowledge  of  Pontiac  and  his  war  is  very 
imited.  We  hope  something  more  may  come  to  light  yet.  Nicollet  in  his  Report,  (p.  81,) 
gives  some  particulars  from  one  who  knew  Pontiac.  His  death  was  revenged  by  the  North- 
ern nations,  who  nearly  exterminated  the  Illinois. 


1765.  Col.  Croghari's  Exploration.  125 

under  the  influence  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  disposed,  as 
they  ever  proved  themselves,  to  claim  and  sell,  but  not  to 
defend  the  West, — were  for  peace  after  the  King's  proclama- 
tion. Indeed,  the  Mohawks  and  leading  tribes  were  from  the 
first  vrith  the  British ;  so  that,  after  the  success  of  Bradstreet 
and  Bouquet,  there  was  no  difficulty  in  concluding  a  treaty 
with  all  the  Western  Indians ;  and  late  in  April,  1765,  Sir 
William  Johnson,  at  the  German  Flats,  held  a  conference  with 
the  various  nations,  and  settled  a  definite  peace.*  At  this 
meeting  two  propositions  were  made ;  the  one  to  fix  some 
boundary  line,  west  of  which  the  Europeans  should  not  go ; 
and  the  savages  named,  as  this  line,  the  Ohio  or  Allegheny 
and  Susquehanna ;  but  no  definite  agreement  was  made, 
Johnson  not  being  empowered  to  act.  The  other  propo- 
sal was,  that  the  Indians  should  grant  to  the  traders,  who 
had  suffered  in  1763,  a  tract  of  land  in  compensation  for  the 
injuries  then  done  them,  and  to  this  the  red  men  agreed.f 

[  After  the  peace  of  1763,  Col.  George  Croghan,  a  commis- 
sioner under  Sir  William  Johnson,  was  sent  to  explore  the 
country  adjacent  to  the  Ohio  river,  to  conciliate  the  Indians. 
His  Journal  may  be  found  in  the  "American  Monthly  Journal 
of  Geology  and  Natural  Science,"  published  in  Philadelphia 
in  1831-'32,  vol.  i.  p.  257 ;  and  in  the  Appendix  to  Butler's 
"History  of  Kentucky,"  (second  edition.) 

Accompanied  by  the  deputies  of  the  Senecas,  Shawanese, 
and  Delawares,  Col.  Croghan  left  Pittsburgh,  May  15th,  1765, 
with  two  batteaux,  proceeded  dowrn  the  Ohio  river,  and  on 
the  6th  of  June  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash.  From 
this  point  he  dispatched  two  Indian  runners  with  letters  to 
Lord  Frazer,  a  British  officer,  who  had  been  sent  from  Fort 
Pitt  to  take  possession  of  Illinois,  and  to  M.  St.  Ange,  the 
French  commandant  at  Fort  Chartres. 

On  the  8th,  at  daybreak,  his  party  was  attacked  "by  a 
party  of  Indians,  consisting  of  eighty  warriors  of  the  Kicka- 
poos  and  Musquatimes,"  (probably  Musquakies.)  They 
killed  two  white  men  and  three  Indians  of  his  party,  wounded 
the  commander,  and  made  him  and  "all  the  white  men 
prisoners,"  after  plundering  them  of  all  they  possessed.  One 
of  the  Shawanese,  who,  being  wounded,  had  concealed  him- 

*Plmn  Facts,  p.  60. 

•flbid. — Butler's  History  of  Kentucky,  second  edition,  p.  479,  et.  seq. 


126  Col.  Croghan  Returns.  1765. 

self  in  the  bushes,  finding  the  hostile  party  were  from  Illinois, 
came  forward,  gave  them  an  Indian  talk,  and  threatened 
them  with  the  vengeance  of  the  Shawanese  nation.  This 
alarmed  them,  and  they  set  off  with  their  prisoners  to  their 
towns  on  the  Ouiatenon,  up  the  Wabash.  Passing  through 
Vincennes,  he  found  a  village  of  eighty  or  ninety  French 
families.  The  Colonel  represents  the  French  as  inimical  to 
him  and  the  British,  and  as  sharing  the  plunder  with  the  Indi- 
ans. He  gives  a  description  of  the  country  and  the  fertility 
of  the  soil  with  creditable  accuracy.  He  visited  the  Twigtwee 
and  several  other  Indian  villages,  passed  by  the  present  site 
of  Fort  Wayne,  thence  down  the  Maumee  to  Lake  Erie  and 
round  to  Detroit,  which  he  reached  on  the  16th  of  August. 

On  the  26th  of  September  he  set  out  from  Detroit,  passed 
along  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Erie  in  a  birch  canoe,  and 
reached  Niagara  on  the  8th  of  October.  At  the  close  of  his 
Journal  is  a  list  of  Indian  tribes,  their  localities,  and  their 
hunting  grounds,  from  New  York  to  Mississippi.] 

Mr.  Perkins  observes :  So  stood  matters  in  the  West  during 
this  year,  1765.  All  beyond  the  Alleghenies,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  forts,  was  a  wilderness,  until  the  Wabash  was 
reached,  where  dwelt  a  few  French,  with  some  fellow  coun- 
trymen, not  far  from  them,  upon  the  Illinois  and  Kaskaskia. 
The  Indians,  a  few  years  since,  undisputed  owners  of  the 
prairies  and  broad  vales,  now  held  them  by  sufferance,  having 
been  twice  conquered  by  the  arms  of  England.  They,  of 
course,  felt  both  hatred  and  fear  ;  and,  while  they  despaired 
of  holding  their  lands,  and  looked  forward  to  unknown  evils, 
the  deepest  and  most  abiding  spirit  of  revenge  was  roused 
within  them.  They  had  seen  the  British  coming  to  take  their 
hunting-grounds  upon  the  strength  of  a  treaty  they  knew  not  of. 
They  had  been  forced  to  admit  British  troops  into  their  country  ; 
and,  though  now  nominally  protected  from  settlers,  that  prom- 
ised protection  would  be  but  an  incentive  to  passion,  in  case  it 
\vas  not  in  good  faith  extended  to  them. 

And  it  was  not  in  good  faith  extended  to  them  by  either 
individuals  or  governments.  During  the  year  that  succeeded 
the  treaty  of  German  Flats,  settlers  crossed  the  mountains 
and  took  possession  of  lands  in  western  Virginia,  and  along 
the  Monongahela.  The  Indians,  haying  received  no  pay  for 
these  lands,  murmured,  and  once  more  a  border  war  was 


1767.  Purchase  of  Lands.  127 

feared.     General  Gage,  commander  of  the  King's  forces,  was 
applied  to,  probably  through  Sir  William  Johnson,  and  issued 
his  orders  for  the  removal  of  the  settlers ;  but  they  defied  his 
commands  and  his  power,  and  remained  where  they  were.  * 
And  not  only  were  frontier  men  thus  passing  the  line  tacitly 
urged  on,  but  Sir  William  himself  was  even  then  meditating 
a  step  which  would  have  produced,  had  it  been  taken,  a  gen- 
eral Indian  war  again.     This  was  the  purchase  and  settle- 
ment of  an  immense  tract  south  of  the  Ohio  river,  where  an 
independent  colony  was  to  be  formed.     How  early  this  plan 
was  conceived  we  do  not  learn,  but  from  Franklin's  letters, 
we  find  that  it  was  in  contemplation  in  the  spring  of  1766.f 
At  this  time  Franklin  was  in  London,  and  was  written  to  by 
his  son,  Governor  Franklin,  of  New  Jersey,  with  regard  to 
the  proposed  colony.      The  plan  seems  to  have  been,  to  buy 
of  the  Six  Nations  the  lands  south  of  the  Ohio,  a   purchase 
which  it  was  not  doubted  Sir  William  might  make,  and  then 
to  procure  from  the  King  a  grant  of  as  much  territory  as  the 
Company,  which  it  was  intended  to  form,  would  require.   Gov- 
ernor Franklin,  accordingly,  forwarded  to  his  father  an  appli- 
cation for  a  grant,  together  with  a  letter  from  Sir  William, 
recommending  the  plan  to  the  ministry;  all   of  which   was 
duly  communicated  to  the  proper  department.     But  at  that 
time  there  were  various  interests  bearing  upon  this  plan  of 
Franklin.     The  old  Ohio  Company  was  still  suing,  through 
its    agent,  Colonel   George  Mercer,  for  a  perfection  of  the 
original  grant      The   soldiers   claiming  under   Dinwiddie's 
proclamation  had  their  tale  of  rights  and  grievances.     Indi- 
viduals, to  whom  grants  had  been  made  by  Virginia,  wished 
them   completed.     General   Lyman,   from.    Connecticut,   we 
believe,  was  soliciting  a  new  grant  similar  to  that  now  asked 
by  Franklin ;  and  the  ministers  themselves  were  divided  as  to 
the  policy  and  propriety  of  establishing  any  settlements  so 
far  in  the  interior — Shelburne  being  in  favor  of  the  new  colo- 
ny— Hillsborough  opposed  to  it. 

The  Company  was  organized,  however,  and  the  nominally 
leading  man  therein  being  Mr.  Thomas  Walpole,  a  London 
banker  of  eminence,  it  was  known  as  the  Walpole  Company. 
Franklin  continued  privately  to  make  friends  among  the  min- 

•Plain  Facts,  p.  65. 

•{•Sparks'  Franklin,  vol.  iv.  p.  233,  et,  teq. 


128  Treaty  of  Fort  Stanwiz.  1768. 

istry,  and  to  press  upon  them  the  policy  of  making  large  set- 
tlements in  the  West;  and,  as  the  old  way  of  managing  the 
Indians  by  superintendents  was  just  then  in  bad  odor,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  expense  attending  it,  the  cabinet  council  so 
far  approved  the  new  plan  as  to  present  it  for  examination  to 
the  Board  of  Trade,  with  members  of  which  Franklin  had  also 
been  privately  conversing. 

This  was  in  the  autumn  of  1767.  But,  before  any  conclu- 
sion was  come  to,  it  was  necessary  to  arrange  definitely  that 
boundary  line,  which  had  been  vaguely  talked  of  in  1765, 
and  with  respect  to  which  Sir  William  Johnson  had  written 
to  the  ministry,  who  .had  mislaid  his  letters,  and  given  him  no 
instructions.  The  necessity  of  arranging  this  boundary  was 
also  kept  in  the  mind  by  the  continued  and  growing  irritation 
of  the  Indians,  who  found  themselves  invaded  from  every 
side.  This  irritation  became  so  great  during  the  autumn  of 
1767,  that  Gage  wrote  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania  on 
the  subject.  The  Governor  communicated  his  letter  to  the 
Assembly  on  the  5th  of  January,  1768,  and  representations 
were  at  once  sent  to  England,  expressing  the  necessity  of 
having  the  Indian  line  fixed.  Franklin,  the  father,  all  this 
time,  was  urging  the  same  necessity  upon  the  ministers  in 
England;  and  about  Christmas  of  1767,  Sir  William's  letters 
on  the  subject  having  been  found,  orders  were  sent  him  to 
complete  the  proposed  purchase  from  the  Six  Nations,  and 
settle  all  differences.  But  the  project  for  a  colony  was  for  the 
time  dropped,  a  new  administration  coming  in  which  was  not 
that  way  disposed. 

Sir  William  Johnson  having  received,  early  in  the  spring, 
the  orders  from  England  relative  to  a  new  treaty  with  the 
Indians,  at  once  took  steps  to  secure  a  full  attendance.*  No- 
tice was  given  to  the  various  colonial  governments,  to  the 
Six  Nations,  the  Delawares,  and  the  Shawanese,  and  a  con- 
gress was  appointed  to  meet  at  Fort  Stanwix  during  the  fol- 
lowing October,  (1768).  It  met  upon  the  24th  of  that  month, 
and  was  attended  by  representatives  from  New  Jersey,  Vir- 
ginia, and  Pennsylvania;  by  Sir  William  and  his  deputies;  by 
the  agents  of  those  traders  who  had  suffered  in  the  war  of 
1763;  and  by  deputies  from  all  the  Six  Nations,  the  Dela- 

*For  an  account  of  this  long-lost  treaty  see  Plain  Facts,  pp.  65—104,  or  Butler's  Ken- 
tucky, 2nd  edition,  pp.  472—488. 


1768.  Claims  of  the  Iroquois.  129 

wares  and  the  Shawanese.  The  first  point  to  be  settled  was 
the  boundary  line  which  was  to  determine  the  Indian  lands  of 
the  West  from  that  time  forward ;  and  this  line  the  Indians, 
upon  the  1st  of  November,  stated  should  begin  on  the  Ohio, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Cherokee  (or  Tennessee)  river ;  thence 
go  up  the  Ohio  and  Allegheny  to  Kittaning ;  thence  across  to 
the  Susquehanna,  &c.;  whereby  the  whole  country  south  of 
the  Ohio  and  Allegheny,  to  which  the  Six  Nations  had  any  claim, 
was  transferred  to  the  British.  One  deed  for  a  part  of  this 
land,  was  made  on  the  3d  of  November  to  William  Trent,  at- 
torney for  twenty-two  traders,  whose  goods  had  been  destroy- 
ed by  the  Indians  in  1763.  The  tract  conveyed  by  this  was 
between  the  Kanawha  and  Monongahela,  and  was  by  the 
traders  named  Indiana.  Two  days  afterwards  a  deed  for  the 
remaining  western  lands  was  made  to  the  King,  and  the  price 
agreed  on  paid  down.*  These  deeds  were  made  upon  the 
express  agreement  that  no  claim  should  ever  be  based  upon 
previous  treaties,  those  of  Lancaster,  Logstown,  &c.;  and 
they  were  signed  by  the  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations,  for  them- 
selves, their  allies  and  dependents,  the  Shawanese,  Dela- 
wares,  Mingoes  of  Ohio,  and  others ;  but  the  Shawanese  and 
Delaware  deputies  present  did  not  sign  them. 

[On  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  in  a  great  measure,  rests  the 
title  by  purchase  to  Kentucky,  Western  Virginia,  and  Western 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  authority  of  the  Six  Nations  to  sell  this 
country  rests  on  their  claim  by  conquest.] 

But  besides  the  claim  of  the  Iroquois  and  the  north-west 
Indians  to  Kentucky,  it  was  also  claimed  by  the  Cherokees ; 
and  it  is  worthy  of  remembrance  that  the  treaty  of  Lochabar, 
made  in  October,  1770,  two  years  after  the  Stanwix  treaty, 
recognized  a  title  in  the  southern  Indians  to  all  the  country 
west  of  a  line  drawn  from  a  point  six  miles  east  of  Big  or 
Long  Island  in  Holston  river,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kana- 
wha ;f  although,  as  we  have  just  stated,  their  rights  to  all  the 
lands  north  and  east  of  the  Kentucky  river  was  purchased  by 
Colonel  Donaldson,  either  for  the  king,  Virginia,  or  himself — 
it  is  impossible  to  say  which. J 

*There  were  also  given  two  deeds  of  lands  in  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania,  one  to 
Croghan,  and  the  other  to  the  proprietaries  of  that  colony. 
••(•Butler,  2nd  ed.    Introduction,  li. 
J  Hall's  Sketches,  ii.  248. 


130  Land  Companies  in  the  West.  1770. 

But  the  grant  of  the  great  northern  confederacy  was  made. 
The  white  man  could  now  quiet  his  conscience  when  driving 
the  native  from  his  forest  home,  and  feel  sure  that  an  army 
would  back  his  pretensions.  A  new  company  was  at  once 
organized  in  Virginia,  called  the  "Mississippi  Company,"  and 
a  petition  sent  to  the  king  for  two  millions  and  a  half  of 
acres  in  the  West.  Among  the  signers  of  this  were  Francis 
Lightfoot  Lee,  Richard  Henry  Lee,  George  Washington  and 
Arthur  Lee.  The  gentleman  last  named  was  the  agent  for 
the  petitioners  in  England.  This  application  was  referred  to 
the  Board  of  Trade  on  the  9th  of  March,  1769,  and  after  that 
we  hear  nothing  of  it.* 

The  Board  of  Trade,  however,  was  again  called  on  to  re- 
port upon  the  application  of  the  Walpole  Company,  and 
Lord  Hillsborough,  the  President,  reported  against  it.  This 
called  out  Franklin's  celebrated  "Ohio  Settlement,"  a  paper 
written  with  so  much  ability,  that  the  King's  Council  put  by 
the  official  report,  and  granted  the  petition,  a  step  which 
mortified  the  noble  lord  so  much  that  he  resigned  his  official 
station.f  The  petition  now  needed  only  the  royal  sanction, 
which  was  not  given  until  August  14th,  1772;  but  in  1770, 
the  Ohio  Company  was  merged  in  Walpole's,  and  the  claims 
of  the  soldiers  of  1756  being  acknowledged  both  by  the  new 
Company  and  by  government,  all  claims  were  quieted.  No- 
thing was  ever  done,  however,  under  the  grant  to  Walpole, 
the  Revolution  soon  coming  upon  America.J  After  the  Revo- 
lution, Mr.  Walpole  and  his  associates  petitioned  Congress 
respecting  their  lands,  called  by  them  "Vandalia,"  but  could 
get  no  help  from  that  body.  What  was  finally  done  by  Vir- 
ginia with  the  claims  of  this  and  other  companies,  we  do  not 
find  written,  but  presume  their  lands  were  all  looked  on  as 
forfeited. 

During  the  ten  years  in  which  Franklin,  Pownall,  and  their 
friends  were  trying  to  get  the  great  western  land  company 
into  operation,  actual  settlers  were  crossing  the  mountains  all 
too  rapidly;  for  the  Ohio  Indians  "viewed  the  settlements 
with  an  uneasy  and  jealous  eye,"  and  "did  not  scruple  to  say, 
that  they  must  be  compensated  for  their  right,  if  people  set- 

*  Plain  Facts,  p.  69. — Butler's  Kentucky,  475. 

f  Sparks'  Franklin,  vol.  4,  p.  392. 

J  Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii,  p.  483,  et  seq.— Plain  Facts,  p.  149. 


1773.  Lands  of  Washington.  131 

tied  thereon,  notwithstanding  the  cession  by  the  Six  Nations."* 
It  has  been  said,  also,  that  Lord  Dunmore,  then  Governor  of 
Virginia,  authorized  surveys  and  settlements  on  the  western 
lands,  notwithstanding  the  proclamation  of  1763;  but  Mr. 
Sparks  gives  us  a  letter  from  him,  in  which  this  is  expressly 
denied.  f  However,  surveys  did  go  down  even  to  the  Falls  of 
the  Ohio,  and  the  whole  region  south  of  the  Ohio  was  filling 
with  white  men. 

Among  the  foremost  speculators  in  western  lands  at  that 
time  was  George  Washington.  He  had  always  regarded  the 
proclamation  of  1763  as  a  mere  temporary  expedient  to  quiet 
the  savages,  and  being  better  acquainted  with  the  value  of 
western  lands  than  most  of  those  who  could  command  means, 
he  early  began  to  buy  beyond  the  mountains.  His  agent  in 
selecting  lands  was  Col.  Crawford,  afterwards  burnt  by  the 
Ohio  Indians.  In  September,  1767,  we  find  Washington 
writing  to  Crawford  on  this  subject,  and  looking  forward  to 
the  occupation  of  the  western  territory;  in  1770  he  crossed 
the  mountains,  going  down  the  Ohio  to  the  mouth  of  the  great 
Kanawha;  and  in  1773,  being  entitled,  under  the  King's  pro- 
clamation of  1763,  (which  gave  a  bounty  to  officers  and 
soldiers  who  had  served  in  the  French  war,)  to  ten  thousand 
acres  of  land,  he  became  deeply  interested  in  the  country  be- 
yond the  mountains,  and  had  some  correspondence  respecting 
the  importation  of  settlers  from  Europe.  Indeed,  had  not  the 
Revolutionary  war  been  just  then  on  the  eve  of  breaking  out, 
Washington  would,  in  all  probability,  have  become  the  lead- 
ing settler  of  the  West,  and  all  our  history,  perhaps,  have  been 
changed.  J 

But  while  in  England,  and  along  the  Atlantic,  men  were 
talking  of  peopling  the  West  south  of  the  river  Ohio,  a  few 
obscure  individuals,  unknown  to  Walpole,  to  Franklin,  and  to 
Washington,  were  taking  those  steps  which  actually  resulted 
in  its  settlement;  and  to  these  we  next  turn. 

*  Washington's  "Journal  to  the  West,  in  1770."    Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii.  p.  531. 
.  378. 


J  Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  ii.  pp.  346-7.  He  had  patents  for  32,373  acres;  9157  on  the 
Ohio,  between  the  Kanawhas,  with  a  river  front  of  13  1-2  miles  :  23,216  acres  on  the  great 
Kanhawa,  with  a  river  front  of  forty  miles.  Besides  these  lands,  he  owned,  fifteen  miles 
below  Wheeling,  5S7  acres,  with  a  front  of  two  and  a  half  miles.  He  considered  the  land 
worth  $3  33  per  acre.  —  Sparks'  Washington,  xii,  264,  317. 


132  Dr.  Walker's  Expedition.  1758. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  so  much  attention  had  been 
given  to  the  settlement  of  the  West,  even  before  the  French 
war,  it  does  not  appear  that  any  Europeans,  either  French  or 
English,  had,  at  the  time  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix  was  made, 
thoroughly  examined  that  most  lovely  region  near  the  Ken- 
tucky river,  which  is  the  finest  portion,  perhaps,  of  the  whole 
Ohio  valley.  This  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  non-residence 
of  the  Indians  in  that  district ;  a  district  which  they  retained 
as  a  hunting  ground.  Owing  to  this,  the  traders,  who  were 
the  first  explorers,  were  led  to  direct  their  steps  northward, 
up  the  Miami  and  Scioto  valleys,  and  were  quite  familiar  with 
the  country  between  the  Ohio  and  the  Lakes,  at  a  period  when 
the  interior  of  the  territory  south  of  the  river  was  wholly  un- 
known to  them.  "While,  therefore,  the  impression  which  many 
have  had,  that  the  entire  valley  was  unknown  to  the  English 
colonists  before  Boone's  time,  is  clearly  erroneous,  it  is  equal- 
ly clear  that  the  centre  of  Kentucky,  which  he  and  his  com- 
rades explored  during  their  first  visit,  had  not  before  that 
time,  been  examined  by  the  whites  to  any  considerable  ex- 
tent. 

[Here  it  is  necessary  to  call  the  attention  of  the  reader  to 
another  series  of  events,  that  opened  the  way  for  the  ex- 
ploration and  settlement  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 

About  the  year  1758,  Dr.  Thomas  Walker,  from  Albemarle 
county,  Va.,  who  had  been  previously  employed  as  an  agent 
among  the  Cherokees  on  the  Holston  river,  from  1750,  was 
appointed  commissioner  to  take  certain  Cherokee  chiefs  to 
England.  Dr.  Walker  had  explored  the  mountain  vallies  of 
Southwestern  Virginia  and  East  Tennessee.  While  in  Eng- 
land, he  organized  a  company  to  settle  the  wild  lands  in 
Western  Virginia  and  Carolina,  of  which  the  Duke  of  Cum- 
berland was  patron.  He  returned  to  America  in  the  capacity 
of  general  agent.  Dr.  Walker  subsequently  explored  the 
country ;  gave  the  name  of  his  patron  to  Cumberland  river, 
and  the  range  of  mountains  that  give  origin  to  the  head 
branches.  He  also  explored  the  upper  parts  of  the  Kentucky 
river,  and  gave  to  it  the  name  of  Louisa,  in  honor  of  the 
Duchess  of  Cumberland,  which  name  it  bore  for  some  years. 
He  was  at  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  and  had  no  small  influ- 
ence in  the  purchase  of  Western  Virginia  and  Eastern  Ken- 
tucky from  the  Six  Nations. 


1759.  Colonels  Martin  and  Smith.  133 

In  March,  1769,  Col.  Joseph  Martin,  of  Albemarle  county,  and 
twenty  other  persons,  started  to  form  a  settlement  in  Powell's 
valley ;  having  received  a  written  pledge  from  Dr.  Walker, 
of  a  grant  of  21,000  acres  of  land,  on  condition  that  they 
reached  the  valley  and  made  a  settlement,  before  another 
company  (commanded  by  Messrs.  Kirkleys)  gained  possession. 
The  party  reached  the  valley  on  the  1st  of  April,  after  great 
effort  and  suffering,  and  commenced  their  improvements  on 
the  3d,  and  thus  gained  each  their  thousand  acres.  The  val- 
ley, the  river,  and  the  adjacent  mountain,  were  named  from 
a  hunter  who  first  explored  the  country  and  marked  his  name 
on  a  tree. 

Colonel  Joseph  Martin  was  subsequently  an  agent  among 
the  Cherokees,  and  the  father  of  the  late  Colonel  William 
Martin,  of  Smith  county,  Tennessee,  in  whose  possession  we 
found  papers,  and  a  letter  from  his  father,  dated  May  9,  1769, 
containing  the  foregoing  facts.  The  explorations  of  Dr. 
Walker,  and  Col.  Martin,  and  the  settlement  of  Powell's  val- 
le}r,  prepared  the  way  for  further  progress  westward.]* 

The  next  explorer  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  was  Col. 
James  Smith.  Mr.  Smith  had  been  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Indians,  near  Bedford,  Pa.,  in  1755,  and  was  with  them  four 
and  a  half  years.  In  1764,  he  was  a  lieutenant  in  General 
Bouquet's  campaign  against  the  Indians,  and  a  colonel  in  the 
continental  service  in  1778. 

During  the  summer  of  1766,  with  four  white  men  and  a 
mulatto  slave,  he  made  an  exploration  across  the  mountains 
to  the  Cumberland,  and  then  to  the  Tennessee  rivers,  to  ex- 
amine the  country  in  view  of  future  settlements. 

Stone's  river,  a  branch  of  the  Cumberland,  was  so  named 
from  Mr.  Uriah  Stone,  one  of  the  party.  They  explored  the 
country  on  each  of  the  rivers,  until  they  reached  the  mouth 
of  the  Tennessee,  where  Paducah  now  stands.  Col.  Smith, 
having  stuck  a  piece  of  cane  in  his  foot,  was  unable  to  travel, 
his  companions  left  him  and  the  boy  to  aid  him,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  the  Illinois  country.  He  reached  Carolina  on  his 

*Mr.  Butler  (History  of  Kentucky,  p.  IS,)  mentions  Dr.  Walker's  explorations  as  in 
1747.  Stipp's  Miscellany,  p.  9,  says  1750 ;  which  date  is  confirmed  by  facts  in  Holmes' 
Annals,  ii.  304,  note.  Marshall,  vol  i.  p.  7,  says  1758.  In  the  London  edition  of  Wash- 
ington's Journal,  printed  in  1754,  there  is  a  map  on  which  is  marked  'Walker's  Settle- 
ment, 1750,"  upon  the  Cumberland  river.  There  is  no  discrepancy  in  these  dates,  for 
Dr.  Walker  was  engaged  several  yeare  in  his  explorations  and  Indian  agency. — Ed. 


134  John  Finletfs  Expedition.    .  1767. 

return,  in  October,  1767,  having  been  eleven  months  in  the 
wilderness  In  a  few  days  he  reached  Conecocheague  valley, 
where  his  family  resided.* 

The  next  persons  who  entered  this  region  were  traders ; 
coming,  not  from  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  by  the  river,  but 
from  North  Carolina  by  the  Cumberland  Gap.  These  traders 
probably  sought,  in  the  first  instance,  the  Cherokees  and  other 
southern  Indians,  with  whom  they  had  dealings  from  a  very 
early  period;  but  appear  afterward  to  have  journeyed  north- 
ward upon  what  was  called  the  Warrior's  road,  an  Indian  path 
leading  from  the  Cumberland  ford  along  the  broken  country, 
lying  upon  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Kentucky  river,  and  so 
across  the  Licking  toward  the  mouth  of  the  Scioto.f  This 
path  formed  the  line  of  communication  between  the  northern 
and  southern  Indians;  and  somewhere  along  its  course,  John 
Finley,  doubtless  in  company  with  others,  was  engaged,  in 
1767,  in  trading  with  the  red  men;  we  presume,  with  those 
from  north  of  the  Ohio,  who  met  him  there  with  the  skins 
procured  during  their  hunting  expedition  in  that  central  and 
choice  region.  Upon  Finley's  return  to  North  Carolina,  he 
met  with  Daniel  Boone,  to  whom  he  described  the  country  he 
had  visited. 

Daniel  Boone  was  born  in  Backs  county,  Pa.,  in  the  month 
of  February,  1735,  being  the  sixth  of  eleven  children.  His 
father  moved  to  Berks  county  when  Daniel  was  a  small  boy, 
where,  in  a  frontier  settlement,  he  attended  school,  and  where 
in  boyhood  he  received  those  impressions  that  were  so  fully 
displayed  in  after  life.  From  childhood,  he  delighted  to  range 
the  woods,  watch  the  wild  animals,  and  contemplate  the 
beauties  of  uncultivated  nature.  In  woodcraft,  his  education 
was  complete.  No  Indian  could  poise  the  rifle,  find  his  way 
through  the  trackless  forest,  or  hunt  the  wild  game  better  than 
Daniel  Boone. 

Few  men  ever  possessed  that  combination  of  boldness,  cau- 
tion, hardihood,  strength,  patience,  perseverance  and  love  of 
solitude  that  marked  his  character.  With  these  qualities 
he  was  kind-hearted,  humane,  good-tempered,  and  devoid  of 
malice.  He  never  manifested  the  temper  of  the  misanthrope 

^Smith's  Life,  in  "Incidents  of  Border  Life,"  p.  64.     Haywood's  Hittory  of  Tennessee, 
page  33. 
•f  See  map  in  Filson's  Kentucky. 


1769.  Colonel  Daniel  Boone.  135 

or  evinced  any  dissatisfaction  with  social  or  domestic  life. 
He  had  a  natural  sense  of  justice  and  equity  between  man 
and  man,  and  felt,  through  his  whole  life,  repugnance  to  the 
technical  forms  of  law,  and  the  conventional  regulations  of 
society  and  of  government,  unless  they  were  in  strict  accor- 
dance with  his  instinctive  sense  of  right. 

When  Daniel  Boone  was  in  the  18th  year  of  his  age,  his 
father  removed  from  Pennsylvania  to  North  Carolina,  and 
settled  on  the  Yadkin,  in  the  northwestern  part  of  that  State. 
Here  he  married,  and  for  several  years,  labored  on  a  farm ; 
hunting  at  the  proper  season.  About  1762,  he  was  leader  of 
a  company  of  hunters  from  the  Yadkin,  who  ranged  through 
the  vallies  on  the  waters  of  the  Holston,  in  the  southwestern 
part  of  Virginia.  In  1764,  we  find  him,  with  another  compa- 
ny of  hunters,  on  the  Rock  Castle,  a  branch  of  Cumberland 
river,  within  the  present  boundaries  of  Kentucky,  employed, 
as  he  stated,  by  a  party  of  land  speculators  to  ascertain  and 
report  concerning  the  country  in  that  quarter.* 

The  oppression  of  the  governors  of  the  colony,  and  the 
members  of  the  Council  and  of  the  Assembly,  who  were 
English  or  Scotch  adventurers,  produced  great  dissatisfaction 
with  the  laboring  classes,  and  drove  many  to  seek  their  for- 
tunes in  the  wilds  of  the  West.  At  the  same  time  Richard 
Henderson,  the  Harts  and  others,  were  projecting  a  purchase 
of  the  fertile  lands  of  the  West,  and  encouraged  the  hunters 
to  explore  the  country. 

On  the  return  of  Finley,  as  already  stated,  arrangements 
were  made  for  an  exploring  party  to  examine  the  rich  vales 
of  the  Kentucky,  of  which  Boone  was  the  leader ;  and  he  alone 
was  in  the  confidence  of  the  speculators.  His  companions 
were  John  Finley,  John  Stewart,  Joseph  Holden,  James  Mon- 
cey,  and  William  Cool.  They  left  the  Yadkin  settlement,  and 
Boone  his  family,  on  the  first  of  May,  and  after  much  fatigue 
and  exposure  to  severe  rains,  reached  the  waters  of  Red  river, 
one  of  the  main  branches  of  the  Kentucky,  on  the  7th  of  June. 
In  this  region  the  party  reconnoitered  the  country,  and  hunt- 
ed, until  December.  At  that  period,  the  explorers  divided 
themselves  into  parties,  that  they  might  have  a  wider  ran&e  of 
observation.  Boone  had  for  his  companion,  Mr.  Stewart.  Of 

History  of  Tennessee,  pp.  32,  35. 


136  Explorers  in  the  West.  1771. 

Finlay,  and  the  rest  of  the  party,  we  hear  nothing  more.     Of 
their  adventures  history  is  silent. 

Boone  and  Stewart  were  soon  taken  by  a  party  of  Indians, 
from  whom  they  made  their  escape  after  several  days'  deten- 
tion. Early  in  January,  1770,  Squire  Boone,  a  brother  of 
Daniel,  and  another  adventurer,  arrived  from  North  Carolina, 
with  supplies  of  ammunition,  and  intelligence  from  his  family. 
Shortly  after  this  event,  Stewart,  while  hunting,  was  killed  by 
the  Indians,  and  the  man  who  came  with  Squire  Boone  got 
lost  in  the  woods  and  perished.  The  two  brothers,  thus  left 
alone,  pursued  their  hunting  along  the  banks  of  the  main 
Kentucky  river. 

When  spring  opened  Squire  returned  to  the  Yadkin  for  sup- 
plies, while  Daniel  explored  the  country  along  Salt  and  Green 
rivers.  On  the  last  of  July  Squire  returned,  and  they  enga- 
ged in  exploring  the  country  on  the  waters  of  Cumberland 
river,  and  hunting  in  that  region  until  March,  1771.  They 
then  returned  by  Kentucky  river,  and  the  Cumberland  Gap,  to 
the  settlements  on  the  Yadkin. 

During  the  same  period,  another  exploring  and  hunting 
party  of  about  twenty  men,  left  North  Carolina  and  Western 
Virginia,  for  the  country  of  Tennessee.  They  passed  through 
Cumberland  Gap  into  what  is  now  called  Wayne  county, 
Kentucky,  and,  subsequently,  moved  in  a  southwestern  direc- 
tion, along  the  waters  of  Roaring  river  and  Caney  fork,  and 
returned  in  April,  1770,  after  an  absence  often  months. 

The  same  year  another  party  often  hunters  built  two  boats 
and  two  trapping  canoes,  loaded  them  with  peltry,  venison, 
bears'  meat  and  oil,  and  made  a  voyage  down  the  Cumber- 
land, Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers,  to  Natchez,  where  they  dis- 
posed of  their  cargo. 

In  1771,  Casper  Mansco,  who  had  twice  visited  the  valley 
of  the  Cumberland,  came  out  again  in  company  with  several 
other  persons.  They  traversed  the  country  along  the  Cum- 
berland river  to  the  region  north  of  Nashville,  and  into  the 
"barrens"  of  Kentucky.  From  the  period  of  their  absence 
they  were  called  the  "Long-hunters."*  These  several  explo- 
rations excited  the  attention  of  multitudes  in  the  colonies 

*Eor  authorities  and  further  events  in  detail,  the  reader  is  referred  toHaywood's  Histo- 
ry of  Tennessee :  Butler's  History  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Kentucky ;  and  "Life  of  Daniel 
Boone,"  by  the  editor,  in  Dr.  Sparks'  American  Biography,  vol.  xxiii. 


1773.  Emigration  to  Kentucky.  137 

south  of  the  Potomac,  and  turned  their  thoughts  to  a  home  in 
the  "Far  West."] 

During  the  same  eventful  period,  (1770),  there  came  into 
Western  Virginia,  no  less  noted  a  person  than  George  Wash- 
ington. His  attention,  as  we  have  before  said,  had  been 
turned  to  the  lands  along  the  Ohio,  at  a  very  early  period ;  he 
had  himself  large  claims,  as  well  as  far-reaching  plans  of  set- 
tlement, and  he  wished  with  his  own  eyes,  to  examine  the 
Western  lands,  especially  those  about  the  mouth  of  the  Ka- 
nawha.  From  the  journal  of  his  expedition,  published  by 
Mr.  Sparks,  in  the  Appendix  to  the  second  volume  of  his 
Washington  papers,  we  learn  some  valuable  facts  in  refer-* 
encc  to  the  position  of  affairs  in  the  Ohio  valley  at  that  time. 
We  learn,  for  instance,  that  the  Virginians  were  rapidly  sur- 
veying and  settling  the  lands  south  of  the  river  as  far  down 
as  the  Kanawhas;  and  that  the  Indians,  notwithstanding  the 
treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  were  jealous  and  angry  at  this  con- 
stant invasion  of  their  hunting-grounds. 

This  jealousy  and  anger  were  not  suffered  to  cool  during 
the  years  next  succeeding,  and  when  Thomas  Bullitt  and  his 
party  descended  the  Ohio  in  the  summer  of  1773,  he  found,  as 
related  above,  that  no  settlements  would  be  tolerated  south  of 
the  river,  unless  the  Indian  hunting-grounds  were  left  undis- 
turbed. To  leave  them  undisturbed  was,  however,  no  part  of 
the  plan  of  these  white  men.  This  very  party,  which  Bullitt 
led,  and  in  which  were  the  two  McAfees,  Hancock,  Taylor, 
Drennon  and  others,  separated,  and  while  part  went  up  the 
Kentucky  river,  explored  the  banks,  and  made  important 
surveys,  including  the  valley  in  which  Frankfort  stands,  the 
remainder  went  on  to  the  Falls,  and  laid  out,  on  behalf  of 
John  Campbell  and  John  Connolly,  the  plat  of  Louisville.  All 
this  took  place  in  the  summer  of  1773  ;  and  in  the  autumn  of 
that  year,  or  early  the  next,  John  Floyd,  the  deputy  of  Colonel 
William  Preston,  the  surveyor  of  Fincastle  county,  Virginia, 
in  which  it  was  claimed  that  Kentucky  was  comprehended, 
also  crossed  the  mountains;  while  General  Thompson,  of 
Pennsylvania,  made  surveys  upon  the  north  fork  of  the  Lick- 
ing.* Nor  did  the  projects  of  the  English  colonists  stop  with 

*Marshall,  i  11. — Butler,  second  edition,  20.  American  State  Papers,  xvi.  583. — Gen. 
Thompson  was  surveying  for  the  Pennsylvania  soldiers  under  the  proclamation  of  1763, 
and  a  permit  from  the  Council  of  Virginia  in  1774. 

9 


138  Boone  starts  for  Kentucky.  1773. 

the  settlement  of  Kentucky.  In  1773,  General  Lyman,  with 
a  number  of  military  adventurers,  went  to  Natchez,  and  laid 
out  several  townships  in  that  vicinity ;  to  which  point  emi- 
gration set  so  strongly,  that  we  are  told,  four  hundred  families 
passed  down  the  Ohio,  on  their  way  thither,  during  six  weeks 
of  the  summer  of  that  year.* 

[Anxious  as  was  Boone  to  remove  his  family  to  the  fertile 
region  of  Kentucky,  it  was  not  until  1773,  that  he  sold  his  farm 
on  the  Yadkin,  and,  with  five  other  families,  took  up  the  line  of 
march  westward.  The  company  started  on  the  25th  of  Sep- 
tember, and  were  joined  by  others  in  Powell's  valley,  making 
the  number  of  forty  men,  besides  women  and  children.  As 
they  approached  the  last  mountain  barrier,  on  the  16th  of 
October,  seven  young  men,  who  had  charge  of  the  cattle, 
being  five  or  six  miles  in  the  rear,  were  attacked  by  a  party  of 
Indians.  Six  were  slain,  amongst  whom  was  Boone's  eldest 
son  James,  and  the  seventh,  though  wounded,  made  his 
escape.  The  cattle  were  dispersed  in  the  woods. 

This  calamity  so  disheartened  the  emigrants,  that  they  gave 
up  the  expedition  and  returned  to  Clinch  river.] 

*  Holmes'  Annals,  ii.  183; — from  original  MSS.  For  a  history  of  Natchez,  see  Western 
Messenger,  September  and  November,  1838:  it  is  by  Mann  Butler.  See  also  Ellicott's 
Journal,  (Philadelphia,  1803,)  p.  129,  Ac. 


CHAPTER  V. 
ANNALS  OF  1774  AND  1775. 

Sc  ttlement  of  Wheeling — Connolly  seizes  Fort  Pitt — Murder  of  Logan's  Family — Dun- 
more's  War — Battle  of  Point  Pleasant — Transylvania  Land  Company — Settlement  of 
Kentucky — First  Political  Convention  in  the  West — Indians  in  Alliance  with  the 
British. 

.  For  a  time  the  settlement  of  Kentucky  and  the  West  was 
delayed;  for  though  James  Harrod,  in  the  spring  or  early 
summer  of  1774,  penetrated  the  wilderness,  and  built  his 
cabin,  (the  first  log-hut  reared  in  the  valley  of  the  Kentucky,) 
where  the  town  which  bears  his  name  now  stands,  he  could 
not  long  stay  there ;  the  sounds  of  coming  war  reached  even 
his  solitude,  and  forced  him  to  rejoin  his  companions,  and  aid 
in  repelling  the  infuriated  savages.  Notwithstanding  the 
treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix,  the  western  Indians,  as  we  have  seen, 
were  in  no  degree  disposed  to  yield  their  lands  without  a 
struggle.  Wide-spread  dissatisfaction  prevailed  among  the 
Shawanese  and  Mingoes,  which  was  fostered  probably  by  the 
French  traders  who  still  visited  the  tribes  of  the  north-west. 
Evidence  of  the  feeling  which  prevailed,  is  given  by  Washing- 
ton in  his  Journal  of  1770,  and  has  been  already  referred  to. 
And  from  that  time  forward  almost  every  event  was  calculated 
still  more  to  excite  and  embitter  the  children  of  the  forest.  In 
1770,  Ebenezer,  Silas  and  Jonathan  Zane,  settled  at  Wheeling ; 
during  that  year  the  Boones,  as  we  have  related,  were  exploring 
the  interior  of  Kentucky  ;  and  after  them  came  the  McAfees, 
Bullitt,  Floyd,  Hancock,  Taylor,  and  their  companions.  The 
savages  saw  their  best  grounds  occupied  or  threatened  with 
occupation;  but  still  they  remembered  the  war  of  1763,  and 
the  terrible  power  of  Britain,  and  the  oldest  and  wisest  of  the 
sufferers  were  disposed  rather  to  submit  to  what  seemed  inevi- 
table than  to  throw  themselves  away  in  a  vain  effort  to  with- 
stand the  whites.  Hopeless  hatred  toward  the  invaders  filled 
the  breasts  of  the  natives,  therefore,  at  the  period  immediately 
preceding  the  war  of  1774;  a  hatred  needing  only  a  few  acts 
of  violence  to  kindle  it  into  rage  and  thirst  for  human  blood. 


140  Proclamation  of  Dr.   Connolly.  1774. 

And  such  acts  were  not  wanting ;  in  addition  to  the  murder  of 
several  single  Indians  by  the  frontier  men, — in  1772,  five  fami- 
lies of  the  natives  on  the  Little  Kanawha,  were  killed,  in 
revenge  for  the  death  of  a  white  family  on  Gauley  River, 
although  no  evidence  existed  to  prove  who  had  committed  the 
last-named  outrage.*  And  when  1774  came,  a  series  of 
events,  of  which  we  can  present  but  a  faint  outline,  led  to 
excessive  exasperation  on  both  sides.  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia  laid  equal  claim  to  Pittsburgh  and  the  adjoining 
country.  In  the  war  of  1754,  doubt  had  existed  as  to  which 
colony  the  fork  of  the  Ohio  was  situated  in,  and  the  Old 
Dominion  having  been  forward  in  the  defence  of  the  contested 
territory,  while  her  northern  neighbor  had  been  very  backward 
in  doing  anything  in  its  favor,  the  Virginians  felt  a  certain 
claim  upon  the  "Key  of  the  West."  This  feeling  showed 
itself  before  1763,  and  by  1773  appears  to  have  attained  a 
very  decided  character.  Early  in  1774,  Lord  Dunmore, 
prompted  very  probably  by  Colonel  Croghan,  and  his  nephew, 
Dr.  John  Connolly,  who  had  lived  at  Fort  Pitt,  and  was  an  in- 
triguing and  ambitious  man,  determined,  by  strong  measures, 
to  assert  the  claims  of  Virginia  upon  Pittsburgh  and  its  vicinity, 
and  dispatched  Connolly,  with  a  captain's  commission,  and 
with  power  to  take  possession  of  the  country  upon  the  Monon- 
gahela,  in  the  name  of  the  king.  The  Doctor  issued  his 
proclamation  to  the  people,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Redstone 
and  Pittsburgh,  calling  upon  them  to  meet  on  the  24th  or  25th 
of  January,  1774,  in  order  to  be  embodied  as  Virginia  militia. 
Arthur  St.  Clair,  who  then  represented  the  Proprietors  of 
Pennsylvania  in  the  West,  was  at  Pittsburgh  at  the  time,  and 
arrested  Connolly  before  the  meeting  took  place.  The  people 
who  had  seen  the  proclamation,  however,  came  together,  and 
though  they  were  dispersed  without  attempting  any  outbreak 
in  favor  of  the  Virginian  side  of  the  dispute,  which  it  was  very 
much  feared  they  would  do, — they  did  not  break  up  without 
drunkenness  and  riot,  and  among  other  things  fired  their  guns 
at  the  town  occupied  by  friendly  Indians  across  the  river,  hurting 
no  one,  but  exciting  the  fear  and  suspicion  of  the  red  men. 

Connolly,  soon  after,  was  for  a  short  time  released  by  the 
sheriff,  upon  the  promise  to  return  to  the  law's  custody,  which 

•Withers'  Border  Warfare,  106.    Monette's  History  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  vol.  .1 
page  369. 


1774.  His  Arbitrary  Measures.  141 

promise  he  broke  however,  and  having  collected  a  band  of 
followers,  on  the  28th  of  March,  came  again  to  Pittsburgh, 
still  asserting  the  claim  of  Virginia  to  the  government.  Then 
commenced  a  series  of  contests,  outrages  and  complaints, 
which  were  too  extensive  and  complicated  to  be  described 
within  our  limited  space.  The  end  of  the  matter  was  this,  that 
Connolly,  in  Lord  Dunmore's  name,  and  by  his  authority,  took 
and  kept  possession  of  Fort  Pitt ;  and  as  it  had  been  dismantled 
and  nearly  destroyed,  by  royal  orders,  rebuilt  it,  and  named  it 
Fort  Dunmore.  Meantime,  in  a  most  unjustifiable  and  tyranni- 
cal manner,  he  arrested  both  private  men  and  magistrates,  and 
kept  some  of  them  in  confinement,  until  Lord  Dunmore  ordered 
their  release.  Knowing  that  these  measures  were  calculated 
to  lead  to  active  and  violent  measures  against  himself  by  the 
Pennsylvanians,  he  took  great  precautions,  and  went  to  con- 
siderable expense  to  protect  his  own  party  from  surprise. 
These  expenses,  it  is  not  improbable,  he  feared  the  Virginia 
General  Assembly  would  object  to.  although  his  noble  patron 
might  allow  them ;  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  he  intentionally 
fostered,  as  St.  Clair  distinctly  intimated  in  his  letters  to  the 
Pennsylvania  authorities,  the  growing  jealousy  between  the 
whites  and  natives,  in  order  to  make  their  quarrels  serve  as  a 
color  to  his  profuse  expenditures.  At  any  rate,  it  appears  that 
on  the  21st  of  April,  Connolly  wrote  to  the  settlers  along  the 
Ohio,  that  the  Shawanese  were  not  to  be  trusted,  and  that  they 
(the|^whites)  ought  to  be  prepared  to  revenge  any  wrong  done 
them.  This  letter  came  into  the  hands  of  Captain  Michael 
Cresap,  who  was  looking  up  lands  near  Wheeling,  and  who 
appears  to  have  possessed  the  true  frontier  Indian-hatred. 
Five  days  before  its  date,  a  canoe,  belonging  to  William  Butler, 
a  leading  Pittsburgh  trader,  had  been  attacked  by  three 
Cherokees,  and  one  white  man  had  been  killed.  This  hap- 
pened not  far  from  Wheeling,  and  became  known  there  of 
course  ;  while  about  the  same  time  the  report  was  general 
that  the  Indians  were  stealing  the  traders'  horses.  When, 
therefore,  immediately  after  Connolly's  letter  had  been  circu- 
lated, the  news  came  to  that  settlement,  that  some  Indians  were 
coming  down  the  Ohio  in  a  boat,  Cresap,  in  revenge  for  the 
murder  by  the  Cherokees,  and,  as  he  afterwards  said,  in  obedi- 
ence to  the  direction  of  the  commandant  at  Pittsburgh, 
contained  in  the  letter  referred  to,  determined  to  attack  them. 


142  Massacre  at  Captina.  1774. 

They  were,  as  it  chanced,  two  friendly  Indians,  who,  with  two 
whites,  had  been  dispatched  by  William  Butler,  when  he  heard 
that  his  first  messengers  were  stopped,  to  attend  to  his  peltries 
down  the  river,  in  the  Shawanese  country.*  The  project  of 
Cresap,  (and  here  we  continue  in  the  words  of  Dr.  Dodd- 
ridge,)  "was  vehemently  opposed  by  Col.  Zane,  the  proprietor 
of  the  place.  He  stated  to  the  Captain  that  the  killing  of 
those  Indians,  would  inevitably  bring  on  a  war,  in  which  much 
innocent  blood  would  be  shed,  and  that  the  act  in  itself  would 
be  an  atrocious  murder,  and  a  disgrace  to  his  name  forever. 
His  good  counsel  was  lost.  The  party  went  up  the  river.  On 
being  asked,  at  their  return,  what  had  become  of  the  Indians? 
they  coolly  answered  that  "they  had  fallen  overboard  into 
the  river!"  Their  canoe,  on  being  examined,  was  found 
bloody,  and  pierced  with  bullets.  This  was  the  first  blood 
which  was  shed  in  this  war,*  and  terrible  was  the  vengeance 
which  followed. 

In  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  the  party  hearing  that 
there  was  an  encampment  of  Indians  at  the  mouth  of  Captina, 
went  down  the  river  to  the  place,  attacked  the  Indians  and 
killed  several  of  them.  In  this  affair  one  of  Cresap's  party 
was  severely  wounded. 

The  massacre  at  Captina  and  that  which  took  place  at 
Baker's,  about  fofty  miles  above  Wheeling,  a  few  days  after 
that  at  Captina,  were  unquestionably  the  sole  causes  of  the 
war,  1774.  The  last  was  perpetrated  by  thirty-two  men,  under 
the  command  of  Daniel  Greathouse.  The  whole  number 
killed  at  this  place,  and  on  the  river  opposite  to  it,  was 
twelve,  besides  several  \vounded.  This  horrid  massacre 
was  effected  by  a  hypocritical  stratagem,  which  reflects 
the  deepest  dishonor  on  the  memory  of  those  who  were 
agents  in  it. 

The  report  of  the  murders  committed  on  the  Indians  near 
Wheeling,  induced  a  belief  that  they  would  immediately 
commence  hostilities,  and  this  apprehension  furnished  the 
pretext  for  the  murder  above  related.  The  ostensible  object 
for  raising  the  party  under  Greathouse,  was  that  of  defending 
the  family  of  Baker,  whose  house  was  opposite  to  a  large 
encampment  of  Indians,  at  the  mouth  of  Big  Yellow  Creek. 
The  party  were  concealed  in  ambuscade,  while  their  com- 
mander went  over  the  river,  under  the  mask  of  friendship,  to 
the  Indian  camp,  to  ascertain  their  number;  while  there,  an 
Indian  woman  advised  him  to  return  home  speedily,  saying 

*For  the  above  facts  relative  to  Connolly's  conduct,  &c.,  see  American  Archives, 
fourth  series,  i.  252  to  288,  435,  774,  459,  467,  470,  484,  Ac.  It  was  said  that  Dun- 
more  thanked  Cresap  for  what  he  did;  American  Archives,  fourth  series,  i.  506;  but 
no  proof  exists,  we  believe,  of  his  having  done  so. 

*The  murder  at  Balltown  took  place  in  1772. 


1774.  The  Affair  of  Greatiwuse.  143 

that  the  Indians  were  drinking,  and  angry  on  account  of  the 
murder  of  their  people  down  the  river,  and  might  do  him  some 
mischief.  On  his  return  to  his  party  he  reported  that  the 
Indians  were  too  strong  for  an  open  attack.  He  returned  to 
Baker's  and  requested  him  to  give  any  Indians  who  might 
come  over,  in  the  course  of  the  day,  as  much  rum  as  they 
might  call  for,  and  get  as  many  of  them  drunk  as  he  possibly 
could.  The  plan  succeeded.  Several  Indian  men,  with  two 
women,  came  over  the  river  to  Baker's,  who  had  previously 
been  in  the  habit  of  selling  rum  to  the  Indians.  The  men 
drank  freely  and  became  intoxicated.  In  this  state  they  were 
all  killed  by  Greathouse,  and  a  few  of  his  party.  I  say  a  few 
of  his  party,  for  it  is  but  justice  to  state,  that  not  more  than 
five  or  six  of  the  whole  number  had  any  participation  in  the 
slaughter  at  the  house.  The  rest  protested  against  it,  as  an 
atrocious  murder.  From  their  number,  being  by  far  the  ma- 
jority, they  might  have  prevented  the  deed  ;  but  alas !  they  did 
not.  A  little  Indian  girl  alone  was  saved  from  the  slaughter, 
by  the  humanity  of  some  one  of  the  party,  whose  name  is  not 
now  known.  ^ 

The  Indians  in  the  camps,  hearing  the  firing  at  the  house, 
sent  a  canoe  with  two  men  in  it  to  enquire  what  had  happened. 
These  two  Indians  were  both  shot  down,  as  soon  as  they  landed 
on  the  beach.  A  second  and  larger  canoe  was  then  manned 
with  a  number  of  Indians  in  arms ;  but  in  attempting  to  reach 
the  shore,  some  distance  below  the  house,  were  received  by  a 
well  directed  fire  from  the  party,  which  killed  the  greater 
number  of  them,  and  compelled  the  survivors  to  return.  A 
great  number  of  shots  were  exchanged  across  the  river,  but 
without  damage  to  the  white  party,  not  one  of  whom  was 
even  wounded.  The  Indian  men  who  were  murdered  were 
all  scalped. 

The  woman  who  gave  the  friendly  advice  to  the  commander 
of  the  party,  when  in  the  Indian  camp,  was  amongst  the  slain 
at  Baker's  house. 

The  massacres  of  the  Indians  at  Captina  and  Yellow  Creek, 
comprehended  the  whole  of  the  family  of  the  famous,  but  un- 
fortunate Logan.* 

This  account  by  Doddridge  is  confirmed  by  the  evidence  of 
Colonel  Zane,  whose  deposition  is  given  by  Jefferson  ;  but  as 
it  differs  somewhat  from  that  of  George  Rogers  Clark,  who 
was  also  present,  we  give  part  of  the  letter  written  by  the 
last  named  pioneer  relative  to  the  matter,  dated  June  17, 1798. 

This  country  was  explored  in  1773.  A  resolution  was 
formed  to  make  a  settlement  the  spring  following,  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Little, Kan awh a  appointed  the  place  of  general 

•See  Doddridge's  Notes,  p.  226. 


144  Colonel  Clark's  Account.  1774. 

rendezvous,  in  order  to  descend  the  river  from  thence  in  a 
body.  Early  in  the  spring  the  Indians  had  done  some  mis- 
chief. Reports  from  their  towns  were  alarming,  which  deter- 
red many.  About  eighty  or  ninety  men  only  arrived  at  the 
appointed  rendezvous,  where  we  lay  some  days. 

A  small  party  of  hunters,  that  lay  about  ten  miles  below  us, 
were  fired  upon  by  the  Indians,  whom  the  hunters  beat  back, 
and  returned  to  camp.  This  and  many  other  circumstances 
led  us  to  believe,  that  the  Indians  were  determined  on  war. 
The  whole  party  was  enrolled  and  determined  to  execute 
their  project  of  forming  a  settlement  in  Kentucky,  as  we  had 
every  necessary  store  that  could  be  thought  of.  An  Indian 
town  called  the  Horsehead  Bottom,  on  the  Scioto  and  near  its, 
mouth,  lay  nearly  in  our  way.  The  determination  was  to 
cross  the  country  and  surprise  it.  Who  was  to  command  ? 
was  the  question.  There  were  but  few  among  us  that  had 
experience  in  Indian  warfare,  and  they  were  such  as  we  did 
not  choose  to  be  commanded  by.  We  knew  of  Capt.  Cresap 
being  on  the  river  about  fifteen  miles  above  us,  with  some 
hands,  settling  a  plantation  ;  and  that  he  had  concluded  to  fol- 
low us  to  Kentucky  as  soon  as  he  had  fixed  there  his  people. 
We  also  knew  that  he  had  been  experienced  in  a  former  war. 
He  was  proposed  ;  and  it  was  unanimously  agreed  to  send  for 
him  to  command  the  party.  Messengers  were  dispatched, 
and  in  half  an  hour  returned  with  Cresap.  He  had  heard  of 
our  resolution  by  some  of  his  hunters,  that  had  fallen  in  with 
ours,  and  had  set  out  to  come  to  us. 

We  now  thought  our  army,  as  we  called  it,  complete,  and 
the  destruction  of  the  Indians  sure.  A  council  was  called,  and, 
to  our  astonishment,  our  intended  Commander-in-chief  was 
the  person  that  dissuaded  us  from  the  enterprise.  He  said  that 
appearances  were  very  suspicious,  but  there  was  no  certainty 
of  a  war.  That  if  we  made  the  attempt  proposed,  he  had  no 
doubt  of  our  success,  but  a  war  would,  at  any  rate,  be  the  re- 
sult, and  that  we  should  be  blamed  for  it,  and  perhaps  justly. 
But  if  we  were  determined  to  proceed,  he  would  lay  aside  all 
considerations,  send  to  his  camp  for  his  people,  and  share  our 
fortunes. 

He  was  then  asked  what  he  would  advise.  His  answer 
was,  that  we  should  return  to  Wheeling,  as  a  convenient  post, 
to  hear  what  was  going  forward.  That  a  few  weeks  would 
determine.  As  it  was  early  in  the  spring,  if  we  found  the  In- 
dians were  not  disposed  for  war,  we  should  have  full  time  to 
return  and  make  our  establishment  in  Kentucky.  This  was 
adopted ;  and  in  two  hours  the  \vhole  were  under  way.  As 
we  ascended  the  river,  we  met  Kill-buck,  an  Indian  chief,  with 
a  small  party.  We  had  a  long  conference  \vith  him,  but  re- 
ceived little  satisfaction  as  to  the  disposition  of  the  Indians. 
It  was  observed  that  Cresap  did  not  come  to  this  conference, 


1774.  Colonel  Clark's  Account.  145 

but  kept  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  He  said  that  he 
was  afraid  to  trust  himself  with  the  Indians.  That  Kill-buck 
had  frequently  attempted  to  waylay  his  father,  to  kill  him. 
That  if  he  crossed  the  river,  perhaps  his  fortitude  might  fail 
him,  and  that  he  might  put  Kill-buck  to  death.  On  our  arri- 
val at  Wheeling,  (the  country  being  pretty  well  settled  there- 
abouts,) the  whole  of  the  inhabitants  appeared  to  be  alarmed. 
They  flocked  to  our  camp  from  every  direction ;  and  all 
we  could  say  could  not  keep  them  from  under  our  wings. 
We  offered  to  cover  their  neighborhood  with  scouts,  until 
further  information,  if  they  would  return  to  their  plantations  ; 
but  nothing  would  prevail.  By  this  time  we  had  got  to  be  a 
formidable  party.  All  the  hunters,  men  without  families, 
etc.,  in  that  quarter,  had  joined  our  party. 

Our  arrival  at  Wheeling  was  soon  known  at  Pittsburgh. 
The  whole  of  that  country,  at  that  time,  being  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  Virginia,  Dr.  Connolly  had  been  appointed  by 
Dunmore  Captain  Commandant  of  the  District  which  was 
called  Waugusta.  He,  learning  of  us,  sent  a  message  address- 
ed to  the  party,  letting  us  know  that  a  war  was  to  be  appre- 
hended; and  requesting  that  we  would  keep  our  position,  for 
a  few  days,  as  messages  had  been  sent  to  the  Indians,  and  a 
few  days  would  determine  the  doubt.  The  answer  he  got, 
was,  that  we  had  no  inclination  to  quit  our  quarters  for  some 
time.  That  during  our  stay  we  should  be  careful  that  the 
enemy  did  not  harrass  the  neighborhood  that  we  lay  in.  But 
before  this  answer  could  reach  Pittsburgh,  he  sent  a  second 
express,  addressed  to  Capt.  Cresap,  as  the  most  influential 
man  amongst  us ;  informing  him  that  the  messenges  had  re- 
turned from  the  Indians,  that  war  was  inevitable,  and  begging 
him  to  use  his  influence  with  the  party,  to  get  them  to  cover 
the  country  by  scouts  until  the  inhabitants  could  fortify  them- 
selves. The  reception  of  this  letter  was  the  epoch  of  open 
hostilities  with  the  Indians.  A  new  post  was  planted,  a 
council  was  called,  and  the  letter  read  by  Cresap,  all  the 
Indian  traders  being  summoned  on  so  important  an  occasion. 
Action  was  had,  and  war  declared  in  the  most  solemn  man- 
ner ;  and  the  same  evening  two  scalps  were  brought  into  the 
camp. 

The  next  day  some  canoes  of  Indians  were  discovered  on 
the  river,  keeping  the  advantage  of  an  island  to  cover  them- 
selves from  our  view.  They  were  chased  fifteen  miles  down 
the  river,  and  driven  ashore.  A  battle  ensued ;  a  few  were 
wounded  on  both  sides;  one  Indian  only  taken  prisoner.  On 
examining  their  canoes,  we  found  a  considerable  quantity  of 
ammunition  and  other  warlike  stores.  On  our  return  to  camp, 
a  resolution  was  adopted  to  march  the  next  day,  and  attack 
Logan's  camp  on  the  Ohio,  about  thirty  miles  above  us.  We 
did  march  about  five  miles,  and  then  halted  to  take  some  re- 


146  Murder  of  Logan's  Family.  1774. 

freshments.  Here  the  impropriety  of  executing  the  projected 
enterprise  was  argued.  The  conversation  was  brought  for- 
ward by  Cresap  himself.  It  was  generally  agreed  that  those 
Indians  had  no  hostile  intentions — as  they  were  hunting,  and 
their  party  were  composed  of  men,  women,  and  children,  with 
all  their  stuff  with  them.  This  we  knew ;  as  I  myself  and 
others  present  had  been  in  their  camp  about  four  weeks  past, 
on  our  descending  the  river  from  Pittsburgh.  In  short,  every 
person  seemed  to  detest  the  resolution  we  had  set  out  with. 
We  returned  in  the  evening,  decamped,  and  took  the  road  to 
Redstone. 

It  was  two  days  after  this  that  Logan's  Family  were  killed. 
And  from  the  manner  in  which  it  was  done,  it  was  viewed  as 
a  horrid  murder.  From  Logan's  hearing  of  Cresap  being  at 
the  head  of  this  party  on  the  river,  it  is  no  wonder  that  he  sup- 
posed he  had  a  hand  in  the  destruction  of  his  family.* 

In  relation  to  the  murders  by  Greathouse,  there  is  also  a 
variance  in  the  testimony.  Henry  Jolly,  who  was  near  by, 
and  whose  statement  is  published  in  an  article  by  Dr.  Hil- 
dreth,  in  Silliman's  Journal  for  January,  1837,  makes  no  men- 
tion of  the  visit  of  Greathouse  to  the  Indian  camp,  but  says 
that  five  men  and  one  woman  with  a  child  came  from  the 
camp  across  to  Baker's,  that  three  of  the  five  were  made 
drunk,  and  that  the  whites  finding  the  other  two  would  not 
drink,  persuaded  them  to  fire  at  a  mark,  and  when  their  guns 
were  empty,  shot  them  down  ;  this  done,  they  next  murdered 
the  woman,  and  tomahawked  the  three  who  were  intoxicated. 
The  Indians  who  had  not  crossed  the  Ohio,  ascertaining  what 
had  taken  place,  attempted  to  escape  by  descending  the  river, 
and  having  passed  Wheeling  unobserved,  landed  at  Pipe 
Creek,  and  it  was  then,  according  to  Jolly,  that  Cresap's  attack 
took  place  ;  he  killed  only  one  Indian. f  But  whatever  may 
have  been  the  precise  facts  in  relation  to  the  murder  of  Lo- 
gan's family,  they  were  at  any  rate  of  such  a  nature  as  to 
make  all  concerned,  feel  sure  of  an  Indian  war ;  and  while 
those  upon  the  frontier  gathered  hastily  into  the  fortresses,;]; 
an  express  was  sent  to  Williamsburgh  to  inform  the  Governor 
of  the  necessity  of  instant  preparation.  The  Earl  of  Dun- 
more  at  once  took  the  needful  steps  to  organize  forces ;  and 

*Louisville  Literary  News  Letter,  quoted  in  Hesperian,  February,  1839.    p.  309. 

fSee  Am.  Pioneer,  i.  12  to  24.  Am.  Archives,  4th  Series,  i.  467.  See  also  Border  War- 
fare, 112,  note,  where  the  discrepancies  of  evidence  are  stated,  also  Jacob's  Life  of  Cresap. 

^Border  Warfare,  114, 


1774.  Expedition  against  the  Indians.  147 

meanwhile  in  June,  sent  Daniel  Boone  and  Michael  Stoner  to 
conduct  into  the  settlements  the  surveyors  and  others  who 
were  lingering  upon  the  banks  of  the  Kentucky  and  Elkhorn, 
a  duty  which  was  ably  and  quickly  performed.  The  unfortu- 
nate traders  among  the  Indians,  however,  could  not  thus  be 
rescued  from  the  dangers  which  beset  them.  Some  of  them 
fell  the  first  victims  to  the  vengeance  of  the  natives.  One, 
near  the  town  of  White-Eyes,  the  Peace  Chief  of  the  Dela- 
wares,  was  murdered,  cut  to  pieces,  and  the  fragments  of  his 
body  hung  upon  the  bushes ;  the  kindly  chief  gathered  them 
together  and  buried  them ;  the  hatred  of  the  murderers,  how- 
ever, led  them  to  disinter  and  disperse  the  remains  of  their 
victim  anew,  but  the  kindness  of  the  Delaware  was  as  perse- 
vering as  the  hatred  of  his  brethren,  and  again  he  collected 
the  scattered  limbs  and  in  a  secret  place  hid  them.* 

[The  question,  "who  killed  Logan's  family,"  has  been  inves- 
tigated, and  every  source  of  evidence  exhausted.  It  is  now 
certain  the  murder  was  not  committed  by  Cresap  and  his  par- 
ty, though  from  circumstances  Logan  thought  so.  Those  who 
desire  to  examine  the  subject  further,  are  referred  to  the 
"American  Pioneer,"  vol.  i.  pp.  7 — 24.] 

It  being,  under  the  circumstances,  deemed  advisable,  by  the 
Virginians,  to  assume  the  offensive,  as  soon  as  it  could  be 
done,  an  army  was  gathered  at  Wheeling,  which,  some  time 
in  July,  under  Colonel  McDonald,  descended  the  Ohio  to 
the  mouth  of*  Cap  tin  a  Creek,  or  as  some  say,  Fish  Creek, 
where  it  was  proposed  to  march  against  the  Indian  town  of 
Wappatomica,  on  the  Muskingum.  The  march  was  success- 
fully accomplished,  and  the  Indians  having  been  frustrated  in 
an  expected  surprise  of  the  invaders,  sued  for  peace,  and  gave 
five  of  their  chiefs  as  hostages.  Two  of  them  were  set  free, 
however,  by  Colonel  McDonald,  for  the  avowed  purpose  of 
ailing  the  heads  of  the  tribes  together  to  ratify  the  treaty 
which  was  to  put  an  end  to  warfare  ;  but  it  being  found  that 
the  natives  were  merely  attempting  to  gain  time  and  gather 
forces,  the  Virginians  proceeded  to  destroy  their  towns  and 
crops,  and  then  retreated,  carrying  'three  of  their  chiefs  with 
them  as  prisoners  to  Williamsburg.t  But  this  invasion  did 
nothing  toward  intimidating  the  red  men. 

*Heckewelder's  Narrative,  132. 

•Border  Warfare,  115.    Doddridge,  241.    Am.  Archives,  4th  Series,  i.  722. 


148  Arbitrary  Acts  of  Dr.   Connolly.  1774. 

The  Delawares  were  anxious  for  peace ;  Sir  William  John- 
son sent  out  to  all  his  copper-colored  flock,  orders  to  keep 
still:*  and  even  the  Shawanese  were  prevailed  on  by  their 
wiser  leader,  Cornstalk,  to  do  all  they  could  to  preserve  friendly 
relations  :f  indeed  they  went  so  far  as  to  secure  some  wander- 
ing traders  from  the  vengeance  of  the  Mingoes,  whose  rela- 
tives had  been  slain  at  Yellow  Creek  and  Captina,  and  sent 
them  with  their  property  safe  to  Pittsburgh .J  /But  Logan, 
who  had  been  turned  by  the  murderers  on  the  i3hio  from  a 
friend  to  a  deadly  foe  of  the  whites,  came  suddenly  upon  the 
Monongahela  settlements,  and  while  the  othei>  Indians  were 
hesitating  as  to  their  course,  took  his  thirteen  scalps  in  re- 
taliation for  the  murder  of  his  family  and  friends,  and  return- 
ing home,  expressed  himself  satisfied,  and  ready  to  listen  to 
the  Long-Knives.§  I  But  it  was  not,  apparently,  the  wish  of 
Dunmore  or  Connolly  to  meet  the  friendly  spirit  of  the  natives, 
and  when,  about  the  10th  of  June,  three  of  the  Shawanese 
conducted  the  traders,  who  had  been  among  them,  safely  to 
Pittsburgh,  Connolly  had  even  the  meanness  to  attempt  first 
to  seize  them,  and  when  foiled  in  this  by  Colonel  Croghan,  his 
uncle,  who  had  been  alienated  by  his  tyranny,  he  sent  men  to 
watch,  waylay  and  kill  them ;  and  one  account  says  that  one 
of  the  three  was  slain.  ||  Indeed,  the  character  developed  by 
this  man,  while  commandant  at  fort  Dunmore,  wa§  such  as  to 
excite  universal  detestation,  and  at  last  to  draw  down  upon 
his  patron  the  reproof  of  Lord  Dartmouth.^!  He  seized  pro- 
perty, and  imprisoned  white  men  without  warrant  or  pro- 
priety ;  and  we  may  be  assured,  in  many  cases  beside  that 
just  mentioned,  treated  the  natives  with  an  utter  disregard  of 
justice.  It  is  not,  then,  surprising  that  Indian  attacks  occurred 
along  the  frontiers  from  June  to  September ;  nor,  on  the  other 
hand,  need  we  wonder  that  the  Virginians  (against  whom,  in 
distinction  from  the  people  of  Pennsylvania,  the  war  was  car- 
ried on,)  became  more  and  more  excited,  and  eager  to  repay 
the  injuries  received. 

To  put  a  stop  to  these  devastations,  two  large  bodies  of 
troops  were  gathering  in  Virginia;  the  one  from  the  south- 
ern and  western  part  of  the  State,  under  General  Andrew 

*  Am.  Archives,  4th  Series,  i.  252  to  288. 

t  Do-  do.  JDo.  do.  §Do.  428. 

UDo.  449.  CDO.  774. 


1774.  Battle  of   Point  Pleasant.  149 

Lewis,  met  at  Camp  Union,  now  Lewisburg,  Greenbriar 
county,  near  the  far-famed  White  Sulphur  Springs  ; — the  other 
from  the  northern  and  eastern  counties,  was  to  be  under  the 
command  of  Dunmore  himself,  and  descending  the  Ohio  from 
Fort  Pitt,  was  to  meet  Lewis'  army  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great 
Kanawha.  The  force  under  Lewis,  amounting  to  eleven  hun- 
dred men,  commenced  its  march  upon  the  6th  and  12th  of 
September,  and  upon  the  6th  of  October  reached  the  spot 
agreed  upon.  As  Lord  Dunmore  was  not  there,  and  as  other 
troops  were  to  follow  down  the  Kanawha  under  Colonel 
Christian,  General  Lewis  dispatched  runners  toward  Pitts- 
burgh to  inform  the  Commander-in-chief  of  his  arrival,  and 
proceeded  to  encamp  at  the  point  where  the  two  rivers  meet. 
Here  he  remained  until  the  9th  of  October,  when  dispatches 
from  the  Governor  reached  him,  informing  him  that  the  plan 
of  the  campaign  was  altered  ;  that  he  (Dunmore)  meant  to 
proceed  directly  against  the  Shawanese  towns  of  the  Scioto, 
and  Lewis  was  ordered  at  once  to  cross  the  Ohio  and  meet 
the  other  army  before  those  towns.  But  on  the  very  day  when 
this  movement  should  have  been  executed,  (October  10th,)  the 
Indians  in  force,  headed  by  the  able  and  brave  Chief  of  the 
Shawanese,  Cornstalk,  appeared  before  the  army  of  Virgini- 
ans, determined  then  and  there  to  avenge  past  wrongs  and 
cripple  vitally  the  power  of  the  invaders.  Delawares,  Iro- 
quois,  Wyandots,  and  Shawanese,  under  their  most  noted 
Chiefs,  among  whom  was  Logan,  formed  the  army  opposed  to 
that  of  Lewis,  and  with  both  the  struggle  of  that  day  was  one 
of  life  or  death.  Soon  after  sunrise  the  presence  of  the  sav- 
ages was  discovered  ;  General  Lewis  ordered  out  his  brother, 
Colonel  Chas.  Lewis,  and  Colonel  Fleming,  to  reconnoitre  the 
ground  where  they  had  been  seen ;  this  at  once  brought  on  the 
engagement.  In  a  short  time  Col.  Lewis  was  killed,  and 
Colonel  Fleming  disabled  ;  the  troops,  thus  left  without  Com- 
manders, wavered,  but  Colonel  Field  with  his  regiment  com- 
ing to  the  rescue,  they  again  stood  firm ; — about  noon  Colonel 
Field  was  killed,  and  Captain  Evan  Shelby,  (father  of  Isaac 
Shelby,  Governor  of  Kentucky  in  after  time,  and  who  was 
then  Lieutenant  in  his  father's  company,)  took  the  command  ; 
and  the  battle  still  continued.  It  was  now  drawing  toward 
evening,  and  yet  the  contest  raged  without  decided  success 
for  either  party,  when  General  Lewis  ordered  a  body  of  men 


150  Battle  of  Point  Pleasant.  1774. 

to  gain  the  flank  of  the  enemy  by  means  of  Crooked  Creek,  a 
small  stream  which  runs  into  the  Kanawha  about  four  hundred 
yards  above  its  mouth.  This  was  successfully  done,  and  the 
result  was  the  retreat  of  the  Indians  across  the  Ohio.* 

[The  loss  on  the  part  of  the  Virginians  in  this  battle  was 
seventy-five  men  killed,  and  one  hundred  and  forty  wounded 
— about  one-fifth  of  their  entire  number. 

Among  the  slain  were  Colonels  Charles  Lewis  and  John 
Field;  Captains  Buford, Morrow,  Wood,  CundifF,  Wilson  and 
Robert  McClanahan  ;  and  Lieuts.  Allen,  Goldsby  and  Dillon, 
"with  some  other  subalterns.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  could 
not  be  fully  ascertained,  as,  until  they  are  driven  from  the  field, 
they  carry  off  their  dead.  Next  morning  Col.  Christian  ex- 
plored the  battle-ground,  and  found  twenty-one  Indians  lying 
dead,  and  subsequently  twelve  others  concealed  by  brush  and 

logs.f] 

Lord  Dunmore,  meanwhile,  had  descended  the  river  from 
Fort  Pitt,  and  was,  at  the  time  he  sent  word  to  Lewis  of  his 
change  of  plans,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Hocking,  where  he  built 
a  block-house,  called  Fort  Gower,  and  remained  until  after  the 
battle  at  the  Point.J  Thence  he  marched  on  towards  the 
Scioto,  while  Lewis  and  the  remains  of  the  army  under  his 
command,  strengthened  by  the  troops  under  Colonel  Christian, 
pressed  forward  in  the  same  direction,  elated  by  the  hope  of 
annihilating  the  Indian  towns,  and  punishing  the  inhabitants 
for  all  they  had  done.  But  before  reaching  the  enemy's  coun- 
try Dunmore  was  visited  by  the  Chiefs  asking  for  peace  ;§  he 
listened  to  their  request,  and  appointing  a  place  where  a  treaty 
should  be  held,  sent  orders  to  Lewis  to  stop  his  march  against 
the  Shawanese  towns  ;  which  orders,  however,  that  officer  did 
not  obey,  nor  was  it  till  the  Governor  visited  his  camp  on  Con  go 
Creek,  near  Westfall,  that  he  would  agree  to  give  up  an  at- 
tempt upon  the  village  of  Old  Chillicothe,  which  stood  where 
Westfall  now  is.||  After  this  visit  by  Dunmore,  General  Lewis 
felt  himself  bound,  though  unwillingly,  to  prepare  for  a  blood- 
less retreat. 

*  Border  Warfare,  125.  Doddridge,  230.  American  Pioneer,  i.381.  Letters  in  Amer- 
ican Archives,  fourth  series,  i.  808-18,  <fcc.  Thatcher's  Lives  of  Indians,  ii.  168. 

f  Howe's  Historical  Collections  of  Virginia,  pp.  361—364. 

%  Border  Warfare,  133. 

\  With  them  was  one  Elliott,  probably  Matthew  Elliott,  so  noted  in  1790  to  1795.— Amer- 
ican Pioneer,  i.  18.  ||  Whittlesey's  Discourse,  1840— p.  24. 


1774.  Lord  Dunmore  Retires  from  the  West.  151 

The  Commander-in-chief,  however,  remained  for  a  time  at 
Camp  Charlotte,  upon  Sippo  Creek,  about  eight  miles  from 
the  town  of  Westfall,  on  the  Scioto.*  There  we  met  Corn- 
stalk, who,  being  satisfied  of  the  futility  of  any  further  strug- 
gle, was  determined  to  make  peace,  and  arranged  with  the 
Governor  the  preliminaries  of  a  treaty  ;  and  from  this  point 
Crawford  was  sent  against  a  town  of  the  Mingoes,  who  still 
continued  hostile,  and  took  several  prisoners,  who  were  carried 
to  Virginia,  and  were  still  in  confinement  in  February,  1775.f 

[It  was  at  this  time  and  place,  (Pickaway  county,  Ohio,) 
that  Logan  made  his  famous  speech,  and  not  at  Camp  Char- 
lotte, as  Mr.  Jefferson  supposed  (for  he  would  not  go  there.) 
This  and  many  other  facts  are  sustained  by  the  testimony  of 
John  Gibson,  Esq.,  an  Associate  Judge  of  Alleghany  county, 
given  at  Pittsburgh  by  affidavit,  April  4th,  1800. 

These  and  other  documents  may  be  found  in  an  "Appendix" 
to  Mr.  Jefferson's  Notes  on  Virginia,  Boston  edition,  1832.J 

Many  of  the  Virginians  were  dissatisfied  with  the  treaty, 
as  no  effectual  blow  had  been  struck.  The  supposition  is,  the 
Governor  of  Virginia  foresaw  the  contest  between  England 
and  her  Colonies,  and  desired  to  gain  the  friendship  of  the 
Indians. 

When  Lord  Dunmore  retired  from  the  West,  he  left  one 
hundred  men  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  a  few 
more  at  Pittsburgh,  and  another  corps  at  Wheeling,  then  called 
Fort  Fincastle.  These  were  dismissed  as  the  prospect  of  war 
ceased.  Lord  Dunmore  agreed  to  return  to  Pittsburgh  in  the 
spring,  meet  the  Indians  and  form  a  definite  peace ;  but  the 
commencement  of  the  revolt  of  the  Colonies  prevented.  The 
Mingoes  were  not  parties  to  the  treaty  at  Camp  Charlotte.^ 
The  Shawanese  agreed  not  to  hunt  south  of  the  Ohio  river, 
nor  molest  travellers. §  The  frontier  men  were  much  incens- 
ed against  Lord  Dunmore  for  this  treaty,  but  not  the  inhabitants 
of  Old  Virginia. || 

[During   "Dunmore's  War,"  as  these  series   of  hostilities 

*  American  Pioneer,  p.  331. 

f  American  Archives,  fourth  series,  i.  1222.    Border  Warfare,  137. — American  Arckires, 
fourth  serie?,  ii.  1189. 

J  Amer.  Archives,  ii.  1189. 
gAmer.  Archives,  fourth  series,  i.  1170. 
Amer.  Archives,  fourth  series,  ii.  170,  301. 


152  Transylvania  Land  Company.  1775. 

were  called,  the  militia  was  called  out,  and  Daniel  Boone 
was  appointed  by  the  Governor  to  the  command  of  three  con- 
tiguous garrisons  on  the  frontier.  James  Harrod  and  several 
other  pioneers  of  Kentucky  were  engaged  as  scouts.  Of  these 
last  were  Simon  Girty,  Simon  Kenton,  (under  the  fictitious 
name  of  Butler,)  and  others. 

Boone,  Harrod  and  others,  on  the  return  of  peace,  again 
turned  their  eyes  to  the  fertile  vallies  and  choice  hunting 
grounds  of  Kentucky.  A  new  Land  Company,  called  the 
"Transylvania  Company,"  was  formed  in  North  Carolina, 
through  the  agency  of  Richard  Henderson,  the  Harts  and 
others.  This  was  one  of  the  several  companies  formed  about 
the  same  period  to  purchase  lands  of  the  Indians.*  As  the 
Cherokees  claimed  the  country  south  of  the  Kentucky  river, 
Henderson  &  Co.  made  several  unsuccessful  attempts  at  nego- 
tiation, when  they  employed  Boone,  who,  as  their  confidential 
agent,  had  explored  the  country.  The  council  was  held  at  the 
Indian  town  of  Watauga,  on  the  south  branch  of  Holston 
river,  in  March,  1775.  Boone  gave  them  the  requisite  infor- 
mation concerning  the  country,  the  rivers  and  other  particu- 
lars. In  consideration  of  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  pounds 
sterling,  the  Indians  transferred  to  the  company  two  large  dis- 
tricts of  country,  defined  as  follows  :] 

The  first  was  defined  as  "  Beginning  on  the  Ohio  river,  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Cantuckey  Chenoee,  or  what,  by  the  English, 
is  called  Louisa  river ;  from  thence  running  up  the  said  river, 
and  the  most  northwardly  fork  of  the  same,  to  the  head  spring 
thereof;  thence  a  south-east  course  to  the  top  of  the  ridge  of 
Powell's  mountain;  thence  westwardly  along  the  ridge  of  the 
said  mountain,  unto  a  point  from  which  a  northwest  course 
will  hit  or  strike  the  head  spring  of  the  most  southwardly 
branch  of  Cumberland  river,  thence  down  said  river,  including 
all  its  waters,  to  the  Ohio  river,  and  up  the  said  river,  as  it 
meanders,  to  the  beginning." 

The  other  deed  comprised  a  tract  "beginning  on  the  Holston 
river,  where  the  course  of  Powell's  mountain  strikes  the  same; 
thence  up  the  said  river,  as  it  meanders,  to  where  the  Virginia 
line  crosses  the  same ;  thence  westwardly  along  the  line  run 
by  Donaldson,  to  a  point  six  English  miles  eastward  of  the 
long  island  in  said  Holston  river ;  thence  a  direct  course  to- 
wards the  mouth  of  the  Great  Canaway,  until  it  reaches  the 
top  ridge  of  Powell's  mountain  ;  thence  westwardly  along  the 

*  See  Patrick  Henry's  Deposition,  in  Hall's  Sketche.-,  i.  249. 


1775.  Fort  Erected  at  Boonesborough.  153 

said  ridge  to  the  place  of  beginning."*  This  transfer,  how- 
ever, was  in  opposition  to  the  ancient  and  constant  policy, 
both  of  England  and  Virginia,  neither  of  which  would 
recognize  any  private  dealings  for  land  with  the  natives ; 
and  as  much  of  the  region  to  be  occupied  by  the  Tran- 
sylvania Company  was  believed  to  be  within  the  bounds 
of  the  Old  Dominion,  Governor  Dunmore,  even  before  the 
bargain  was  completed,  prepared  his  proclamation  warning 
the  world  against  "one  Richard  Henderson  and  other  disor- 
derly persons,  who,  under  pretence  of  a  purchase  from  the 
Indians,  do  set  up  a  claim  to  the  lands  of  the  crown."  This 
paper  is  dated  but  four  days  later  than  the  treaty  of  Watauga.f 

[Neither  did  the  British,  or  any  other  European  government, 
recognize  the  entire  sovereignty  of  the  Indians  over  this  coun- 
try, or  the  title  as  valid  to  any  purchase  made  by  subjects  in 
their  own  right. 

After  a  long  period  of  litigation,  the  matter  was  settled  by 
a  compromise  ;  the  State  of  Virginia  granted  to  the  company 
a  tract  of  land  on  Green  river. 

The  Company,  however,  not  aware  of  the  defect  of  their 
title,  proceeded  to  the  survey  and  settlement  of  the  tract  in 
Kentucky,  and  Capt.  Boone  was  employed  to  manage  the 
enterprise.  A  road  was  explored  and  opened,  and  a  fort 
erected  at  Boonesborough,  under  the  command  of  Boone.] 

Upon  the  20th  or  25th  of  March,  an  attack  had  been  made 
upon  those  first  invaders  of  the  forests,  in  which  two  of  their 
number  were  killed,  and  one  or  two  others  wounded  :  repulsed 
but  not  defeated,  the  savages  watched  their  opportunity,  and 
again  attacked  the  little  band ;  but  being  satisfied  by  these 
attempts,^  that  the  leaders  of  the  whites  were  their  equals  in 
forest  warfare,  the  natives  offered  no  further  opposition  to  the 
march  of  the  hunters,  who  proceeded  to  the  Kentucky,  and 
upon  the  1st  of  April,  1775,  began  the  erection  of  a  fort  upon 
the  banks  of  that  stream,  sixty  yards  south  of  the  river,  at  a 
salt-lick.  This  was  Boonesboro'.  This  fort  or  station  was 

*Hall,  i.  251.  See  also  Butler,  504.  Butler,  instead  of  "Cantucky  Chenoee"  has 
"Kentucky  Chenoca."  See  also  Haywood's  Tennessee.  Life  of  Boone,  by  the  Editor,  in 
Sparks'  Library  of  Amer.  Biography,  xiii.  new  series,  p.  43,  45. 

fAmerican  Archives,  4th  series,  174. 

JSee  Boone's  Narrative,  and  his  letter  in  Hall's  Sketches,  i.  254.  They  do  not  agree 
entirely. 

10 


154  Settlements  in  Kentucky.  1775. 

probably,  when  complete,  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
long  by  one  hundred  and  fifty  broad,  and  consisted  of  block- 
houses and  pickets,  the  cabins  of  the  settlers  forming  part  of 
the  defences ;  *  it  was,  from  neglect,  not  completed  until  June 
14th,  and  the  party,  while  engaged  in  its  erection,  appear  to 
have  been  but  little  annoyed  by  the  Indians,  although  one 
man  was  killed  upon  the  4th  of  April.  To  this  station,  while 
yet  but  half  complete,  Henderson  and  his  companions  came 
the  20th  of  April,  following  the  road  marked  out  by  Boone. 

[On  the  13th  of  June,  1775,  Mr.  Henderson  wrote  a  long 
letter  from  Boonesborough,  Ky.,  to  his  associates  in  North 
Carolina,  giving  many  particulars  of  the  difficulties  and  the 
progress  of  this  enterprise  of  which  we  can  give  only  a  brief 
summary.  The  letter  may  be  found  in  "  Sketches  of  the 
West,"  by  James  Hall,  Esq.,  Appendix,  volume  second. 

Henderson  represents  that  "  things  wore  a  gloomy  aspect ; " 
— that  on  their  journey  out  they  met  people  returning,  and  in 
four  days  saw  not  less  than  one  hundred  persons,  who  had 
become  alarmed  at  the  hostile  appearance  of  the  Indians; 
that  "arguments  and  persuasion  were  needless."  Eight  or 
ten  were  the  only  persons  he  could  prevail  on  to  proceed 
with  the  little  company  of  about  forty. 

The  panic  was  contagious.  But  on  their  arrival  at  Boones- 
borough, they  found  Captain  Boone  and  his  men  wholly  free 
from  alarm,  and  with  the  fort  nearly  completed.  The  "plan- 
tations extend  nearly  two  miles  in  length  on  the  river,  and  up 
a  creek."  Here  the  people  worked  on  "their  different  lots; 
some  without  their  guns,  and  others  without  care." 

We  give  an  extract  from  the  letter  to  show  the  condition  of 
the  country  at  that  period.] 

We  are  seated  at  the  mouth  of  Otter  Creek  on  the  Ken- 
tucky, about  150  miles  from  the  Ohio.  To  the  West,  about 
50  miles  from  us,  are  two  settlements,  within  six  or  seven 
miles  one  of  the  other.  There  were,  some  time  ago,  about 
100  at  the  two  places ;  though  now,  perhaps,  not  more  than 
60  or  70,  as  many  of  them  are  gone  up  the  Ohio  for  their 
families,  &c.;  and  some  returned  by  the  way  we  came,  to  Vir- 
ginia and  elsewhere.  *  *  *  On  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river  and  north  of  us,  about  40  miles,  is  a  settle- 
ment on  the  crown  lands,  of  about  19  persons;  and  lower 
down,  towards  the  Ohio,  on  the  same  side,  there  are  some 

*  See  plan  of  the  fort,  Hall's  Sketches,  i. 

^fc 


1775.  First  Political  Convention.  155 

other  settlers,  how  many,  or  at  what  place,  I  can't  exactly 
learn.  There  is  also  a  party  of  about  10  or  12,  with  a  sur- 
veyor, who  is  employed  in  searching  through  the  country,  and 
laying  off  officers'  lands ;  they  have  been  more  than  three 
weeks  within  ten  miles  of  us,  and  will  be  several  weeks 
longer  ranging  up  and  down  the  country.  *  *  * 
Colonel  Harrod,  who  governs  the  two  first  mentioned  settle- 
ments, (and  is  a  very  good  man  for  our  purpose,)  Colonel 
Floyd,  (the  surveyor)  and  myself,  are  under  solemn  engage- 
ments to  communicate,  with  the  utmost  dispatch  every  piece 
of  intelligence  respecting  danger  or  sign  of  Indians,  to  each 
other.  In  case  of  invasion  of  Indians,  both  the  other  parties 
are  instantly  to  march  and  relieve  the  distressed,  if  possible. 
Add  to  this,  that  our  country  is  so  fertile,  the  growth  of  grass 
and  herbage  so  tender  and  luxuriant,  that  it  is  almost  impos- 
sible for  man  or  dog  to  travel,  without  leaving  such  sign  that 
you  might,  for  many  days,  gallop  a  horse  on  the  trail.  To  be 
serious,  it  is  impossible  for  any  number  of  people  to  pass 
through  the  woods  without  being  tracked,  and  of  course  dis- 
covered, if  Indians,  for  our  hunters  all  go  on  horseback,  and 
could  not  be  deceived  if  they  were  to  come  on  the  trace  of  foot- 
men. From  these  circumstances,  I  think  myself  in  a  great 
measure  secure  against  a  formidable  attack ;  and  a  few  skulk- 
ers could  only  kill  one  or  two,  which  would  not  much  affect 
the  interest  of  the  company. 

Upon  the  23d  of  May,  the  persons  then  in  the  country, 
were  called  on  by  Henderson  to  send  representatives  to 
Boonesboro',  to  agree  upon  a  form  of  government,  and  to 
make  laws  for  the  conduct  of  the  inhabitants.  From  the 
journal  of  this  primitive  legislature,  we  find,  that,  besides 
Boonesboro',  three  settlements  were  represented,  viz :  Har- 
rodsburgh,  which  had  been  founded  by  James  Harrod  in  1774, 
though  afterwards  for  a  time  abandoned,  in  consequence  of 
Dunmore's  war;  the  Boiling  Spring  settlement,  also  headed 
by  James  Harrod,  who  had  returned  to  the  West  early  in  1775; 
and  St.  Asaph,  in  Lincoln  county,  where  Benjamin  Logan, 
who  is  said  to  have  crossed  the  mountains  with  Henderson, 
was  building  himself  a  station;  well  known  in  the  troubles 
with  the  Indians  which  soon  followed. 

The  labors  of  this  first  of  Western  Legislatures  were  fruitless, 
as  the  Transylvania  colony  was  soon  transformed  into  the 
county  of  Kentucky,  and  yet  some  notice  of  them  seems  proper. 
There  were  present  seventeen  representatives ;  they  met 
about  fifty  yards  from  the  bank  of  the  Kentucky,  under  the 
budding  branches  of  a  vast  elm,  while  around  their  feet  sprang 


156  First  Political  Convention.  1775. 

the  native  white  clover,  as  a  carpet  for  their  hall  of  legislation. 
When  God's  blessing  had  been  asked  by  the  Rev.  John  Lythe, 
Colonel  Henderson  offered  an  address  on  behalf  of  the  Pro- 
prietors, from  which  we  select  a  few  paragraphs  illustrative 
of  the  spirit  of  the  men  and  times. 

"Our  peculiar  circumstances  in  this  remote  country,  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  with  difficulties,  and  equally  subject  to 
one  common  danger,  which  threatens  our  common  overthrow, 
must,  1  think,  in  their  effects,  secure  to  us  an  union  of  inter- 
ests, and  consequently,  that  harmony  in  opinion,  so  essential 
to  the  forming  good,  wise,  and  wholesome  laws.  If  any 
doubt  remain  amongst  you  with  respect  to  the  force  or  efficacy 
of  whatever  laws  you  now,  or  hereafter,  make,  be  pleased  to 
consider  that  all  power  is  originally  in  the  people  ;  therefore, 
make  it  their  interest,  by  impartial  and  beneficial  laws,  and 
you  may  be  sure  of  their  inclination  to  see  them  enforced. 
For  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  a  people,  anxious  and' desi- 
rous to  have  laws  made, — who  approve  of  the  method  of 
choosing  delegates,  or  representatives,  to  meet  in  general  Con- 
vention for  that  purpose,  can  want  the  necessary  and  con- 
comitant virtue  to  carry  them  into  execution.  *  * 

Among  the  many  objects  that  must  present  themselves  for 
your  consideration,  the  first  in  order,  must,  from  its  importance, 
be  that  of  establishing  Courts  of  Justice,  or  tribunals  for  the 
punishment  of  such  as  may  offend  against  the  laws  you  are 
about  to  make.  As  this  law  will  be  the  chief  corner  stone  in 
the  ground  work  or  basis  of  our  constitution,  let  us,  in  a  par- 
ticular manner,  recommend  the  most  dispassionate  attention, 
while  you  take  for  your  guide  as  much  of  the  spirit  and  genius 
of  the  laws  of  England,  as  can  be  interwoven  with  those  of 
this  country. 

Next  to  the  establishment  of  courts  or  tribunals,  as  well  for 
the  punishment  of  public  offenders  as  the  recovering  of  just 
debts,  that  of  establishing  and  regulating  a  militia,  seems  of 
the  greatest  importance ;  it  is  apparent,  that  without  some 
wise  institution,  respecting  our  mutual  defence,  the  different 
towns  or  settlements  are  every  day  exposed  to  the  most  immi- 
nent danger,  and  liable  to  be  destroyed  at  the  mere  will  of  the 
savage  Indians.  Nothing,  I  am  persuaded,  but  their  entire 
ignorance  of  our  weakness  and  want  of  order,  has  hitherto 
preserved  us  from  the  destructive  and  rapacious  hands  of  cru- 
elty, and  given  us  an  opportunity  at  this  time,  of  forming 
secure  defensive  plans  to  be  supported  and  carried  into  execu- 
tion by  the  authority  and  sanction  of  a  well  digested  law. 

There  are  sundry  other  things,  highly  worthy  your  consid- 
eration, and  demand  redress;  such  as  the  wanton  destruction 
of  our  game,  the  only  support  of  life  amongst  many  of  us,  and 
for  want  of  which  the  country  would  be  abandoned  ere  to- 


1775.  First  Political  Convention.  157 

morrow,  and  scarcely  a  probability  remain  of  its  ever  becom- 
ing the  habitation  of  any  Christian  people.  This,  together 
with  the  practice  of  many  foreigners,  who  make  a  business  of 
hunting  in  our  country,  killing,  driving  off,  and  lessening  the 
number  of  wild  cattle  and  other  game,  whilst  the  value  of  the 
skins  and  furs,  is  appropriated  to  the  benefit  of  persons  not 
concerned  or  interested  in  our  settlement:  these  are  evils,  I 
say,  that  I  am  convinced  cannot  escape  your  notice  and  atten- 
tion."* 

[It  should  be  kept  in  mind  that  this  Convention  was  the  first 
ever  held  in  the  wilds  of  the  West,  to  form  a  government,  and 
it  is  evident  these  backwoods  Kentuckians  had  in  their  minds 
the  elements  of  a  republican  representative  government.] 

To  the  address  of  Colonel  Henderson,  the  representatives  of 
this  infant  commonwealth  replied,  by  stating  their  readiness 
to  comply  with  the  recommendations  of  the  Proprietor,  as 
being  just  and  reasonable,  and  proceeded,  with  praiseworthy 
diligence,  to  pass  the  necessary  acts.  They  were  in  session 
three  working  days,  in  which  time  they  enacted  the  nine  fol- 
lowing laws  ; — one  for  establishing  courts ;  one  for  punishing 
crimes ;  a  third  for  regulating  the  militia ;  a  fourth  for  punish- 
ing swearing  and  Sabbath-breaking;  a  fifth  providing  for 
writs  of  attachment ;  a  sixth  fixing  fees ;  and  three  others  for 
preserving  the  range,  improving  the  breed  of  horses,  and  pre- 
serving game.  In  addition  to  these  laws,  this  working  House 
of  Delegates  prepared  a  compact,  to  be  the  basis  of  relation- 
ship between  the  people  and  owners  of  Transylvania :  some 
of  its  leading  articles  were  these  : — 

1st.  That  the  election  of  Delegates  in  this  Colony,  be  an- 
nual. 

2d.  That  the  Convention  may  adjourn  and  meet  again  on 
their  own  adjournment,  provided,  that  in  cases  of  great  emer- 
gency the  proprietors  may  call  together  the  Delegates  before 
the  time  adjourned  to,  and  if  a  majority  does  not  attend,  they 
may  dissolve  them  and  call  a  new  one. 

3d.  That,  to  prevent  dissension  and  delay  of  business,  one 
proprietor  shall  act  for  the  whole,  or  some  one  delegated  by 
them  for  that  purpose,  who  shall  always  reside  in  the  colony 

4th.  That  there  be  a  perfect  religious  freedom  and  general 
toleration — Provided,  that  the  propagators  of  any  doctrine  or 
tenets,  widely  tending  to  the  subversion  of  our  laws,  shall,  for 
such  conduct,  be  amenable  to,  and  punishable  by,  the  civil 
courts. 

'See  Butler's  Kentucky,  p.  508. 


158  first  Political  Convention.  1775. 

5th.  That  the  Judges  of  Superior  or  Supreme  Courts  be 
appointed  by  the  proprietors,  but  be  supported  by  the  people, 
and  to  them  answerable  for  their  mal-conduct. 

9th.  That  the  Judges  of  the  inferior  Courts  be  recommend- 
ed by  the  people,  and  approved  of  by  the  proprietors,  and  by 
them  commissioned. 

10th.  That  all  civil  and  military  officers  be  within  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  proprietors. 

llth.  That  the  office  of  Surveyor  General,  belong  to  no 
person  interested,  or  a  partner  in  this  .purchase. 

12th.  That  the  legislative  authority,  after  the  strength  and 
maturity  of  the  colony  will  permit,  consist  of  three  branches, 
to  wit :  the  delegates  or  representatives  chosen  by  the  people, 
a  council  not  exceeding  twelve  men,  possessed  of  landed  es- 
tate, residing  in  the  colony,  and  the  proprietors. 

17th.  That  the  convention  have  the  sole  power  of  raising 
and  appropriating  all  public  monies,  and  electing  their  Trea- 
surer.* 

On  the  27th  of  May  this  Legislature  adjourned  to  meet 
again  upon  the  first  Thursday  of  the  next  September,  though 
we  do  not  learn  that  it  ever  did  so. 

From  the  time  of  the  unpopular  treaty  of  Camp  Charlotte, 
the  western  people  had  been  apprehensive  of  extensive  injury 
to  the  American  frontiers  from  the  Indians,  instigated  by 
agents  reaching  them  through  Canada,  whenever  the  expect- 
ed outbreak  with  England  took  place.  Nor  was  it  long  before 
the  Americans  in  the  North  saw  the  dangers  to  be  feared  from 
the  action  of  the  Indians,  influenced  by  the  British  ;  and  early 
in  April,  1775,  the  Provincial  Congress  of  Massachusetts  wrote 
to  the  Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland,  then  a  missionary  among  the 
Oneidas,  informing  him  that,  having  heard  that  the  English 
were  trying  to  attach  the  Six  Nations  to  their  interest,  it  had 
been  thought  proper  to  ask  the  several  tribes,  through  him,  to 
stand  neutral.  Steps  were  also  taken  to  secure  the  co-opera- 
tion, if  possible,  of  the  Penobscot  and  Stockbridge  Indians ; 
the  latter  of  whom  replied,  that,  though  they  could  never  un- 
derstand what  the  quarrel  between  the  Provinces  and  old 
England  was  about,  yet  they  would  stand  by  the  Americans. 
They  also  offered  to  "feel  the  mind"  of  the  Iroquois,  and  try 
to  bring  them  over.f 

•See  Butler's  Kentucky,  p.  514. 

t  Stone,  vol.  1,  pp.  55-58. — Sparks'  Washington,  TO!,  iii,  pp.  495496. 


1775.  Appeals  to  the  Indians.  159 

But  the  Iroquois  were  not  to  be  easily  won  over  by  any 
means.  Sir  William  Johnson,  so  long  the  King's  agent  among 
them,  and  to  whom  they  looked  with  the  confidence  of  child- 
ren in  a  father,  had  died  suddenly,  in  June,  1774,  and  the  wild 
men  had  been  left  under  the  influence  of  Col.  Guy  Johnson, 
Sir  William's  son-in-law,  who  succeeded  him  as  Superinten- 
dent, and  of  John  Johnson,  Sir  William's  son,  who  succeeded 
to  his  estates  and  honors.  Both  these  men  were  tories ;  and 
their  influence  in  favor  of  England  was  increased  by  that  of 
the  celebrated  Joseph  Brant.  This  trio,  acting  in  conjunction 
with  some  of  the  rich  old  royalists  along  the  Mohawk,  op- 
posed the  whole  movement  of  the  Bostonians,  the  \vhole 
spirit  of  the  Philadelphia  Congress,  and  every  attempt,  open 
or  secret,  in  favor  of  the  rebels.  Believing  Mr.  Kirkland  to  be 
little  better  than  a  Whig  in  disguise,  and  fearing  that  he  might 
alienate  the  tribe  in  which  he  was,  from  their  old  faith,  and, 
through  them,  influence  the  others,  the  Johnsons,  while  the 
war  was  still  bloodless,  made  strong  efforts  to  remove  him 
from  his  position. 

Nor  were  the  fears  of  the  Johnsons  groundless,  as  is  shown 
by  the  address  of  the  Oneida  Indians  to  the  New  England 
Governors,  in  which  they  state  their  intention  of  remaining 
neutral  during  so  unnatural  a  quarrel  as  that  just  then  com- 
mencing. But  this  intention  the  leading  tribe  of  the  great 
Indian  confederacy  meant  to  disturb,  if  possible.  The  idea 
was  suggested,  that  Guy  Johnson  was  in  danger  of  being  seized 
by  the  Bostonians,  and  an  attempt  was  made  to  rally  about 
him  the  savages  as  a  body-guard ;  while  he,  on  his  part,  wrote 
to  the  neighboring  magistrates,  holding  out  to  them,  as  a  ter- 
ror, the  excitement  of  the  Indians,  and  the  dangers  to  be  feared 
from  their  rising,  if  he  were  seized,  or  their  rights  interfered 
with. 

So  stood  matters  in  the  Mohawk  valley,  during  the  month 
of  May,  1775.  The  Johnsons  were  gathering  a  little  army, 
which  soon  amounted  to  five  hundred  men ;  and  the  Revolu- 
tionary committees,  resolute  never  to  yield  one  hair's  breadth, 
"never  to  submit  to  any  arbitrary  acts  of  any  power  under 
heaven,"  were  denouncing  Colonel  Guy's  conduct  as  "arbi- 
trary, illegal,  oppressive,  and  unwarrantable."  "Watch  him," 
wrote  Washington  to  General  Schuyler  in  June ;  and>  even 
before  the  order  was  given,  what  with  the  Tryon  county  men 


160  The  Indians  Divided.  1775. 

above  him  on  the  river,  and  the  whole  provincial  force  below 
him,  he  was  likely  to  be  well  watched.  Finding  himself  thus 
fettered,  and  feeling  it  to  be  time  to  take  some  decided  step, 
the  Superintendent,  early  in  July,  began  to  more  westward, 
accompanied  by  his  dependents  and  the  great  body  of  the 
Mohawk  Indians,  who  remained  firm  in  the  British  interests.* 
He  moved  first  to  Fort  Stanwix,  (afterwards  Fort  Schuyler, 
near  the  present  town  of  Rome,)  and  then  went  on  to  Ontario, 
where  he  arrived  early  in  July,  and  held  a  Congress  with 
thirteen  hundred  and  forty  warriors,  whose  old  attachment 
was  then  and  there  renewed.  Joseph  Brant,  be  it  noted, 
during  all  this  time,  was  acting  as  the  Superintendent's  Sec- 
retary. 

All  of  the  Six  Nations,  except  the  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras, 
might  now  be  deemed  in  alliance  with  the  British.  Those 
tribes,  chiefly  through  the  exertions  of  Mr.  Kirkland,  were 
prevented  from  going  with  the  others,  and  upon  the  28th  of 
June,  at  German  Flats,  gave  to  the  Americans  a  pledge  of 
neutrality  .f 

\Vhile  the  members  of  the  Northern  Confederacy  were  thus 
divided  in  their  attachments,  the  Delawares  of  the  upper 
Ohio  were  by  no  means  unanimous  in  their  opinions  as  to  this 
puzzling  family  quarrel  which  was  coming  on  ;  and  Congress, 
having  been  informed  on  the  first  day  of  June,  that  the 
western  Virginians  stood  in  fear  of  the  Indians,  with  whom 
Lord  Dunmore,  in  his  small  way,  was,  as  they  thought,  tam- 
pering,;}; it  was  determined  to  have  a  Congress  called  at  Pitts- 
burgh, to  explain  to  the  poor  red  men  the  causes  of  the  sud- 
den division  of  their  old  enemies,  and  try  to  persuade  them  to 
keep  peace.  This  Congress  did  not  meet,  however,  until 
October.§ 

Nor  was  it  from  the  northern  and  western  tribes  only,  that 
hostilities  were  feared.  The  Cherokees  and  their  neighbors 
were  much  dreaded,  and  not  without  cause" ;  as  they  were  then 
less  under  the  control  of  the  whites,  than  either  the  Iroquois 
or  Delawares,  and  might,  in  the  hope  of  securing  their  free- 
dom, be  led  to  unite,  in  a  warfare  of  extermination  against 
the  Carolinas.  We  find,  accordingly,  that  early  in  July,  Con- 

*  Stone,  vol.  i.  p.  77  t  Stone,  TO!,  i.  p.  81. 

JOld  Journals,  vol.  i.  p.  78.  JHeckewelder's  NarratiTe,  p.  136. 


1775.  Conference  with  Northern  Indians.  161 

gress  having  determined  to  seek  the  alliance  of  the  several 
Indian  nations,  three  departments  were  formed  ;*  a  northern 
one,  including  the  Six  Nations  and  all  north  and  east  of  them, 
to  the  charge  of  which  General  Schuyler,  Oliver  Wolcott,  and 
three  others,  were  appointed ;  a  middle  department,  including 
the  Western  Indians,  who  were  to  be  looked  to  by  Messrs. 
Franklin,  Henry,  and  Wilson ;  and  a  southern  department, 
including  all  the  tribes  south  of  Kentucky,  over  which  com- 
missioners were  to  preside  under  the  appointment  of  the  South 
Carolina  Council  of  Safety.  These  commissioners  were  to 
keep  a  close  watch  upon  the  nations  in  their  several  depart- 
ments, and  upon  the  King's  Superintendents  among  them. 
These  officers  they  were  to  seize,  if  they  had  reason  to  think 
them  engaged  in  stirring  up  the  natives  against  the  colonies, 
and  in  all  ways  were  to  seek  to  keep  those  natives  quiet  and 
out  of  the  contest.  Talks  were  also  prepared  to  send  to  the 
several  tribes,  in  which  an  attempt  was  made  to  illustrate  the 
relations  between  England  and  America,  by  comparing  the 
last  to  a  child  ordered  to  carry  a  pack  too  heavy  for  its 
strength.  The  boy  complains,  and,  for  answer,  the  pack  is 
made  a  little  heavier.  Again  and  again  the  poor  urchin  re- 
monstrates, but  the  bad  servants  misrepresent  the  matter  to 
the  father,  and  the  boy  gets  a  still  heavier  burden,  till  at  last, 
almost  broken -backed,  he  throws  off  the  load  altogether,  and 
says  he  will  carry  it  no  longer.  This  allegory  was  intend- 
ed to  make  the  matter  clear  to  the  pack-carrying  red  men, 
and,  if  we  may  judge  from  Heckewelder's  account,  it  answer- 
ed the  purpose;  for,  he  says,  the  Delavvares  reported  the 
whole  story  very  correctly.  Indeed,  he  gives  their  report  upon 
the  137th  page  of  his  "Narrative,"  which  report  agrees  very 
well  with  the  original  speech,  preserved  to  us  in  the  Journals 
of  the  old  Congress.f 

The  first  conference  held  by  the  commissioners,  was  in  the 
northern  department,  a  grand  Congress  coming  together  at 
Albany  in  August.  Of  this  Congress  a  full  account  may  be 
found  in  Colonel  Stone's  first  volume.J  It  did  not,  however, 

*01d  Journals,  vol.  i.  p.  113,  <tc. 

t  Vol.  i.  p.  115.  See  also  in  Carey's  Museum  for  January,  1789,  p.  88  to  91,  the  speech 
to  thelroquois  at  Philadelphia,  delivered  July,  13th  1775;  in  this  the  pack-proverb  is  giv- 
en fully  and  very  well. 

%  Pp.  94-105.    Appendix  ir.  xxxi. 


162  Conference  with   Western  Indians.  1775. 

fully  represent  the  Six  Nations,  and  some,  even  of  those  who 
were  present, immediately  afterwards  deserted  to  the  British; 
so  that  the  result  was  slight. 

The  next  conference  was  held  at  Pittsburgh  with  the  west- 
ern Indians.  This  was  in  October,  and  was  attended  by  the 
Delawares,  Senecas,  and,  perhaps,  some  of  the  Shawanese. 
The  Delaware  nation  were,  as  we  have  already  said,  divided 
in  their  views  touching  the  Americans.  One  of  their  chief- 
tains, Captain  White-Eyes,  a  man  of  high  character  and  clear 
mind,  of  courage  such  as  became  the  leader  of  a  race  whose 
most  common  virtues  were  those  of  the  wild  man,  and  of  a 
forbearance  and  kindness  as  unusual  as  fearlessness  was  fre- 
quent, among  his  people, — this  true  man  was  now,  as  always, 
in  favor  of  peace  ;  and  his  influence  carried  with  him  a  strong 
party.  But  there  were  others,  again,  who  longed  for  war, 
and  wished  to  carry  the  whole  nation  over  to  the  British 
interest.  These  were  led  by  a  cunning  and  able  man,  called 
Captain  Pipe,  who,  without  the  energy,  moral  daring,  and  un- 
clouded honesty  of  his  opponent,  had  many  qualities  admira- 
bly suited  to  win  and  rule  Indians.  Between  these  two  men 
there  was  a  division  from  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  till 
the  death  of  White-Eyes.  At  the  Pittsburgh  Conference,  the 
Peace  Chief,  as  he  was  called,  was  present,  and  there  asserted 
his  freedom  of  the  Six  Nations,  who,  through  their  emissa- 
ries present,  tried  to  bend  the  Delawares,  as  they  had  been 
used  to  do.  His  bold  denial  of  the  claim  of  the  Iroquois  to 
rule  his  people,  was  seized  upon  by  some  of  the  War-Party, 
as  a  pretext  for  leaving  the  Muskingum,  where  White-Eyes 
lived,  and  withdrawing  toward  Lake  Erie,  into  the  more  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  the  English  and  their  allies. 

The  Shawanese  and  their  neighbors,  meantime,  had  taken 
counsel  with  Guy  Johnson  at  Oswego,  and  might  be  consid- 
ered as  in  league  with  the  king.  Indeed,  we  can  neither 
wonder  at,  nor  blame  these  bewildered  savages  for  leaguing 
themselves  with  any  power  against  those  actual  occupants  of 
their  hunting-grounds,  who  are,  here  and  there  in  Kentucky, 
building  block-houses  and  clearing  corn-fields.  Against  those 
block-houses  and  their  builders,  little  bands  of  red  men  con- 
tinually kept  sallying  forth,  supplied  with  ammunition  from 
Detroit  and  the  other  western  posts,  and  incited  to  exertion  by 
the  well  known  stimulants  of  whisky  and  fine  clothes. 


1775.  Settlement  of  Kentucky.  163 

However,  it  is  hardly  correct  to  say,  that  this  was  done  in 
1775,  though  the  arrangements  were,  beyond  doubt,  made  in 
that  year,  Col.  Johnson  having  visited  Montreal,  immediately 
after  the  council  with  the  Shawanese  and  others  at  Oswego, 
for  the  purpose  of  concluding  with  the  Brit'sh  governor  and 
general  upon  his  future  course. 

But  although  the  dangers  of  the  posts,  more  immediately 
exposed  to  Indian  invasions,  were  understood  both  East  and 
West,  it  did  not  prevent  emigration.  In  June,  1775,  Boone 
had  sought  the  settlements  once  more,  in  order  to  remove  his 
family ;  and  in  the  following  September,  with  four  females, 
the  fearless  mothers  of  Kentucky,  re-crossed  the  mountains. 
These  four  women  were,  his  own  wife,  Mrs.  McGary,  Mrs. 
Danton  and  Mrs.  Hogan  ;  their  husbands  and  children  came 
with  them,  and  more  than  twenty  men  able  to  bear  arms, 
were  also  of  the  party. 

;-  At  the  close  of  1775,  then,  the  country  along  the  Kentucky 
was  filling  with  emigrants,  although  doubt  and  dissatisfaction 
already  existed  as  to  Henderson's  purchase,  and  especially  as 
to  holding  lands  of  proprietors,  and  being  governed  by  them  : 
— many  of  the  new  settlers  not  being  ignorant  of  the  evils 
brought  on  Pennsylvania  by  means  of  the  Proprietary  rule. 
But  hope  was  still  predominant,  and  the  characters  of  Har- 
rod,  Floyd,  Logan  and  the  Harts,  were  well  calculated  to  in- 
spire confidence. 

North  of  the  Ohio,  during  that  year,  little  was  doing  of 
which  any  knowledge  has  reached  us  :  but  one  settlement  be- 
yond the  Belle  Reviere  deserves  our  notice. 

Our  readers  will  remember  the  calm  and  bold  Moravian, 
Christian  Frederick  Post,  who  journeyed  to  the  Big  Beaver 
Creek  in  1758,  and  won  the  Delawares  to  peace.  This  same 
man,  in  1761,  thinking  the  true  faith  might  be  planted  among 
those  western  tribes,  journeyed  out  to  the  Muskingum,  and,  on 
the  banks  of  that  stream,  about  a  mile  from  Beaver's  Town, 
built  himself  a  house.*  The  next  season,  that  is,  in  the  spring 
of  1762,  he  again  crossed  the  mountains  in  company  with  the 
well  known  Heckewelder,  who  went  out  as  his  assistant.  The 
Indians  having  consented  to  his  living  among  them,  and  teach- 
ing their  children  to  read  and  write,  Post  prepared  to  clear  a 

*  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  p.  59. 


164  The  Moravian  Missionary.  1762. 

few  acres  whereon  to  raise  corn.  The  chiefs  hearing  of  this 
called  him  to  them,  and  said  they  feared  he  had  changed  his 
mind,  for,  instead  of  teaching  their  children,  he  was  clearing 
land  ;  which,  if  he  did,  others  might  do,  and  then  a  fort  be 
built  to  protect  them,  and  then  the  land  claimed,  and  they  be 
driven  off,  as  had  always,  they  said,  been  the  case.  Post  re- 
plied that  a  teacher  must  live,  and,  as  he  did  not  wish  to  be 
a  burden  to  them,  he  proposed  to  raise  his  own  food.  This 
reply  the  Indians  considered,  and  told  him,  that,  as  he  claimed 
to  be  a  minister  of  God,  just  as  the  French  priests  did,  and  as 
these  latter  looked  fat  and  comely  though  they  did  not  raise 
corn,  it  was  probable  that  the  Great  Spirit  would  take  care  of 
him  as  he  did  of  them,  if  he  wished  him  to  be  his  minister  ;  so 
they  could  only  give  him  a  garden  spot.  This  Captain  Pipe 
stepped  off  for  him,  and  with  this  he  had  to  shift  as  well  as  he 
could. 

These  proceedings  were  in  1762,  and  while  they  show  the 
perfect  perception  which  the  Indians  had  of  their  dangers,  and 
of  the  English  tactics,  explain  most  clearly  the  causes  of  the 
next  year's  war. 

Post  continued  to  till  his  little  garden  spot  and  teach  his 
Indian  disciples  through  the  summer  of  1762,  and  in  the  au- 
tumn accompanied  King  Beaver  to  Lancaster,  in  Pennsylva- 
nia, where  a  fruitless  treaty  was  concluded  with  the  whites. 
Returning  from  this  treaty  in  October,  he  met  Heckewelder, 
who  had  been  warned  by  his  red  friends  to  leave  the  coun- 
try before  war  came,  and  was  forced  back  upon  the  settle- 
ments. 

From  this  time,  until  the  autumn  of  1767,  no  Moravians 
visited  the  West.  Then,  in  the  following  spring,  Zeisberger 
went  to  the  Allegheny,  and  there  established  a  mission, 
against  the  will,  however,  of  the  greater  part  of  the  savages, 
who  saw  nothing  but  evil  in  the  white  man's  eye.*  The  fruits 
would  not  ripen,  the  deer  would  not  stay,  they  said,  where  the 
white  man  came.  But  Zeisberger's  was  a  fearless  soul,  and  he 
worked  on,  despite  threats  and  plots  against  his  life  ;  and  not 
only  held  his  place,  but  even  converted  some  of  the  leading 
Indians.  Among  these  was  one  who  had  come  from  the  Big 
Beaver,  for  the  purpose  of  refuting  the  Moravians ;  and  this 

dk 

*  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  p.  98. 


1775.  Conspiracy  to  unite  the  Indians.  165 

man  being  influential,  the  missionaries  were  in  1770  invited 
to  come  to  Big  Beaver,  whither  they  went  in  April  of  that 
year,  settling  about  twenty  miles  from  its  mouth.  Nor  did  the 
kindness  of  the  Indians  stop  here.  The  Delawares  of  the 
Muskingum,  remembering  perhaps  what  Post  had  done  among 
them  ten  years  before,  invited  the  Christian  Indians  of  Penn- 
sylvania to  come  and  live  on  their  river;  and  in  this  invitation 
the  Wyandots  joined.  The  proposition  was  long  considered, 
and  at  last  agreed  to  ;  and,  on  the  3d  of  May,  1772,  Zeisber- 
ger,  with  twenty-seven  of  his  native  disciples,  founded  Schoen- 
brun,  upon  the  Muskingum, — the  first  true  Christian  settle- 
ment made  within  the  present  State  of  Ohio,  and  the  begin- 
ning of  that  which  was  destroyed  by  the  frontier  men  ten 
years  afterward,  in  so  cruel  and  cowardly  a  manner.  To  this 
settlement,  in  the  course  of  the  next  year,  the  Christian  Indi- 
ans of  the  Susquehanna,  and  those  of  the  Bis:  Beaver,  re- 
moved. Though  endangered  by  the  war  of  1774,  it  was  not 
injured,  and,  when  our  Revolution  began,  was  the  only  point 
beyond  Pittsburgh,  north  of  the  river,  where  the  English  were 
dwelling  and  laboring.* 

It  was  towards  the  close  of  this  last  year  of  our  colonial 
existence,  1775.  that  a  plot  was  discovered,  which  involved 
some  whose  names  have  already  appeared  upon  our  pages, 
and  which,  if  successful,  would  have  influenced  the  fortunes 
of  the  West  deeply.  Dr.  John  Connolly,  of  Pittsburgh,  (he, 
whom  Washington  had  met  and  talked  with  in  1770,  and 
with  whom  he  had  afterwards  corresponded  in  relation  to 
western  lands,  and  who  played  so  prominent  a  part  as  com- 
mandant of  Pittsburgh,  where  he  continued  at  least  through 
1774,)f  was,  from  the  outset  of  the  revolutionary  movements, 
a  Tory ;  and  being  a  man  extensively  acquainted  with  the 
West,  a  man  of  talent,  and  fearless  withal,  he  naturally  be- 
came a  leader.  This  man,  in  1775,  planned  a  union  of  the 
north-western  Indians  with  British  troops,  which  combined 
forces  were  to  be  led,  under  his  command,  from  Detroit,  and 
after  ravaging  the  few  frontier  settlements,  were  to  join  Lord 
Dunmore  in  eastern  Virginia.  To  forward  his  plans,  Connolly 
visited  Boston  to  see  General  Gage  ;  then  having  returned  to 

*See  on  the  whole  subject  of  the  Moravian  Missions;  Heckewelder's  account  in  Ameri- 
can State  Papers,  vi.  379  to  391. 

fAmerican  Archives,  fourth  series,  i.  1179, 


166  Early  Pioneers.  1775. 

the  south,  in  the  fall  of  1775,  he  left  Lord  Dunmore  for  the 
West,  bearing  one  set  of  instructions  upon  his  person,  and 
another  set,  the  true  ones,  most  artfully  concealed,  under  the 
direction  of  Lord  Dunmore  himself,  in  his  saddle,  secured  by 
tin  and  waxed  cloth.  He  and  his  comrades,  had  gone  as  far 
as  Hagerstown,  where  they  were  arrested  upon  suspicion,  and 
sent  back  to  Frederick.  There  they  were  searched,  and  the 
papers  upon  Connolly's  person  were  found,  seized,  and  sent 
to  Congress.  Washington  having  been  informed  by  one  who 
was  present  when  the  genuine  instructions  were  concealed  as 
above  stated,  wrote  twice  on  the  subject  to  the  proper  authori- 
ties, in  order  to  lead  to  their  discovery,  but  we  do  not  learn 
that  they  were  ever  found.  Connolly  himself  was  confined, 
and  remained  a  close  prisoner  till  1781,  complaining  much  of 
his  hard  lot,  but  finding  few  to  pity  him.* 

[Dr.  Connolly  was  one  of  the  early  explorers  of  Kentucky, 
and  in  1770  proposed  to  establish  a  province,  which  would 
have  included  the  Cumberland,  or  Shawanee  river  from  a  line 
drawn  above  the  Fork  to  the  Falls  and  the  Ohio.f  After- 
wards he  caused  to  be  surveyed,  patented,  and  advertised,  in 
April,  1774,  the  ground  on  which  Louisville  was  built.J 

Among  the  prominent  pioneers  and  explorers  of  Kentucky, 
this  year,  was  Simon  Kenton,  Colonel  Benjamin  Logan,  John 
Floyd,  William  Whitley  and  George  Rogers  Clarke.  Simon 
Kenton  was  a  tall,  robust,  athletic  man,  and  of  great  energy 
of  character.  He  was  a  ranger  and  a  spy  in  Dunmore's 
campaign  against  the  Indians  in  1774,  and  with  two  other 
men,  came  down  the  Ohio  river  in  a  canoe  to  the  place  where 
Augusta  is  now  situated,  and  spent  the  season  in  hunting  on 
the  waters  of  the  Licking.  He  became  identified  with  the 
history  of  Kentucky,  and  the  Indian  wars  of  the  north-west. 
He  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Indians,  and  sentenced  to  be 
burnt,  but  was  rescued  by  the  notorious  Simon  Girty,  after  he 
was  tied  to  the  stake  and  the  fire  kindled  around  him.  He 

*American  Archives,  4th  series,  iv.  617,  where  Connolly's  commission  and  several  let- 
ters are  given;  do.  iii.  1660,  where  his  examination  is  to  be  found;  also,  see  index  of 
both  vols.  See  also  Sparks'  Washington,  iii.  197,  211,  212,  269,  271.  Border  Warfare, 
133.  Old  Journals,  iii.  36,  121,  122,  125,  385.  The  whole  Etory  is  in  the  report  of  the 
committee  of  Congress,  old  journals,  iii.  121.  See  also  Smyth's  account  of  the  affair  in 
the  2nd  vol.  of  his  work,  p.  243. 

fSparks'  Washington,  ii.  532. 

JAmcr.  Archives,  fourth  series.    Western  Garland,  February,  1846,  p.  98. 


1775.  Early  Pioneers.  167 

was  with  Col.  G.  R.  Clarke  in  the  Conquest  of  Illinois,  and  in 
Wayne's  army  in  1795.  After  the  close  of  the  Indian  wars 
in  the  north-west,  he  settled  in  Ohio,  where  he  sustained  the 
character  of  a  worthy  citizen,  and  died  a  few  years  .since  with 
the  faith  of  a  sincere  Christian. 

Colonel  Benjamin  Logan  lived  in  Kentucky  and  performed 
an  important  part  in  the  annals  of  that  Commonwealth. 

One  of  those  men  whose  name  appears  prominent  in  Ken- 
tucky history  was  Colonel  John  Floyd,  a  surveyor  from  eastern 
Virginia.  His  first  exploration  was  made  in  1774,  but  in 
1775,  he  returned  to  pursue  his  vocation  as  a  surveyor  in  lo- 
cating land  claims.  His  location  was  a  few  miles  from  Louis- 
ville, on  Bear  Grass  creek,  known  to  this  day  as  "Floyd's  Sta- 
tion." 

The  emigrants  to  the  Transylvania  colony  continued  to  in- 
crease in  number  through  the  summer,  so  that  on  the  first  of 
November  the  white  population  in  all  the  settlements  in  Ken- 
tucky amounted  to  three  hundred  persons,  a  majority  of  whom 
were  effective  men  for  the  defence  of  the  settlements.  The 
whole  quantity  of  land  in  cultivation  was  two  hundred  and 
thirty  acres,  planted  in  corn.  The  lands  entered  at  the  land 
office  by  individuals  amounted  to  five  hundred  and  sixty  thou- 
sand acres.* 

During  the  summer  of  1775,  Harrod's  Station  and  Logan's 
Fort  were  established.  A  party  of  hunters  and  land  explorers 
were  encamped  on  a  fertile  and  delightful  tract  of  country  on 
the  head  waters  of  the  Elkhorn,  when  an  emigrant  from  Vir- 
ginia brought  the  news  of  the  battle  of  Lexington,  and  the 
outbreak  of  the  American  revolution.  The  feelings  of  liberty 
and  patriotism  excited  gave  name  to  the  encampment  as  the 
embryo  of  a  future  city,  and  Lexington  exists  in  commemo- 
ration of  the  fact.f  Louisville  was  a  rendezvous  for  all  those 
who  came  down  the  Ohio  river  in  boats  and  canoes. 

*Butler's  Kentucky,  Introduction,  p.  68,  69 — Monette's  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  L 
397. 

tMorehead's  Address,  p.  33. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

ANNALS  OF  1776  AND  1777. 

Employment  of  Indians  in  the  War — Pioneers  to  Kentucky — Capture  and  rescue  of  Girli 
— Petition  of  the  Inhabitants — Efforts  of  George  Rogers  Clarke — Corn-stalk  and  Red- 
bud  killed — Troubles  in  Kentucky — Attack  on  Wheeling— Simon  Girty  and  family. 

In  the  annals  of  Kentucky,  the  year  1776  is  remarkable,  first, 
for  the  recognition  by  Virginia  of  the  Transylvania  colony,  as 
a  part  of  the  Old  Dominion ;  and  secondly,  for  such  a  renew- 
al of  hostilities,  as  drove  many,  who  had  come  to  make  the 
West  their  home,  back  over  the  mountains  again.  During 
the  last  six  months  of  1775,  and  the  first  half  of  1776,  the 
northern  savages  had  in  a  great  measure  ceased  their  excur- 
sions against  the  invaders  of  their  hunting-grounds.  Not, 
however,  because  they  had  given  up  the  contest ;  they  were 
preparing,  in  connection  with  the  British  agents  in  the  north- 
west, to  act  with  deadly  efficiency  against  the  frontier  sta- 
tions. From  an  early  period  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  the 
use  of  the  Indians  had  been  contemplated  by  both  parties  to 
the  struggle.  It  had  been  usual,  in  the  contest  between  the 
French  and  English,  as  we  have  seen ;  and  few  seem  to 
have  deemed  it  possible  to  avoid  alliances  with  the  red  men. 
There  is  cause  to  think  that  England  took  the  first  steps 
that  were  taken  to  enlist  the  Indians  in  the  quarrel  of  mother 
and  daughter.  The  first  mention  of  the  subject,  which  we 
meet  with,  is  in  the  address  of  the  Massachusetts  Congress  to 
the  Iroquois,  in  April,  1775.*  In  that  they  say,  that  they  hear 
that  the  British  are  exciting  the  savages  against  the  colonies ; 
and  they  ask  the  Six  Nations  to  aid  them  or  stand  quiet.f  And 
in  the  June  following,  when  James  Wood  visited  the  Western 
tribes,  and  asked  them  to  a  council,  which  he  did  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Virginia  House  of  Burgesses,  he  found  that 
Governor  Carlton  had  been  beforehand,  and  offered  the  alli- 

*  Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  iii.  p,  495. 

t  American  Archives,  fourth  series,  IT.  110. 


1776.  Authority  to  Employ  Indians.  169 

ance  of  England.*  It  would  seem,  then,  that  even  before  the 
battle  of  Lexington,  both  parties  had  applied  to  the  Indians, 
and  sought  an  alliance.  In  the  outset,  therefore,  both  parties 
were  of  the  same  mind  and  pursued  the  same  course.  The 
Congress  of  the  United  Colonies,  however,  during  1775,  and 
until  the  summer  of  1776,  advocated  merely  the  attempt  to  keep  the 
Indians  out  of  the  contest  entirely,  and  instructed  the  Commission- 
ers, appointed  in  the  several  departments,  to  do  so.  But  Eng- 
land was  of  another  mind.  Promises  and  threats  were  both 
used  to  induce  the  savages  to  act  with  her,f  though,  at  first,  it 
would  seem,  to  little  purpose,  even  the  Canada  tribe  of 
Caghnawagas  having  offered  their  aid  to  the  Americans. 
When  Britain,  however,  became  victorious  in  the  North,  and 
particularly  after  the  battle  of  the  Cedars,  in  May,  1776,  the 
wild  men  began  to  think  of  holding  to  her  side,  their  policy 
being,  in  all  quarrels  of  the  whites,  to  stick  to  the  strongest. 
Then  it  was,  in  June,  1776,  that  Congress  resolved  to  do  what 
Washington  had  advised  in  the  previous  April,  that  is,  to  em- 
ploy the  savages  in  active  warfare.  Upon  the  19th  of 
April,  the  Commander-in-chief  wrote  to  Congress,  saying,  as 
the  Indians  would  soon  be  engaged,  either  for  or  against,  he 
would  suggest  that  they  be  engaged  for  the  colonies  ;J  upon 
the  3d  of  May,  the  report  on  this  was  considered ;  upon  the 
25th  of  May,  it  was  resolved  to  be  highly  expedient  to  engage 
the  Indians  for  the  American  service ;  and,  upon  the  3d  of 
June,  the  General  was  empowered  to  raise  Iwo  thousand  to  be 
employed  in  Canada.  Upon  the  17th  of  June,  Washington 
was  authorized  to  employ  them  where  he  pleased,  and  to 
offer  them  rewards  for  prisoners;  and  upon  the  8th  of  July, 
he  was  empowered  to  call  out  as  many  of  the  Nova  Scotia 
and  neighboring  tribes  as  he  saw  fit.§ 

Such  was  the  course  of  proceeding,  on  the  part  of  the  colo- 
nies, with  regard  to  the  employment  of  the  Indians.  The  steps, 
at  the  time,  were  secret,  but  now  the  whole  story  is  before  the 
world.  Not  so,  however,  with  regard  to  the  acts  of  England  ; 
as  to  them,  we  have  but  few  of  the  records  placed  within  our 
reach.  One  thing,  however,  is  known,  namely,  that,  while  the 

*Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  iii.  p.  55.  flbid.,  p.  55. 

JSparks'  Washington,  vol.  iii.  p.  364.    Also,  v.  277,  where  tke  views  of  Burke,  Govern- 
or Pownall,  and  others,  are  given. 
^Secret  Journals,  vol.  i.  pp.  43-47. 
11 


170  The  Indians  side  with  England.  1776. 

colonies  offered  their  allies  of  the  woods  rewards  for  prisoners, 
some  of  the  British  agents  gave  them  money  for  scalps* — a 
proceeding  that  cannot  find  any  justification. 

In  accordance  with  the  course  of  policy  thus  pursued,  the 
north-western  tribes,  already  angered  by  the  constant  inva- 
sions of  their  territory  by  the  hunters  of  Virginia  and  Carolina, 
and  easily  accessible  by  the  lakes,  were  soon  enlisted  on  the 
side  of  England  ;  and  had  a  Pontiac  been  alive  to  lead  them, 
might  have  done  much  mischief.  As  it  was,  during  the  sum- 
mer of  1776,  their  straggling  parties  so  filled  the  woods  of 
Kentucky,  that  no  one  outside  of  a  fort  felt  safe. 

[Amongst  other  emigrants,  the  opening  of  spring  brought  to 
the  country,  were  Colonel  Richard  Callaway  (an  intimate 
friend  of  Daniel  Boone)  and  his  family. 

"On  the  14th  of  July,  Betsey  Callaway,  her  sister  Frances, 
and  Jemima  Boone,  the  two  last  about  fourteen  years  of  age, 
carelessly  crossed  the  river  opposite  Boonesborough,  in  a  ca- 
noe, at  a  late  hour  in  the  afternoon.  The  trees  and  shrubs  on 
the  opposite  bank  were  thick,  and  came  down  to  the  water's 
edge ;  the  girls,  unconscious  of  danger,  were  playing  and 
splashing  the  water  with  the  paddles,  until  the  canoe,  float- 
ing with  the  current,  drifted  near  the  shore.  Five  stout  Indians 
lay  there  concealed,  one  of  whom,  noiseless  and  stealthy  as 
the  serpent,  crawled  down  the  bank  until  he  reached  the  rope 
that  hung  from  the  bow,  turned  its  course  up  the  stream,  and 
in  a  direction  to  be  hidden  from  the  view  of  the  fort.  The 
loud  shrieks  of  the  captured  girls  were  heard,  but  too  late  for 
their  rescue.  The  canoe,  their  only  means  of  crossing,  was 
on  the  opposite  shore,  and  none  dared  to  risk  the  chance  of 
swimming  the  river,  under  the  impression  that  a  large 
body  of  savages  was  concealed  in  the  woods.  Boone  and 
Callaway  were  both  absent,  and  night  set  in  before  their 
return  and  arrangements  could  be  made  for  pursuit."  We  sub- 
join the  narrative  of  Colonel  Floj^d,  who  was  one  of  the  party, 
remarking  that  this  story  was  narrated  to  the  writer  by  one  of 
the  captured  party,  in  1818,  in  terms  substantially  the  same.] 

Colonel  Floyd  says  :  "Next  morning,  by  day-light,  we  were 
on  their  track  ;  but  they  had  entirely  prevented  our  following 
them,  by  walking  some  distance  apart  through  the  thickest 
cane  they  could  find.  We  observed  their  course,  and  on 
which  side  they  had  left  their  sign — and  traveled  upwards  of 
thirty  miles.  We  then  supposed  they  would  be  less  cautious 
in  traveling,  and  made  a  turn  to  cross  their  trace ;  we  had 
gone  but  a  few  miles  when  we  found  their  tracks  in  a  buffalo 
path — pursued  and  overtook  them  in  going  about  ten  miles, 

*  Jefferson's  Writings,  vol.  i.  p.  456. 


1776.  George  Rogers  Clark.  171 

just  as  they  were  kindling  a  fire  to  cook.  Our  study  had 
been  how  to  get  the  prisoners,  without  giving  the  Indians 
time  to  murder  them  after  they  discovered  us.  We  saw  each 
other  nearly  at  the  same  time.  Four  of  us  fired,  and  all  rush- 
ed on  them,  by  which  they  were  prevented  from  carrying 
anything  away  except  one  shot-gun,  without  any  ammunition. 
Mr.  Boone  and  myself  had  each  a  pretty  fair  shot,  as  they  be- 
gan to  move  off.  I  am  well  convinced  I  shot  one  through  the 
body.  The  one  he  shot  dropped  his  gun — mine  had  none. 
The  place  was  covered  thick  with  cane,  and  being  so  much 
elated  on  recovering  the  three  poor  little  heart-broken  girls, 
we  were  prevented  from  making  any  further  search.  We  sent 
the  Indians  off  without  their  moccasins,  and  not  one  of  them 
with  so  much  as  a  knife  or  tomahawk."* 

[Mr.  Butler  justly  remarks,  on  this  incident,  "These  are 
the  unembellished  circumstances  of  a  transaction,  which  a 
lively  and  most  interesting  writer  [Mr.  Flint]  has,  through  mis- 
information, historically  disfigured  into  a  beautiful  romance." 
We  add,  that  the  romantic  incidents  told  by  Mr.  Flint,  and  the 
oath  sworn  by  Boone,  and  administered  to  his  followers,  are 
wholly  fictitious ,f] 

But  it  was  not  destined  that  Kentucky  should  sink  under 
her  trials.  It  was  during  this  very  summer  of  1776,  indeed, 
that  the  corner-stone  of  her  prosperity  was  laid,  and  the  first 
step  taken  toward  making  her  an  independent  commonwealth. 

This  was  done  by  George  Rogers  Clark,  truly  her  founder, 
and  the  most  eminent  of  the  early  heroes  of  the  West.  He 
was  born  November  19,  1752,  in  Albemarle  county,  Vir- 
ginia.;}; In  early  life,  he  had  been,  like  Washington,  a  sur- 
veyor, and  more  lately  had  served  in  Dunmore's  war.  He 
first  visited  Kentucky  in  1775,§  and  held,  apparently,  at  that 
time,  the  rank  of  major.  Returning  to  Virginia,  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1775,  he  prepared  to.  move  permanently  to  the  West, 
in  the  following  spring.  Having  done  this  early  in  1776, 
Clark,  whose  views  reached  much  farther  than  those  of  most 
of  the  Pioneers,  set  himself  seriously  to  consider  the  condition 

9  Life  of  Boone,  in  Sparks'  American  Biography,  xxiii.  59,  60 — Butler's  Kentucky, 
pages  32,  33. 

|  Flint's  Life  of  Boone,  p.  89. 

J  Clark's  papers,  in  possession  of  L.  C.  Draper,  in  his  own  writing,  give  this  date. 

\  He  was  west  of  the  mountains  in  1772,  as  far  as  the  Kanawha  at  least;  see  journal  of 
Rev.  David  Jones  in  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  i.  245.  In  1774,  he  was  on  his  way  to 
Kentucky  when  Dunmore's  war  broke  out.  See  ante. 


172  Protection  of  Virginia  Invoked.  1776. 

and  prospects  of  the  young  republic  to  which  he  had  attached 
himself.  Its  advantages  were  too  obvious  to  escape  any  eye ; 
but  the  dangers  of  a  colony,  so  far  beyond  the  old  lines  of  civ- 
ilization, and  unconnected  with  any  of  the  elder  provinces, 
while  at  the  same  time  the  title  to  it  was  in  dispute,  had  not 
impressed  all  minds  as  they  should.  Clark  knew  that  Vir- 
ginia entirely  denied  the  purchase  of  Henderson ;  he  was 
sure,  also,  that  the  Virginia  settlers  would  never  be  easy  under 
a  proprietary  government,  however  founded  ;  and  saw  al- 
ready, with  his  quick  eye,  wide-spread  dissatisfaction.  One  of 
two  things  he  deemed.the  frontier  settlements  must  be,  either 
an  acknowledged  portion  of  Virginia,*  and  to  be  by  her 
aided  in  their  struggles, — or  an  independent  commonwealth. 
These  views  had  been  partially  formed  in  1775,  probably, 
for  we  find  that  by  June  6th,  1776,  they  had  attained  suf- 
ficient currency  to  cause  the  gathering  of  a  general  meeting 
at  Harrodsburg,  to  bring  matters  to  an  issue.  Clark  was  not 
present  at  the  commencement  of  the  meeting.  Had  he  been, 
there  is  reason  to  think,  he  would  have  procured  the  election 
of  envoys  authorised  to  lay  the  whole  business  before  the  As- 
sembly of  Virginia,  and  ask  the  admittance  of  Kentucky,  by 
itself,  into  the  number  of  her  counties.  As  it  was,  he  and  Ga- 
briel Jones  were  chosen  members  of  the  Virginia  Assembly, 
and  a  petition  was  prepared  to  be  laid  before  that  body. 

[The  following  is  the  substance  :  They  stated  they  had  be- 
come adventurers  in  the  country  from  the  advantageous  re- 
ports of  their  friends  who  had  explored  it ; — that  they  expect- 
ed to  obtain  land  in  fee  simple  by  an  indefeasible  title ; — that 
the  proprietors  had  advanced  the  price  of  the  purchase  money 
from  twenty  shillings  to  fifty  shillings  sterling  per  hundred 
acres,  and  "increased  the  fees  of  entry  and  surveying  to  an  ex- 
orbitant price;  that  they  had  heard  the  lands  bought  of  the  Iro- 
quois  Indians  at  Fort  Stanwix  in  1768,  included  that  part  of 
Kentucky,  and,  therefore,  doubted  the  validity  of  the  purchase 
of  the  proprietors  made  from  the  Cherokees  ; — and  they  ask 
to  be  taken  under  the  protection  of  the  colony  of  Virginia, 
and  that  measures  might  be  adopted  to  restore  peace  and  har- 
mony to  the  settlement.  And  they  add,  "If  your  honors  ap- 
prehend that  our  case  comes  more  properly  before  the  honor- 

*  So  farFincastle  county  had  been  held  to  include  Kentucky,  but  the  inhabitants  had  no 
rights  or  protections  as  citizens  of  Virginia.    Marshall,  i.  47. 


1 776.  Supplies  of  Powder  Granted.  173 

able,  the  General  Congress,  that  you  in  your  goodness  recom- 
mend the  same  to  your  worthy  delegates  to  espouse  it  as  the 
cause  of  the  Colony."  This  petition  was  signed  by  James 
Harrod  and  eighty-seven  other  men.*] 

Clark  knew  perfectly  well  that  the  Legislature  of  his  native 
State  would  not  acknowledge  the  validity  of  the  election  of 
Delegates  from  the  frontiers,  but  hoping,  nevertheless,  to  effect 
his  object,  he  and  his  companion  took  the  southern  route  by  the 
Cumberland  Gap,  and  after  suffering  agonies  from  "scald 
feet,"  at  length  reached  their  destination  only  to  learn  that 
the  Assembly  had  adjourned.  This,  of  course,  caused  a  delay 
in  part  of  their  proceedings,  but  the  keen-witted  soldier  saw, 
that,  before  the  Legislature  met  again,  he  might,  by  proper 
steps,  effect  much  that  he  wished  to ;  he  lost  no  time,  there- 
fore, in  waiting  upon  Patrick  Henry,  then  Governor,  and,  ex- 
plaining to  him  the  capabilities,  the  dangers,  the  wishes 
and  the  necessities  of  the  settlers  in  the  far  west, — asked  for  a 
supply  of  the  first  necessary  of  life,  gunpowder.  The  Gover- 
nor listened  patiently  and  gave  Clark  a  favorable  letter  to  the 
Executive  Council,  being  himself  sick  and  unable  to  go  with 
him  to  Williamsburg,  the  seat  of  government  at  that  time. 
But  the  Council  were  very  cautious,  and  while  they  would 
lend  the  powder,  if  Clark  would  be  answerable  for  it,  and  pay 
for  its  transportation,  they  dared  not,  until  the  Assembly  had 
recognized  the  Kentucky  stations  as  within  Virginia,  do  more. 
Clark  presented,  and  again  presented  the  impossibility  of  his 
conveying  the  powder  to  so  great  a  distance,  through  a  coun- 
try swarming  with  foes.  The  Council  listened  patiently,  but 
dared  not  run  any  risk.  An  order  was  issued  for  the  pow- 
der on  the  terms  proposed,  but  the  inflexible  pioneer  would 
have  none  of  it,  and  inclosing  the  order  again  to  the  Council 
told  them  that,  since  Virginia  would  not  aid  her  children,  they 
must  look  elsewhere, — that  a  land  not  worth  defending,  was 
not  worth  claiming,  of  course, — and  so  he  bade  them  good- 
bye. These  intimations  were  not  to  be  overlooked,  the 
whole  matter  was  again  weighed  in  the  Council,  and  probably 
the  Governor's  advice  taken,  after  which,  upon  the  23d  of 
August,  an  order  was  issued  for  placing  the  ammunition  re- 
quired at  Pittsburgh,  subject  to  Major  Clark's  order,  for  the 
use  of  the  inhabitants  of  "Kentucki."f 

*  See  Hall's  Sketches,  ii.  p.  236.          |  Butler,  second  edition,  433,  gives  the  order. 


174  County   of  Kentucky  Created.  1776. 

One  of  his  objects  being  thus  in  the  main  accomplished, 
Clark  prepared  himself  to  urge  the  suit  of  the  Transylvania 
colonists  before  the  Legislature,  when  it  should  meet  in  the 
fall,  having  first  written  to  his  friends  at  the  west  that  powder 
was  waiting  them  at  Pittsburgh,  which  they  must  manage  to 
get  down  the  river.  When  the  Assembly  met,  Messrs.  Clark 
and  Jones  on  the  one  hand,  and  Henderson  and  his  friends  on 
the  other,  proceeded  to  lay  before  it  the  whole  question  of 
proprietorship  in  the  Kentucky  purchase  from  the  Cherokees. 
The  contest  must  have  been  one  of  considerable  severity,  for 
it  was  not  till  December  7,  1776,*  that  the  success  of  the  Del- 
egates appointed  in  June  was  made  certain  by  the  erection 
of  the  region  in  dispute,  together  with  all  that  now  forms 
the  State  of  Kentucky,  into  a  county  of  that  name.  His 
second  great  aim  secured,  (and  he  probably  considered  it  so 
before  the  actual  passage  of  the  above  law,)  Clark  and  his  as- 
sociate were  on  the  point  of  returning  at  once  to  the  frontier 
by  the  southern  route,  as  we  presume,  when  they  fortunately 
heard  that  their  gunpowder  was  still  at  Pittsburgh.  The 
truth  was,  that  Clark's  letter  to  his  western  friends  had  mis- 
carried. At  once  the  envoys  determined  to  go  back  by  way  of 
the  Ohio,  and  see  their  five  hundred  pounds  of  ammunition 
safe  to  the  stations  themselves.  When  they  reached  Pitts- 
burgh they  learned  that  many  Indians,  it  was  thought  with 
hostile  intentions,  were  lurking  thereabouts,  who  would  pro- 
bably follow  them  down  the  river  ;  but  no  time  was  to  be  lost, 
no  matter  what  dangers  threatened,  so  with  seven  boatmen 
the  two  Delegates  embarked  upon  the  Ohio,  and  succeeded  in 
reaching  safely  Limestone  Creek,  where  Maysville  has  been 
since  built.  Setting  their  boat  adrift,  lest  it  should  attract 
attention,  they  concealed  their  treasure,  as  they  best  could, 
along  the  banks  of  the  Creek,  and  started  for  Harrodsburg  to 
procure  a  convoy.  On  the  way  they  heard  of  Colonel  Todd 
as  being  in  the  neighborhood  with  a  band  of  men  ;  Jones  and 
five  of  the  boatmen  remained  to  join  this  party  and  return 
\vith  it  for  the  powder,  while  Clark  and  the  other  two  pushed 
forward  to  the  Kentucky.  Jones  and  Todd,  having  met, 
turned  their  steps  towards  the  Ohio,  but  were  suddenly 
attacked  on  the  25th  of  December,  near  the  Blue  Licks,  by  a 
party  of  natives  who  had  struck  Clark's  trail,  were  defeated, 

*  Morehead's  Address,  56. — Butler  says  December  6th,  in  Chronology,  p.  2T. 


1776.  Situation  of  the  Country.  175 

and  Jones  with  two  others  were  killed.*  Clark,  however, 
reached  Harrodsburg  in  safety,  and  a  party  was  sent  thence 
which  brought  the  gunpowder  to  the  forts. 

The  year  1776  might  be  said  to  have  passed  without  any 
.serious  injury  to  the  colonists  from  the  various  Indian  tribes, 
although  it  was  clear,  that  those  tribes  were  to  be  looked  .on 
as  engaged  in  the  war,  and  that  the  majority  of  them  were 
with  the  mother  country.  Through  the  West  and  North-west, 
where  the  agents  of  England  could  act  to  the  greatest  advan- 
tage, dissatisfaction  spread  rapidly.  The  nations  nearest 
the  Americans  found  themselves  pressed  upon  and  harrassed 
by  the  more  distant  bands,  and  through  the  whole  winter  of 
1776-7,  rumors  were  flying  along  the  frontiers  of  Virginia 
and  Pennsylvania,  of  coming  troubles.  Nor  were  the  good 
people  of  New  York  less  disturbed  in  their  minds,  the  settlers 
upon  the  Mohawk  and  upper  Susquehanna  standing  in  con- 
tinual dread  of  incursion. f  No  incursion,  however,  took 
place  during  the  winter  or  spring  of  1777 ;  though  the 
blow  was  delayed,  why,  we  cannot  well  know,  until  Great 
Britain  has  magnanimity  enough  to  unveil  her  past  acts,  and, 
acknowledging  her  follies  and  sins,  to  show  the  world  the 
various  steps  to  that  union  of  the  savages  against  her  foes, 
which  her  noble  Chatham  denounced  as  a  "  disgrace,"  and 
"deep  and  deadly  sin." 

That  blow  was  delayed,  however;  and,  alas !  was  struck, 
at  length,  after,  and,  as  if  in  retaliation  for  one  of  those  vio- 
lent acts  of  wrong,  which  must  at  times  be  expected  from 
a  frontier  people.  We  refer  to  the  murder  of  Cornstalk, 
the  leading  chieftain  of  the  Scioto  Shawanese ;  a  man,  whose 
energy,  courage  and  good  sense,  place  him  among  the  very 
foremost  of  the  native  heroes  of  this  land.J  This  truly  great 
man,  who  was  himself  for  peace,  but  who  found  all  his  neigh- 
bors, and  even  those  of  his  own  tribe,  stirred  up  to  war  by  the 
agents  of  England,  went  over  to  the  American  fort  at  Point 
Pleasant,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  in  order  to  talk 
the  matter  over  with  Captain  Arbuckle,  who  commanded 
there,  and  with  whom  he  was  acquainted.  This  was  early 
in  the  summer  of  1777.  The  Americans,  knowing  the  Shaw- 
anese to  be  inclining  to  the  enemy,  thought  it  would  be  a 

*Clark's  Journal  in  Morehead,  161.  Also  Clark's  Account  in  Dillon's  Indiana,  128  to  130. 
•fSee  Stone,  vol,  i.  p.  191. — Doddridgc's  Indian  Wars,  <tc. 
JJournal  of  the  Old  Congress. — Stone,  &c 


176  Treacherous  Murder  of  Hostages.  1777. 

good  plan  to  retain  Cornstalk  and  Redhawk,  a  younger  chief 
of  note,  who  was  with  him,  and  make  them  hostages  for  the 
good  conduct  of  their  people.  The  old  warrior,  accordingly, 
after  he  had  finished  his  statement  of  the  position  he  was  in, 
and  the  necessity  under  which  he  and  his  friends  would  be  of. 
"going  with  the  stream,"  unless  the  Long- Knives  could  pro- 
tect them,  found  that,  in  seeking  counsel  and  safety,  he  had 
walked  into  a  trap,  and  was  fast  there.  However,  he  folded 
his  arms,  and,  with  Indian  calmness,  waited  the  issue.  The 
day  went  by.  The  next  morning  came,  and  from  the  opposite 
shore  was  heard  an  Indian  hail,  known  to  be  from  Ellinipsco, 
the  son  of  Cornstalk.  The  Americans  brought  him  also  into 
their  toils  as  a  hostage,  and  were  thankful  that  they  had  thus 
secured  to  themselves  peace ; — as  if  iniquity  and  deception 
ever  secured  that  first  condition  of  all  good !  Another  day 
rolled  by,  and  the  three  captives  sat  waiting  what  time  would 
bring.  On  the  third  day,  two  savages,  who  were  unknown  to 
the  whites,  shot  one  of  the  white  hunters  toward  evening. 
Instantly  the  dead  man's  comrades  raised  the  cry,  "Kill  the 
red  dogs  in  the  fort."  Arbuckle  tried  to  stop  them,  but  they 
were  men  of  blood,  and  their  wrath  was  up.  The  Captain's 
own  life  was  threatened  if  he  offered  any  hindrance.  They 
rushed  to  the  house  where  the  captives  were  confined ;  Corn- 
stalk met  them  at  the  door,  and  fell,  pierced  with  seven  bul- 
lets ;  his  son  and  Redhawk  died  also,  less  calmly  than  their 
veteran  companion,  and  more  painfully.  From  that  hour 
peace  wras  not  to  be  hoped  for.* 

But  this  treachery,  closed  by  murder,  on  the  part  of  the 
Americans,  in  no  degree  caused,  or  excuses  the  after-steps  of 
the  British  agents ;  for  almost  at  the  moment  when  Cornstalk 
was  dying  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  there  was  a  Congress 
gathering  at  Oswego,  under  the  eye  of  Colonel  Johnson,  "  to 
eat  the  flesh  and  drink  the  blood  of  a  Bostonian;"  in  other 
words,  to  arrange  finally  the  measures  which  should  be  taken 
against  the  devoted  rebels  by  Christian  brethren  and  their 
heathen  allies.f 

In  Kentucky,  meanwhile,  Indian  hostilities  had  been  un- 
ceasing. 

[Colonel  Clark  in  his  Diary  gives  various  details,  but  our 
space  will  not  permit  more  than  a  brief  abstract. 

*Doddridge,  237.— Withers'  Border  Warfare,  151.  -{Stone,  vol.  i.  p.  186. 


1777.  James  Ray.  177 

On  the  6th  of  March,  Thomas  Stores  and  William  Ray 
were  killed  at  the  Shawanee  Spring.  On  the  28th,  a  large 
party  of  Indians  attacked  persons  outside  the  fort  and 
killed  several.  On  the  7th  of  April,  forty  or  fifty  Indians  at- 
tacked Boonesborough,  killed  and  scalped  Daniel  Goodman, 
and  wounded  several  persons.  During  all  of  the  summer 
months  the  Indians  were  troublesome,  attacked  the  forts,  and 
not  a  week  passed  without  loss  of  life.*] 

At  times,  the  stations  were  assailed  by  large  bodies  of  sav- 
ages ;  at  times,  single  settlers  were  picked  off  by  single  skulk- 
ing foes.  The  horses  and  cattle  were  driven  away ;  the  corn 
fields  remained  uncultivated ;  the  numbers  of  the  whites  be- 
came fewer  and  fewer,  and  from  the  older  settlements  little 
or  no  aid  came  to  the  frontier  stations,  until  Col.  Bowman,  in 
August,  1777,  came  from  Virginia  with  one  hundred  men.  It 
was  a  time  of  suffering  and  distress  through  all  the  colonies, 
which  was  in  most  of  them  bravely  borne  ;  but  none  suffered 
more,  or  showed  more  courage  and  fortitude,  than  the  settlers 
of  the  West.  Their  conduct  has  excited  less  admiration  out 
of  their  own  section  than  that  of  Marion,  and  men  like  him, 
because  their  struggles  had  less  apparent  connection  with  the 
great  cause  of  American  independence.  But,  who  shall  say, 
what  would  have  become  of  the  resistance  of  the  colonies, 
had  England  been  able  to  pour  from  Canada  her  troops  upon 
the  rear  of  the  rebels,  assisted,  as  she  would  have  been,  by 
all  the  Indian  nations  ?  It  may  have  been  the  contests  before 
the  stations  of  Kentucky,  and  Clark's  bold  incursions  into  Illi- 
linois  and  against  Vincennes,  which  turned  the  oft-tottering 
fortunes  of  the  great  struggle. 

But,  however  we  may  think  on  this  point,  we  cannot  doubt 
the  picturesque  and  touching  character  of  many  incidents  of 
western  history  during  the  years  from  1777  to  1780.  Time 
has  not  yet  so  mellowed  their  features  as  to  give  them  an  air 
of  romance  precisely  ;  but  the  essence  of  romance  is  in  them. 
In  illustration,  we  will  mention  one  or  two  of  these  incidents, 
familiar  enough  in  the  West,  but  still  worthy  of  repetition. 

One  of  the  eminent  men  of  Kentucky,  in  those  and  later 
times,  was  General  James  Ray.  While  yet  a  boy,  he  had 
proved  himself  able  to  outrun  the  best  of  the  Indian  warriors; 
and  it  was  when  but  seventeen  years  of  age,  that  he  performed 

*See  Clark's  Diary  in  Morehead's  Address,  p.  162. 


178  Benjamin  Logan.  1777. 

the  service  for  a  distressed  garrison,  of  which  we  are  about 
to  speak.  It  was  the  winter  of  1776-7,  a  winter  of  starva- 
tion. Ray  lived  at  Harrodsburg,  which,  like  the  other  sta- 
tions, was  destitute  of  corn.  There  was  game  enough  in  the 
woods  around,  but  there  were  also  Indians,  more  than  enough, 
and  had  the  sound  of  a  gun  been  heard  in  the  neighborhood 
of  a  station,  it  would  have  insured  the  death  of  the  one  who 
discharged  it.  Under  these  circumstances,  Ray  resolved  to 
hunt  at  a  distance.  There  was  one  horse  left  of  a  drove  of 
forty,  which  Major  Me  Gary  had  brought  to  the  West ;  an  old 
horse,  faithful  and  strong,  but  not  fitted  to  run  the  gauntlet 
through  the  forest.  Ray  took  this  solitary  nag,  and  before 
day-dawn,  day  by  day,  and  week  by  week,  rode  noiselessly 
along  the  runs  and  rivers  until  he  was  far  enough  to  hunt  with 
safety  ;  then  he  killed  his  game,  and  by  night,  or  in  the  dusk 
of  the  evening,  retraced  his  steps.  And  thus  the  garrison 
lived  by  the  daring  labors  of  this  stripling  of  seventeen.  Older 
hunters  tried  his  plan,  and  were  discovered;  but  he,  by  his 
sagacity,  boldness,  care  and  skill,  safely  pursued  his  disinter- 
ested and  dangerous  employment,  and  succeeded  in  constantly 
avoiding  the  perils  that  beset  him.  We  do  not  think  that 
Boone,  or  any  one,  ever  showed  more  perfectly  the  qualities 
of  a  superior  woodsman  than  did  Ray  through  that  winter. 

If  any  one  did,  however,  it  was  surely  Benjamin  Logan,  in 
the  spring  of  that  same  year.  Logan,  as  we  have  seen, 
crossed  the  mountains  with  Henderson,  in  1775,  and  was  of 
course  one  of  the  oldest  settlers.  In  May,  1777,  the  fort  at 
which  Logan  lived,  was  surrounded  by  Indians,  more  than  a 
hundred  in  number ;  and  so  silently  had  they  made  their  ap- 
proach, that  the  first  notice  which  the  garrison  had  of  their 
presence  was  a  discharge  of  firearms  upon  some  men  who 
were  guarding  the  women  as  they  milked  the  cows  outside 
the  station.  One  was  killed,  a  second  mortally  wounded, 
and  a  third,  named  Harrison,  disabled.  This  poor  man,  una- 
ble to  aid  himself,  lay  in  sight  of  the  fort,  where  his  wife, 
who  saw  his  condition,  was  begging  some  one  to  go  to  his 
relief.  But  to  attempt  such  a  thing  seemed  madness ;  for 
whoever  ventured  from  either  side  into  the  open  ground, 
where  Harrison  lay  writhing  and  groaning,  would  instantly 
become  a  target  for  all  the  sharp-shooters  of  the  opposite 
party.  For  some  moments  Logan  stood  it  pretty  well ;  he 


1777.  Benjamin  Logan.  179 

tried  to  persuade  himself,  and  the  poor  woman,  who  was 
pleading  to  him,  that  his  duty  required  him  to  remain  within 
the  walls  and  let  the  savages  complete  their  bloody  work. 
But  such  a  heart  as  his  was  too  warm  to  be  long  restrained  by 
arguments  and  judicious  expediency  ;  and  suddenly,  turning 
to  his  men,  he  cried,  "Come,  boys,  who's  the  man  to  help  me 
in  with  Harrison?"  There  were  brave  men  there,  but  to  run 
into  certain  death  in  order  to  save  a  man,  whom,  after  all, 
they  could  not  save, — it  was  asking  too  much  ;  and  all  shook 
their  heads  and  shrunk  back  from  the  mad  proposal.  "Not 
one  !  not  one  of  you  help  a  poor  fellow  to  save  his  scalp  ?  " 
"Why,  what's  the  good,  Captain?  to  let  the  red  rascals  kill 
us  won't  help  Harrison?"  At  last,  one,  half  inspired  by  Lo- 
gan's impetuous  courage,  agreed  to  go  ;  he  could  die  but  once, 
he  said,  and  was  about  as  ready  then,  as  he  should  ever  be. 
The  gate  was  slightly  opened,  and  the  two  doomed  men 
stepped  out;  instantly  a  tempest  of  rifle  balls  opened  upon 
them,  and  Logan's  companion  rapidly  reasoning  himself  into 
the  belief  that  he  was  not  so  ready  to  die  as  he  had  believed, 
bolted  back  into  the  station.  Not  so  his  noble-hearted  leader. 
Alone,  through  that  tempest,  he  sprang  forward  to  where  the 
wounded  man  lay,  and  while  his  hat,  hunting-shirt,  and  hair 
were  cut  and  torn  by  the  ceaseless  shower,  he  lifted  his  com- 
rade like  a  child  in  his  arms,  and  regained  the  fort  without  a 
scratch. 

But  this  rescue  of  a  fellow-being,  though  worthy  of  record 
in  immortal  verse,  was  nothing  compared  with  what  this  same 
Benjamin  Logan  did  soon  after.  The  Indians  continued  their 
siege  ;  still  they  made  no  impression,  but  the  garrison  were 
running  short  of  powder  and  ball,  and  none  could  be  procur- 
ed except  by  crossing  the  mountains.  To  do  this,  the  neigh- 
boring forest  must  be  passed,  thronging  with  Indians,  and  a 
journey  of  some  hundreds  of  miles  accomplished,  along  a  path, 
every  portion  of  which  might  be  waylaid,  and  at  least  the  fort 
must  be  re-entered  with  the  articles  so  much  needed  Surely, 
if  ever  an  enterprise  seemed  hopeless,  it  was  this  one,  and 
yet  the  thing  must  be  tried.  Logan  pondered  the  matter 
carefully ;  he  calculated  the  distance,  not  less  than  four  hun- 
dred miles  and  back  ;  he  estimated  the  aid  from  other  quar- 
ters ;  and  in  the  silence  of  night  asked  wisdom  and  guidance 
from  God.  Nor  did  he  ask  in  vain;  wisdom  was  given  him. 


180  Benjamin  Logan.  1777. 

At  night,  with  two  picked  companions,  he  stole  from  the  sta- 
tion, every  breath  hushed.  The  summer  leaves  were  thick 
above  them,  and  with  the  profoundest  care  and  skill,  Logan 
guided  his  followers  from  tree  to  tree,  from  run  to  run,  unseen 
by  the  savages,  who  dreamed  not,  probably,  of  so  dangerous 
an  undertaking.  Quickly,  but  most  cautiously,  pushing  east- 
ward, walking  forty  or  fifty  miles  a  day,  the  three  woodsmen 
passed  onward  till  the  Cumberland  range  was  in  sight ;  then, 
avoiding  the  Gap,  which  they  supposed  would  be  watched 
by  Indians,  over  those  rugged  hills,  where  man  had  never 
climbed  before,  they  forced  their  way  with  untiring  energy 
and  a  rapidity  to  us,  degenerate  as  we  are,  inconceivable. 
The  mountains  crossed,  and  the  valley  of  theHolston  reached, 
Logan  procured  his  ammunition,  and  then  turned  alone  on 
his  homeward  track,  leaving  his  two  companions,  with  full 
directions,  to  follow  him  more  slowly  with  the  lead  and  pow- 
der. He  returned  before  them,  because  he  wished  to  revive 
the  hopes  of  his  little  garrison  in  the  wilderness,  numbering, 
as  it  did,  in  his  absence,  only  ten  men,  and  they  without  the 
means  of  defence.  He  feared  they  would  yield,  if  he  delayed 
an  hour;  so,  back,  like  a  chamois,  he  sped,  over  those  broken 
and  precipitous  ranges,  and  actually  reached  and  re-entered 
his  fort  in  ten  days  from  the  time  he  left  it,  safe  and  full  of 
hope.  Such  a  spirit  would  have  made  even  women  dare  and 
do  every  thing,  and  by  his  influence  the  siege  was  still  resisted 
till  the  ammunition  came  safe  to  hand.  From  May  till  Septem- 
ber that  little  band  was  thus  beset :  then  Colonel  Bowman 
relieved  them.  In  the  midst  of  that  summer,  as  George  Rogers 
Clark's  journal  has  it,  "Lieutenant  Linn  was  married — great 
merriment !"  This  was  at  Harrodsburg,  near  by  Logan's  sta- 
tion. Such  was  the  frontier  life  ! 

It  was  a  trying  year,  1777,  for  those  little  forts  in  the  wil- 
derness. At  the  close  of  it,  three  settlements  only  existed  in 
the  interior.  Harrodsburg,  Boonesborough,  and  Logan's;*  and, 
of  these  three,  the  whole  military  population  was  but  one 
hundred  and  two  in  number! 

Nor  was  it  in  Kentucky  alone  that  the  Indians  were  busy. 
Through  the  spring  and  summer  constant  attacks  were  made 
upon  the  settlements  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wheeling.  At  this 
point,  as  we  have  already  said,  the  Zanes  had  settled  in  1770, 

•See  Butler,  Marshall,  McClung,  ic. 


1777.  Indian  Attack  upon  Fort  Henry.  181 

and  here,  in  1774,  Connolly,  or  the  settlers,  by  his  direction,  had 
built  a  fort  called  Fort  Fincastle,*  the  name  of  the  western 
county  of  Virginia.  In  this  a  body  of  men  was  left  by  Lord 
Dunmore,  when  he  made  his  treaty  with  the  Shawanese,f  and 
through  the  whole  of  1775  and  1776  it  was  occupied  by  more  or 
fewer  soldiers;  indeed,  in  those  times  all  men  were  soldiers,  and 
hostility  from  the  Indians  daily  anticipated.  This  fort,  in  1776, 
was  called,  in  honor  of  the  eloquent  governor  of  Virginia, 
Fort  Henry ,J  and  was  the  central  point  between  Fort  Pitt  and 
the  works  at  the  mouth  of  Kanawha.  In  the  early  autumn 
of  1777,  word  frora  friendly  Indians,  perhaps  the  Christian 
Delawares,  of  the  Muskingum,  or  perhaps  from  Isaac  Zane, 
the  brother  of  the  Wheeling  settlers,§  reached  General  Hand, 
who  commanded  at  Fort  Pitt,  informing  him  that  a  large  body 
of  the  north-western  Indians  was  preparing  to  attack  the 
posts  of  the  Upper  Ohio.  This  news  was  quickly  spread 
abroad,  and  all  were  watching  where  the  blow  would  come. 
On  the  evening  of  September  26,  smoke  was  seen  by  those 
near  Wheeling,  down  the  river,  and  was  supposed  to  proceed 
from  the  burning  of  the  block-house  at  Grave  Creek,  and  the 
people  of  the  vicinity  taking  the  alarm,  betook  themselves  to 
the  fort.  Within  its  walls  were  forty-two  fighting  men,  of 
various  ages  and  gifts:  These  were  well  supplied  with  guns, 
both  rifles  and  muskets,  but  had  only  a  scanty  supply  of  gun- 
powder, as  the  event  proved.  The  night  of  the  26th  passed 
without  alarm,  but  when,  very  early  upon  the  27th,  two  men, 
who  were  sent  out  for  horses,  in  order  to  alarm  the  settlements 
near  by,  had  proceeded  some  distance  from  the  fort,  they  met 
a  party  of  six  savages,  by  whom  one  of  them  was  shot.  The 
commandant  of  the  post,  Col.  Shepherd,  learning  from  the 
survivor  that  there  were  but  six  of  the  assailants,  sent  a  party 
of  fifteen  men  to  see  to  them.  These  \veresuffered  to  march 
after  the  six,  who  seem  to  have  been  merely  a  decoy,  until 
they  were  within  the  Indian  lines,  when,  suddenly,  in  front, 
behind,  and  on  every  side,  the  painted  warriors  showed  them- 
selves. The  little  band  fought  bravely  against  incalculable 

•George  K.  Clark  is  said  to  have  planted  it.    (American  Pioneer,  ii.  303.) 
f  American  Archives,  4th  series,  ii.  1189. 
J  American  Pioneer,  ii.  304. 

\  Isaac  Zane  was  with  the  Wyandots  from  the  time  he  was  nine  years  old.    American 
State  Paperi,  xvi,  93-121. 


182  Indians  led  by  Simon    Girty.  1777. 

odds,  but  of  the  fifteen,  three  only  escaped,  and  they  by  means 
of  the  brush  and  logs  which  were  in  the  corn  field,  where  the 
skirmish  took  place.  As  soon  as  the  position  of  the  first  band 
was  seen  at  the  fort,  thirteen  others  rushed  to  their  assistance, 
and  shared  their  fate.  Then,  and  it  was  not  yet  sunrise,  the 
whole  body  of  Indians,  disposed  in  somewhat  martial  order, 
appeared  regularly  to  invest  the  devoted  fort.  There  were 
nearly  four  hundred  of  them,  and  of  the  defenders  but  twelve 
men  and  boys ;  unless,  indeed,  we  count  women,  than  whom,  as 
we  shall  sec,  none  were  braver  or  calmer  within  the  walls  of  that  lit- 
tle fortress. 

The  Indians  were  led  by  Simon  Girty,  who  was  acting  as 
an  agent  for  the  British  in  the  attempt  to  secure  the  aid  of  a 
part,  at  any  rate,  of  the  frontier  men,  in  the  Revolutionary 
struggle. 

Fort  Henry  stood  immediately  upon  the  bank  of  the  Ohio, 
about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  above  the  mouth  of  Wheeling  Creek ; 
between  it  and  the  steep  river  hill,  which  every  traveler  in  the 
West  is   acquainted  with,  were  twenty  or  thirty  log  huts. 
When  Girty,  then,  as  we  have  said,  led  his  red  troops  against 
the  fort,  he  at  once  took  possession  of  the  houses  ol  the  vil- 
lage as  a  safe  and  ready-made  line  of  attack,  and  from  the 
window  of  one  of  the  cabins  called  upon  the  little  garrison 
to  surrender  to  King  George,  and  promised  absolution  to  all 
who  would  do  so.     Col.  Shepherd  answered  at  once  that  they 
would  neither  desert  nor  yield;  and  when  Girty  recommenced 
his  eloquence,  a  shot  from  some  impatient  listener  suddenly 
stopped  his  mouth.     Then  commenced  the  siege.    It  was  just 
sunrise  in  the  valley,  through  which  the  quiet  river  flowed  as 
peacefully  as  if  war  was  never  known.    A  calm,  warm, bright 
September  day — one  of  those  days  most  lovely  among  the 
many  pleasant  ones  of  a  year  in  the  Ohio  valley.     And  from 
sunrise  till  noon,  and  from  noon  till  night  of  that  day,  the 
hundreds  of  besiegers  and  units  of  besieged  about  and  within 
Eort  Henry,  ceased  not  to  load  and  discharge  musket  or  rifle 
till  it  was  too  hot  to  hold.     About  noon  the  fire  of  the  assail- 
ants slackened,  and  then,  as  powder  was  scarce  in  the  fort,  and 
it  was  remembered  that  a  keg  was  concealed  in  the  house  of 
Ebenezer  Zane,  some  sixty  yards  distant,  it  was  determined  to 
make  an  effort  to  obtain  it.     When  the   question  "Who  will 
go  ?"  was  proposed,  however,  so  many  competitors  appeared 


1777.  Elizabeth  Zanc.  183 

that  time  was  wasted  in  adjusting  claims  to  what  was  almost 
sure  death.  The  rest  of  the  story  we  must  let  Mr.  George  S. 
McKiernan,  from  whom  we  take  our  whole  account  nearly, 
tell  in  his  own  words: 

At  this  crisis,  a  young  lady,  the  sister  of  Ebenezer  and  Silas 
Zane,  came  forward  and  desired  that  she  might  be  permitted 
to  execute  the  service.  This  proposition  seemed  so  extrava- 
gant that  it  met  with  a  peremptory  refusal ;  but  she  instantly 
renewed  her  petition  in  terms  of  redoubled  earnestness,  and 
all  the  remonstrances  of  the  Colonel  and  her  relatives  failed 
to  dissuade  her  from,  her  heroic  purpose.  It  was  finally  re- 
presented to  her  that  either  of  the  young  men,  on  account  of 
his  superior  fleetness  and  familiarity  with  scenes  of  danger, 
would  be  more  likely  than  herself  to  do  the  work  successfully. 
She  replied  that  the  danger  which  would  attend  the  enter- 
prise was  the  identical  reason  that  induced  her  to  offer  her 
services,  for,  as  the  garrison  was  very  weak,  no  soldier's  life 
should  be  placed  in  needless  jeopardy,  and  that,  if  she  were  to 
fall,  the  loss  would  not  be  felt.  Her  petition  was  ultimately 
granted,  and  the  gate  opened  for  her  to  pass  out.  The  open- 
ing of  the  gate  arrested  the  attention  of  several  Indians  who 
were  straggling  through  the  village.  It  was  noticed  that  their 
eyes  were  upon  her  as  she  crossed  the  open  space  to  reach  her 
brother's  house ;  but  seized,  perhaps  with  a  sudden  freak  of 
clemency,  or  believing  that  a  woman's  life  was  not  worth  a 
load  of  gunpowder,  or  influenced  by  some  other  unexplained 
motive,  they  permitted  her  to  pass  without  molestation. 
When  she  reappeared  with  the  powder  in  her  arms,  the  In- 
dians suspecting,  no  doubt,  the  character  of  her  burden,  eleva- 
ted their  firelocks  and  discharged  a  volley  at  her  as  she  swiftly 
glided  towards  the  gate  ;  but  the  balls  flew  wide  of  the  mark 
and  the  fearless  girl  reached  the  fort  in  safety  with  her  prize.* 

The  allies  of  Britain,  finding  rifles  powerless  when  used 
against  well-built  block-houses  and  pickets,  determined  upon 
trying  an  extemporary  cannon,  and  having  bound  a  hollow 
maple  with  chains,  having  bored  a  touch  hole,  and  plugged  up 
one  end,  they  loaded  it  liberally  and  leveled  it  at  the  gate  of 
the  impregnable  castle.  It  was  now  evening,  and  the  disap- 
pointed Wyandots  gathered  about  their  artillery,  longing  to 
see  its  loading  of  stones  open  to  them  the  door  of  the  American 
citadel.  The  match  was  applied;  bursting  into  a  thousand 
pieces,  the  cannon  of  Girty  tore,  maimed,  and  killed  his 
copper-colored  kinsfolk,  but  hurt  no  one  else «f 

*  See  American  Pioneer,  vol.  ii.  p,  309. 

f  This  incident,  and  the  heroic  act  of  Elizabeth  Zane,  are  placed  by  Withers  in  the  sieo-e 
of  Fort  Henry  in  1782,  (Border  Warfare,  263-264.)  We  follow  the  writer  in  the  Pioneer, 
who  is  represented  as  an  accurat  e  man  ;  Withers  was  not  always  so. 


184  Exploits  of  Maj.  McColloch.  1777. 

During  that  night  many  of  the  assailants  withdrew  disheart- 
ened. On  the  morning  of  the  28th,  fifteen  men  came  from 
Cross  Creek  to  the  aid  of  Fort  Henry,  and  forty-one  from 
Short  Creek.  Of  these  all  entered  the  fort  except  Major  Mc- 
Colloch, the  leader  of  the  Short  Creek  volunteers.  He  was 
separated  from  his  men,  and  at  the  mercy  of  the  natives,  and 
here  again  we  prefer  to  use  the  words  of  Mr.  McKiernan: 

From  the  very  commencement  of  the  war,  his  reputation 
as  an  Indian  hunter  was  as  great,  if  not  greater,  than  that  of 
any  white  man  on  the  north-western  border.     He  had  parti- 
cipated in   so  many  rencounters  that  almost   every  warrior 
possessed  a  knowledge  of  his  person.     Among  the  Indians  his 
name  was  a  word  of  terror ;  they  cherished  against  him  feel- 
ings of  the  most  phrenzied  hatred,  and  there  was  not  aMingo 
or  Wyandot  chief  before  Fort  Henry  who  would  not  have 
given  the  lives  of  twenty  of  his  warriors  to  secure  to  himself 
the  living  body  of  Major   McColloch.     When,  therefore,  the 
man,  whom  they  had  long  marked  out  as  the  first  object  of 
their  vengeance,  appeared  in  their  midst,  they  made  almost 
superhuman  efforts  to  acquire  possession  of  his  person.     The 
fleetness  of  McColloch's  well-trained  steed  was  scarcely  greater 
than  that  of  his  enemies,  who,  with  flying  strides,  moved  on 
in  pursuit.     At  length  the  hunter  reached  the  top  of  the  hill, 
and,  turning  to  the  left,  darted  along  the  ridge  with  the  inten- 
tion of  making  the  best  of  his  way  to  Short  Creek.     A  ride  of 
a  few  hundred  yards  in  that  direction  brought  him  suddenly  in 
contact  with  a  party  of  Indians  who  were  returning  to  their 
camp  from  a  marauding  excursion  to  Mason's  Bottom,  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  hill.     This  party,  being  too  formidable  in 
numbers  to   encounter  single-handed,  the  Major  turned  his 
horse  about  and  rode  over  his  own  trace,  in  the  hope  of  dis- 
covering some  other  avenue  to  escape.     A  few  paces  only  of 
his  countermarch  had  been  made,  when  he  found  himself  con- 
fronted by  his  original  pursuers,  \vho  had,  by  this  time,  gained 
the  top  of  the  ridge,  and  a  third  party  was  discovered  press- 
ing up  the  hill  directly  on  his  right.     He  was  now  completely 
hemmed  in  on  three  sides,  and  the  fourth  was  almost  a  perpen- 
dicular precipice  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  descent,  with 
Wheeling  Creek  at  its  base.     The  imminence  of  his  danger 
allowed  him  but  little  time  to   reflect  upon  his  situation.     In 
an  instant  he  decided  upon  his  course.     Supporting  his  rifle 
in  his  left  hand  and  carefully  adjusting  his  reins  with   the 
other,  he  urged  his  horse  to  the  brink  of  the  bluff,  and  then 
made  the  leap  which  decided  his  fate.     In  the  next  moment 
the  noble  steed,  still  bearing  his  intrepid  rider  in  safety,  was  at 
the  foot   of  the  precipice.     McColloch   immediately   dashed 
across  the  creek,  and  was  soon  beyond  the  reach  of  the  Indians.* 

*  American  Pioneer,  vol.  ii.  p.  312. 


1777.  Captain  Joseph  Ogle.  185 

Finding  all  attempts  to  take  the  fort  fruitless,  the  Indians 
killed  all  the  stock,  including  more  than  three  hundred  cattle, 
burned  houses  and  fences,  and  destroyed  every  article  of 
furniture. 

Of  the  forty-two  men  who  had  been  in  the  fort,  twenty-five 
were  killed,  all  outside  of  the  walls ;  of  the  savages,  probably 
one  hundred  perished.* 

[The  Zanes,  and  a  number  of  other  families,  came  from  the 
South  branch  of  the  Potomac,  and  located  themselves  on  the 
site  of  Wheeling,  in  1769.  Of  the  number  were  Capt.  Joseph 
Ogle  and  his  brother  Jacob  Ogle.  The  latter  was  mortally 
wounded  in  the  siege  of  Fort  Henry,  and  the  former,  with 
twelve  men,  went  out  to  the  rescue  of  Captain  Mason,  who 
had  been  dispatched  with  fourteen  men,  by  Colonel  Shepherd, 
to  drive  the  Indians  from  the  corn-field,  where  they  were 
secreted. 

The  self-devoted  band  under  Captain  Ogle,  in  their  eager- 
ness to  relieve  their  fellow-soldiers  under  Mason,  fell  into  an 
ambuscade,  and  two-thirds  of  their  number  were  slain  on  the 
spot.  The  fort  now  contained  but  thirteen  men  and  boys, 
with  a  large  number  of  women  and  children,  when  Girty  and 
his  four  hundred  Indians  entered  the  village  and  called  on  them 
to  surrender.  Captain  Ogle  escaped  in  the  brush  wood,  ran 
to  the  nearest  settlement,  rallied  Major  McColloch,  and  the 
men  of  Short  Creek,  and  accompanied  them  next  morning  to 
the  fort.  In  this  manner  the  garrison  was  saved. 

Captain  Ogle,  in  1785,  emigrated  to  the  Illinois  country, 
where  he  was  one  of  its  bravest  defenders,  and  has  left  a 
numerous  posterity .f 

As  Simon  Girty  will  figure  in  the  Annals  as  a  leader  in  the 
marauding  enterprises  of  the  Indian^,  and  as  a  partisan  of  the- 
British,  it  will  be  interesting  to  the  reader  to  have  some  par- 
ticulars of  his  history  and  that  of  his  family  and  associates. 
We  copy  from  the  life  of  Boone,  in  the  Library  of  American 
Biography,  vol.  xxiii. 

"Amongst  the  Indians  north-west  of  the  Ohio,  were  two 


*  See  Wither.,'  Border  Warfare,  160.  American  Pioneer,  ii.  302-314-339.  Tha  usual 
date  of  the  attack  is  September  1.  Mr.  McKiernan  gires  good  authority  for  his  dates,, 
which  we  follow. 

f  How's  Virginia,  pp.  409-413.    See  Appendix,  Illinois. 

12 


186  The  Girty  Family.  1777. 

white  men  of  the  names  of  McKee  and  Girty,  whose  agency 
and  influence  were  most  disastrous  to  the  frontier  settlements. 
Colonel  McKee  was  the  official  agent  of  the  British  govern- 
ment, and  obtained  great  influence  over  the  tribes  of  the 
north-west,  and  had  an  infamous  notoriety  for  the  atrocities 
committed  under  his  sanction,  and  the  success  of  his  intrigues. 
His  name  must  ever  remain  associated  with  the  darkest  deeds 
recorded  in  the  annals  of  the  West.  Doubtless,  the  barbari- 
ties committed  on  the  defenceless  inhabitants,  and  even  on 
prisoners  in  his  presence  and  by  his  sanction,  have  been  ex- 
aggerated by  rumor,  and  magnified  by  the  resentment  of  those 
who  have  suffered  by  his  cruelties ;  yet  enough  appears  of 
known  official  conduct,  attested  by  American  officers  of  high 
station,  and  by  witnesses  of  unimpeachable  character,  to  blast 
his  reputation,  and  cause  his  name  to  be  held  in  abhorrence." 

Simon  Girty  was  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  a  soldier  and 
spy  under  Lord  Dunmore,  and  a  companion  of  Simon  Kenton 
in  the  campaign  of  1774.  He  had  three  brothers,  George, 
James  and  Thomas.  Girty,  their  father,  was  an  emigrant 
from  Ireland,  and  settled  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  be- 
came idle,  thriftless,  and  intemperate.  He  was  killed  by  In- 
dians, according  to  some  accounts,  but  according  to  others,  by 
his  wife's  seducer,  who  subsequently  married  her.  In  1755, 
their  home  was  attacked  by  the  Indians,  burnt,  and  the  whole 
family  taken  prisoners.  The  husband  and  step-father  was 
burnt  at  the  stake  in  their  presence,  and  the  mother  and  four 
brothers  scattered  among  the  north-western  tribes. 

Thomas  made  his  escape,  fell  in  with  General  Armstrong, 
and  got  back  to  Western  Pennsylvania,  where  he  settled  and 
lived  a  worthy  citizen  to  the  close  of  his  life,  which  took  place 
in  1820,  in  the  ninetieth  year  of  his  age. 

George  was  adopted  by  the  Delawares,  and  lived  with  them 
until  his  death.  He  becqjne  a  perfect  savage,  and  to  consum- 
mate cunning  he  added  fearless  intrepidity.  He  fought  in  the 
battles  of  Point  Pleasant,  Blue  Licks  and  Sandusky.  He  was 
beastly  intemperate  in  the  latter  part  of  his  life,  and  died 
about  1S18,  on  the  Maumee  of  the  Lake. 

James  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Shawanese,  who  adopted 
him  as  a  son,  and  trained  him  in  all  the  arts  of  savage  war- 
fare. His  repeated  visits  to  Kentucky  as  the  leader  of  ma- 
rauding parties,  were  a  terrible  scourge  to  the  people,  for  he 
was  bloodthirsty,  cruel,  ferocious  and  hard-hearted.  Many 
of  his  barbarous  deeds  were  attributed  to  his  brother  Simon. 


1777.  Exploits  of  Simon  Girty.  187 

Yet  this  monster  was  caressed  by  Elliott  and  Proctor  in  the 
war  of  1812. 

The  family  were  exchanged  in  1758,  at  Gen.  Forbes'  treaty, 
but  only  the  mother  and  Simon  returned. 

Simon  had  been  adopted  by  the  Senecas,  and  became  an  ex- 
pert hunter,  and  after  his  return,  was  for  a  time  in  Western 
Pennsylvania.  He  left  that  region  at  the  commencement  of 
the  Revolutionary  war,  being  a  decided  tory.  He  joined  the 
Indians  and  often  led  their  marauding  parties.  His  residence 
was  at  Sandusky,  where  he  kept  a  trading-house.  Here  he 
witnessed  the  burning  of  Colonel  Crawford,  and  there  is  some 
evidence,  that  he  made  an  unsuccessful  effort  to  save  his  life. 

Here  he  saved  the  life  of  Simon  Kenton,  after  he  was  tied 
to  the  stake,  for  they  were  fellow  soldiers  in  Dunmore's  war, 
and  "shared  the  same  blanket."  His  friendship  to  the  Indians 
and  British,  and  his  hatred  to  the  United  States,  continued 
through  life. 

When  intoxicated,  which  was  frequent,  he  was  violent  and 
abusive,  and  spared  neither  friend  or  foe.  During  the  last 
ten  years  of  his  life  he  suffered  much  from  rheumatism.  He 
was  in  the  war  of  1812,  was  at  Proctor's  defeat  on  the  river 
Thames,  and  was  killed  by  Col.  Johnson's  mounted  men,"* 

*  American  Pioneer,  ii.  302-314.    Incidents  of  Border  Life,  p.  133.    Howe's  Virginia* 
pp.  409-413. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

".      r  • 

CONQUEST  OF  ILLINOIS. 

Proposition  of  Col.  Clark  to  the  Governor  of  Virginia — Private  instructions  by  the  Council 
— Raises  troops  in  the  Weat — Expedition  to  the  Illinois  country — Kaskaskia  and  Caho- 
kia  taken — Post  Vincent  surrendered — Indian  Treaties — Vincennes  retaken  by  Colonel 
Hamilton — Col.  Clark's  Expedition  to  Vincennes  and  success — Hamilton  a  prisoner  and 
senl  to  Virginia — The  results  to  the  United  States. 

But,  notwithstanding  the  dangers  and  difficulties  which  sur- 
rounded them  during  1777,  the  pioneers  of  the  West  held 
steadily  to  their  purposes,  and  those  of  Kentucky  being  now 
a  component  part  of  the  citizens  of  Virginia,  proceeded  to 
exercise  their  civil  privileges,  and,  in  April,  elected  John  Todd 
and  Richard  Callaway,  burgesses  to  represent  them  in  the  As- 
sembly of  the  parent  State.  Early  in  the  following  Septem- 
ber, the  first  court  was  held  at  Harrodsburg;  and  Col.  Bowman, 
who,  as  we  have  mentioned,  had  arrived  from  the  settlements 
in  August,  was  placed  at  the  head  of  a  regular  military  organi- 
zation which  had  been  commenced  the  March  previous.  Thus, 
within  herself,  feeble  as  she  was,  Kentucky  was  organizing  ; 
and  George  Rogers  Clark,  her  chief  spirit,  he  that  had  repre- 
sented her  beyond  the  mountains  the  year  before,  was  medi- 
tating another  trip  to  Williamsburg,  for  the  purpose  of  urging 
a  bolder  and  more  decided  measure  than  any  yet  proposed. 
He  understood  the  whole  game  of  the  British.  He  saw  that 
it  was  through  their  possession  of  Detroit,  Vincennes,  Kas- 
kaskia, and  the  other  western  posts — which  gave  them  easy 
arid  constant  access  to  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  north-west — • 
that  the  British  hoped  to  effeet  such  an  union  of  the  wild  men 
as  would  annihilate  the  frontier  fortresses.  He  knew  that 
the  Delawares  were  divided  in  feeling,  and  the  Shawanese 
but  imperfectly  united  in  favor  of  England,  ever  since  the 
murder  of  Cornstalk.  He  was  convinced,  that  could  the 
British  in  the  north-west  be  defeated  and  expelled,  the  na- 
tives might  be  easily  awed  or  bribed  into  neutrality ;  and  by 
spies  sent  for  the  purpose,  and  who  were  absent  from  April 


1777.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  189 

20,  to  June  22d,  he  had  satisfied  himself  that  an  enterprise 
against  the  Illinois  settlements  might  easily  succeed.  Having 
made  up  his  mind,  on  the  1st  of  October,  he  left  Harrodsburg 
for  the  East,  and  reached  the  capital  of  Virginia,  November 
the  5th.  Opening  his  mind  to  no  one,  he  watched  with  care 
the  state  of  feeling  among  those  in  power,  waiting  the  proper 
moment  to  present  his  scheme.  Fortunately,  while  he  was 
upon  his  road,  on  the  17th  of  October,  Burgoyne  had  surren- 
dered, and  hope  was  again  predominant  in  the  American 
councils.  When,  therefore,  the  Western  soldier,  upon  the 
10th  of  December,  broke  the  subject  of  his  proposed  expedi- 
tion against  the  forts  on  the  far  distant  Mississippi,  to  Patrick 
Henry,  who  was  still  governor,  he  met  with  a  favorable  hear- 
ing ;  and,  though  doubts  and  fears  arose  by  degrees,  yet  so 
well  digested  were  his  plans,  that  he  was  able  to  meet  each 
objection,  and  remove  every  seeming  impossibility.  Already 
the  necessity  of  securing  the  western  posts  had  been  pre- 
sented to  the  consideration  of  Congress ;  as  early  as  April  29, 
1776,  the  committee  on  Indian  Affairs  were  instructed  to  re- 
port upon  the  possibility  of  taking  Detroit;*  and,  again,  upon 
the  20th  of  November,  1777,  a  report  was  made  to  that  body, 
in  which  this  necessity  was  urged,  and  also  the  need  that 
existed,  of  taking  some  measure  to  prevent  the  spirit  of  dis- 
affection from  spreading  among  the  frontier  inhabitants.! 
Three  Commissioners,  also,  were  chosen  to  go  to  Fort  Pitt,  for 
the  purpose  of  enquiring  into  the  causes  of  the  frontier  dif- 
ficulties, and  doing  what  could  be  done,  to  secure  all  the 
whites  to  the  American  cause,  to  cultivate  the  friendship  of 
the  Shawanese  and  Delawares,  and  to  concert  with  General 
Hand,  some  measures  for  pushing  the  war  westward,  so  as  to 
obtain  possession  of  Detroit  and  other  posts.  General  Wash- 
ington was  also  requested  to  send  Colonel  William  Crawford, 
an  old  pioneer,  to  take  active  command  in  the  West ;  and  he 
accordingly  left  head  quarters  upon  the  25th.  All  this  ended 
in  nothing,  but  it  proved  the  correctness  of  Clark's  views,  and 
aided,  we  may  suppose,  in  convincing  those  who  ruled  in  the 
Ancient  Dominion,  that  their  glory  and  interest,  as  well  as  the 
safety  of  the  whole  frontier  country,  were  deeply  involved  in 
the  success  of  the  bold  plan  of  the  founder  of  Kentucky. 

*  Secret  Journals,  i.  43. 

I  Old  Journals,  vol.  ii.  p.  340. 


190  Conquest  of  Illinois.  1777. 

[We  purposely  omit  the  annals  of  the  earl}*  settlements  of 
Illinois,  that  we  may  give  them  in  consecutive  order,  with 
many  facts  in  detail  in  our  Appendix.] 

Clark,  having  satisfied  the  Virginia  leaders  of  the  feasibility 
of  his  plan,  received,  on  the  2d  of  January,  two  sets  of  in- 
structions— the  one  open,  authorising  him  to  enlist  seven  com- 
panies to  go  to  Kentucky,  subject  to  his  orders,  and  to  serve 
for  three  months  from  their  arrival  in  the  West ;  the  other  set 
secret,  and  drawn  as  follows : 

VIRGINIA:  Set.  IN  COUNCIL,  WILLIAMSBURG,  Jan.  2d.,  1778. 
Lieutenant  Colonel  George  Rogers  Clark : 

You  are  to  proceed,  with  all  convenient  speed,  to  raise 
seven  companies  of  soldiers,  to  consist  of  fifty  men  each,  of- 
ficered in  the  usual  manner,  and  armed  most  properly  for  the 
enterprize;  and  with  this  force  attack  the  British  force  at 
Kaskasky. 

It  is  conjectured,  that  there  are  many  pieces  of  cannon  and 
military  stores,  to  considerable  amount  at  that  place  ;  the 
taking  and  preservation  of  which,  would  be  a  valuable  ac- 
quisition to  the  State.  If  you  are  so  fortunate,  therefore,  as 
to  succeed  in  your  expedition,  you  will  take  every  possible 
measure  to  secure  the  artillery  and  stores,  and  whatever  may 
advantage  the  State. 

For  the  transportation  of  the  troops,  provisions,  &c.,  down 
the  Ohio,  you  are  to  apply  to  the'  commanding  officer  at  Fort 
Pitt,  for  boats ;  and,  during  the  whole  transaction,  you  are  to 
take  especial  care  to  keep  the  true  destination  of  your  force 
secret :  its  success  depends  upon  this.  Orders  are,  therefore, 
given  to  Capt.  Smith  to  secure  the  two  men  from  Kaskasky. 
Similar  conduct  will  be  proper  in  similar  cases. 

It  is  earnestly  desired  that  you  show  humanity  to  such 
British  subjects,  and  other  persons,  as  fall  in  your  hands.  If 
the  white  inhabitants  at  that  post  and  neighborhood,  will 
give  undoubted  evidence  of  their  attachment  to  this  State, 
(for  it  is  certain  they  live  within  its  limits,)  by  taking  the  test 
prescribed  by  law,  and  by  every  other  way  and  means  in  their 
power,  let  them  be  treated  as  fellow-citizens,  and  their  per- 
sons and  property  duly  secured.  Assistance  and  protection 
against  all  enemies  whatever,  shall  be  afforded  them;  and  the 
Commonwealth  of  Virginia  is  pledged  to  accomplish  it.  But, 
if  these  people  will  not  accede  to  these  reasonable  demands, 
they  must  feel  the  miseries  of  war,  under  the  direction  of  that 
humanity  that  has  hitherto  distinguished  Americans,  and 
which,  it  is  expected,  you  will  ever  consider  as  the  rule  of  your 
conduct,  and  from  which  you  are,  in  no  instance,  to  depart. 


1778.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  191 

The  corps  you  are  to  command,  are  to  receive  the  pay  and 
allowance  of  militia,  and  to  act  under  the  laws  and  regula- 
tions of  this  State,  now  in  force,  as  militia.  The  inhabitants 
at  this  post  will  be  informed  by  you,  that  in  case  they  accede 
to  the  offers  of  becoming  citizens  of  this  Commonwealth,  a 
proper  garrison  will  be  maintained  among  them,  and  every 
attention  bestowed  to  render  their  commerce  beneficial ;  the 
fairest  prospects  being  opened  to  the  dominions  of  both  France 
and  Spain. 

It  is  in  contemplation  to  establish  a  post  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Ohio.  Cannon  will  be  wanted  to  fortify  it.  Part  of  those 
at  Kaskasky  will  be  easily  brought  thither,  or  otherwise  se- 
cured, as  circumstances  will  make  necessary. 

You  are  to  apply  to  General  Hand,  at  Pittsburgh,  for  pow- 
der and  lead,  necessary  for  this  expedition.  If  he  can't  supply 
it,  the  person  who  has  that  which  Captain  Lynn  brought  from 
New  Orleans  can.  Lead  was  sent  to  Hampshire  by  my  orders, 
and  that  may  be  delivered  you.  Wishing  you  success,  I  am, 
Sir,  your  humble  servant,*  P.  HENRY. 

With  these  instructions,  and  twelve  hundred  pounds  in  the 
depreciated  currency  of  the  time,  Colonel  Clark,  (for  such  was 
now  his  title,)  on  the  4th  of  February,  started  for  Pittsburgh. 
It  had  been  thought  best  to  raise  the  troops  needed,  beyond 
the  mountains,  as  the  colonies  were  in  want  of  all  the  soldiers 
they  could  muster  east  of  the  Alleghanies,  to  defend  them- 
selves against  the  British  forces.  Clark,  therefore,  proposed 
to  enlist  men  about  Pittsburgh,  while  Major  W.  B.  Smith,  for 
the  same  purpose,  went  to  the  Holston,  and  other  officers  to 
other  points.  None,  however,  succeeded  as  they  hoped  to ; 
at  Pittsburgh,  Clark  found  great  opposition  to  the  intention  of 
carrying  men  away  to  defend  the  outposts  in  Kentucky,  while 
their  own  citadel  and  the  whole  region  about  it,  were  threat- 
ened by  the  savage  allies  of  England;  and  Smith,  though 
he  nominally  succeeded  in  raising  four  companies,  was  unable, 
essentially,  to  aid  his  superior  officer  after  all.  With  three 
companies  and  several  private  adventurers,  Clark,  at  length, 
commenced  his  descent  of  the  Ohio,  which  he  navigated  as 
far  as  the  Falls,  where  he  took  possession  of,  and  fortified, 
Com  Island,  opposite  to  the  spot  now  occupied  by  Louisville. 
At  this  place,  he  appointed  Colonel  Bowman  to  meet  him  with 
such  recruits  as  had  reached  Kentucky  by  the  southern  route, 
and  as  many  men  as  could  be  spared  from  the  stations.  Here 
also,  he  ann  ounced  to  the  men,  their  real  destination. 

*See  Butler's  History  of  Kentucky,  p.  489. 


192  Conquest  of  Illinois.  1778. 

[He  was  joined  on  Corn  Island  by  Captain  Bowman,  and  a 
company  from  Kentucky,  under  Captain  Dillard.  His  prin- 
cipal officers  were  Captains  Bowman,  Helm,  Harrod,  Mont- 
gomery and  Dillard ;  and  he  daily  expected  a  reinforcement 
from  the  Holston  country,  under  Major  Smith,  which  failed. 
He  now  disclosed  to  his  troops  that  their  point  of  destination 
was  Kaskaskia,  in  the  Illinois  country.  The  project  met  the 
enthusiastic  approbation  of  his  men,  except  the  company 
from  Kentucky  under  Captain  Dillard;  a  large  part  of  which, 
with  the  Lieutenant,  on  the  morning  appointed  for  starting, 
the  worthy  Captain  had  the  mortification  to  find,  had  waded 
the  river  and  deserted.  They  were  pursued  in  the  morning, 
overtaken  in  the  woods,  about  twenty  miles  from  the  Falls, 
eight  taken  back,  and  the  rest,  wandered  about  in  the  woods 
for  some  weeks,  where  they  suffered  greater  deprivations  and 
hardships  than  their  comrades  who  had  gone  on  the  expedi- 
tion, before  they  got  shelter  in  a  fort.*} 

Having  waited  until  his  arrangements  were  all  completed, 
and  those  chosen,  who  were  to  be  of  the  invading  party,  on 
the  24th  of  June,  during  a  total  eclipse  of  the  sun,  with  four 
companies  he  left  his  position  and  fell  down  the  river.  His 
plan  was  to  follow  the  Ohio  as  far  as  the  fort  known  as  Fort 
Massac,  and  thence  to  go  by  land  direct  to  Kaskaskia.  His 
troops  took  no  other  baggage  than  they  could  carry  in  the  In- 
dian fashion,  and,  for  his  success,  he  trusted  entirely  to  sur- 
prise. If  he  failed,  his  plan  was  to  cross  the  Mississippi,  and 
throw  himself  into  the  Spanish  settlements  on  the  west  of 
that  river.  Before  he  commenced  his  march,  he  received  two 
pieces  of  information  of  which  he  made  good  use  at  the 
proper  time,  by  means  of  which,  he  conquered  the  West  with- 
out bloodshed.  One  of  these  important  items  was  the  alli- 
ance of  France  with  the  colonies;  this,  at  once,  made  the 
American  side  popular  with  the  French  and  Indians  of  Illinois 
and  the  lakes;  France  having  never  lost  her  hold  upon  her 
ancient  subjects  and  allies,  and  England  having  never  secured 
their  confidence.  The  other  item  was,  that  the  inhabitants  of 
Kaskaskia,  and  other  old  towns,  had  been  led  by  the  British 
to  believe  that  the  Long  Knives,  or  Virginians,  were  the  most 
fierce,  cruel,  and  blood-thirsty  savages  that  ever  scalped  a  foe. 
With  this  impression  on  their  minds,  Clark  saw  that  proper 

*Clark's  Journal— Butler's  Kentucky,  p.  49. 


1778.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  193 

management  would  readily  dispose  them  to  submit  from  fear, 
if  surprised,  and  then  to  become  friendly  from  gratitude,  when 
treated  with  unlocked  for  clemency. 

[Near  the  mouth  of  the  Tennessee  river,  he  found  John 
Duff,  with  a  party  of  hunters,  who  had  recently  come  from 
Kaskaskia,  and  who  could  give  him  important  information. 
They  reported  that  M.  Rocheblave  was  the  commander ;  that 
the  militia,  (chiefly  French  citizens)  were  kept  in  good  discip- 
line; that  spies  were  stationed  along  the  Mississippi ;  that  a 
rumor  had  reached  Kaskaskia  that  the  "  Long-Knives  "  *  had 
projected  an  attack,  and  that  the  hunters  and  Indians  had  re- 
ceived orders  to  keep  watch,  and  report  if  any  American 
troops  were  coming  that  way.  The  fort  near  the  town  was 
kept  in  order  as  a  place  of  retreat  if  the  village  was  attacked, 
but  it  had  no  regular  garrison.  The  hunters  offered  to  return 
with  Clark,  and  one  John  Saunders  was  employed  as  a  guide. 

The  party  landed  near  the  old  site  of  Fort  Massac,  and  se- 
cured their  boats  in  the  mouth  of  a  small  creek.  Heavy 
rains  had  fallen,  succeeded  by  hot,  sultry  weather.  Their 
route  lay  through  a  wilderness  without  a  path.  Cypress 
swamps,  ponds,  and  deep,  muddy,  sluggish  streams  had  to  be 
forded.  Their  success  depended  on  a  secret  and  rapid  march 
through  the  woods  and  prairies.  For  most  part  of  the  route, 
the  game  on  which  they  relied  for  subsistence  was  scarce,  and 
to  send  out  hunting  parties  would  expose  them  to  discovery. 
On  the  prairies,  a  July  sun  beat  on  them  and  water  was 
scarce.  The  distance,  as  they  traveled,  was  over  one  hundred 
miles.  On  the  third  day  the  guide  got  so  bewildered  that  he 
could  not  direct  their  course.  A  suspicion  arose  amongst  the 
men  that  he  designed  to  betray  them,  and  they  earnestly  de- 
manded that  he  should  be  put  to  death  !  He  begged  that 
under  a  guard  he  might  go  a  short  distance  into  the  prairie 
and  try  to  find  his  course.  In  an  hour  or  two,  the  poor  fellow 
exclaimed,  "I  know  that  point  of  timber,"  and  pointed  out 
the  direction  of  Kaskaskia.  It  was  on  the  Fourth  of  July, 
1778,  that  this  party  of  invaders,  with  their  garments  torn 
and  soiled,  and  their  beards  of  three  weeks'  growth,  ap- 
proached the  town,  and  secreted  themselves  among  the  hills 
east  of  the  Kaskaskia  river.  Clark  sent  forward  his  spies  to 

*The  Indians  and  French  of  Illinois,  called  the  New  Englanders  "  Bostonais,"  and  tha 
Virginians  "Long-Knives." 


194  Conquest  of  Illinois.  1778. 

watch  the  proceedings  of  the  people,  and  after  dark  put  his 
troops  in  motion  and  took  possession  of  a  house,  where  a 
family  lived,  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  above  town. 
Here  they  found  boats  and  canoes.  The  troops  were  divided 
into  three  parties,  two  of  which  were  ordered  to  cross  the 
river,  while  the  other,  under  the  immediate  command  of  Col. 
Clark,  took  possession  of  the  Fort. 

Kaskaskia  then  contained  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
houses.  Persons  who  could  speak  the  French  language,  were 
ordered  to  pass  through  the  streets  and  make  proclamation, 
that  all  the  inhabitants  must  keep  within  their  houses,  under 
penalty  of  being  shot  down  in  the  streets. 

The  few  British  officers,  who  had  visited  these  French 
colonies  since  the  commencement  of  the  rebellion  of  their 
Atlantic  colonies,  as  they  termed  the  Revolution,  had  told 
the  most  exaggerated  stories  about  the  brutality  and  fero- 
city of  the  "Long-Knives;" — that  they  would  not  only  take 
the  property  of  the  people,  but  would  butcher,  in  a  most 
horrible  manner,  men,  women  and  children  !  The  policy  of 
these  stories  was  to  excite  in  the  minds  of  these  simple- 
hearted  French  people  the  most  fearful  apprehensions  against 
the  colonists,  that  they  might  be  watchful  and  be  prepared 
for  a  determined  resistance,  should  any  attempt  be  made  on 
these  remote  posts.  These  stories  were  a  stimulus  to  the 
French  traders  to  supply  the  Indians  with  guns,  ammunition 
and  scalping-knives,  to  aid  their  depredations  on  the  settle- 
ments of  Kentucky. 

Colonel  Clark  gained  this  intelligence  from  the  hunters, 
and  in  his  Journal  says,  "I  was  determined  to  improve  upon 
this,  if  I  was  fortunate  enough  to  get  them  into  my  possession; 
as  I  conceived  the  greater  the  shock  I  could  give  them  at 
first,  the  more  sensibly  would  they  feel  my  lenity,  and  become 
more  valuable  friends."* 

Few  men  have  had  a  quicker  and  keener  sagacity  than 
Clark.  His  plan  was  to  produce  a  terrible  panic  and  then 
capture  the  town  without  bloodshed,  and  well  did  he  succeed. 

The  two  parties,  having  crossed  the  river,  entered  the 
quiet  and  unsuspecting  village  at  both  extremes,  yelling 
in  the  most  furious  manner,  while  those  who  made  the  procla- 
mation in  French,  ordered  the  people  into  their  houses  on  pain 

*Clark's  Journal   in  Dillon's  Indiana,  i.  p.  137. 


1778.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  195 

of  instant  death.  In  a  moment,  men,  women  and  children 
were  screaming,  "  Ics  long  Coutcaux  ! — Ics  long  Coutcaux  !  " 
the  Long-Knives  ! — the  Long-Knives  ! 

In  about  two  hours  after  the  surprise  of  the  town,  the  in- 
habitants had  all  surrendered  and  delivered  up  their  arms  to  the 
conqueror.  Not  a  drop  of  blood  had  been  shed,  though  the  vic- 
tory was  complete.  The  whole  management  displayed  in  a 
most  admirable  manner,  what  the  French  style  ruse  de  guerre, 
the  policy  of  war.  M.  Rocheblave,  the  Governor ,was  taken  in 
his  chamber  ;  but  his  public  papers  and  documents  were  ad- 
mirably concealed  or  destroyed  by  his  wife. 

Throughout  the  night  the  Virginia  troops  were  ordered  to 
patrol  the  streets,  with  yells  and  whoopings  after  the  Indian 
fashion,  which,  though  exceedingly  alarming  to  the  conquered 
inhabitants,  was  a  stratagem  of  Clark  to  accomplish  his  pur- 
poses. 

One  of  the  richest  and  most  distinguished  citizens  of  Kas- 
kaskia  at  that  period,  was  M.  Cerre,  said  by  Col.  Clark  to  have 
been  a  most  bitter  enemy  to  the  Americans.  In  this,  probably, 
he  was  misinformed.  None  of  the  French  families  in  Illi- 
nois were  particularly  friendly  to  the  government  of  Great 
Britain.  But,  probably,  M.  Cerre  had  partaken  of  the  feel- 
ings of  his  townsmen  concerning  the  "Long-Knives."  He 
had  long  been  a  successful  trader,  but  had  left  the  place  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  the  Americans,  and  was  then  at  St.  Louis 
on  his  way  to  Quebec. 

The  commander  at  once  determined  to  bring  him  and  all 
his  influence  to  the  side  of  the  American  interest.  Accord- 
ingly he  took  possession  of  his  house  and  extensive  stock  of 
merchandize  and  placed  a  guard  over  the  property.  Another 
stratagem  was  to  prevent  all  intercourse  between  his  own 
men  and  the  citizens,  and  to  admit  none  of  the  latter  to  his 
presence  except  by  positive  command  for  them  to  appear  be- 
fore him  ;  or,  apparently,  in  great  condescension,  when  urgent- 
ly solicited,  to  grant  audience  to  some  humble  petitioner.  By 
this  course  of  policy  he  contrived,  at  first,  to  confirm  all  the 
worst  suspicions  the  British  had  instilled  into  the  minds  of  the 
simple  villagers,  of  the  ferocity  of  the  "  Long  -Knives,"  and, 
then,  by  undeceiving  them  to  produce  a  revulsion  of  feelings, 
and  gain  their  unlimited  confidence.  In  this  he  was  com- 
pletely successful.  The  town  was  in  possession  of  an  enemy, 


19G  Conquest  of  Illinois.  1778. 

the  inhabitants  had  been  taught  were  the  most  ferocious 
and  brutal  of  all  men,  and  of  whom  they  entertained  the 
most  horrible  apprehensions,  and  all  intercourse  was  strictly 
prohibited  between  each  other,  and  the  conquerors.  After 
five  days  the  troops  were  removed  to  the  outskirts  of  the 
town,  and  the  citizens  were  permitted  to  walk  in  the  streets. 
But  finding  them  engaged  in  conversation,  one  with  another, 
Col.  Clark  ordered  some  of  the  officers  to  be  put  in  irons, 
without  assigning  a  single  reason,  or  permitting  a  word  of 
defence.  This  singular  display  of  despotic  power  in  the  con- 
queror, did  not  spring  from  a  cruel  disposition,  or  a  disregard 
to  the  principles  of  liberty,  but  it  was  the  course  of  policy  he 
had  marked  out  to  gain  his  object. 

Of  all  commanders,  perhaps,  Col.  Clark  had  the  readiest 
and  clearest  insight  into  human  nature.  The  effect  of  this 
stretch  of  military  power,  at  first,  was  to  fill  the  inhabitants 
with  consternation  and  dismay. 

After  some  time  M.  Gibault,  the  parish  priest,  got  permis- 
sion to  wait  on  Colonel  Clark,  with  five  or  six  elderly  gentle- 
men. 

If  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  were  filled  with  astonish- 
ment at  the  suddenness  of  their  captivity,  these  men  were  far 
more  astonished  at  the  personal  appearance  of  Clark  and  his 
soldiers. 

Their  clothes  were  dirty  and  torn  (for  they  had  no  change 
of  apparel) — their  beards  of  three  and  four  weeks'  growth, 
and,  as  Clark  states  in  his  Journal,  they  looked  more  frightful 
and  disgusting  than  savages. 

Some  minutes  passed  before  the  deputation  could  speak, 
and  then  they  felt  at  a  loss  whom  they  should  address  as  com- 
mandant, for  they  saw  no  difference  in  the  personal  appear- 
ance between  the  chieftain  and  his  men. 

Finally,  the  priest,  in  the  most  submissive  tone  and  posture, 
remarked,  that  the  inhabitants  expected  to  be  separated,  per- 
haps never  to  meet  again,  and  they  begged  through  him,  as  a 
great  favor  from  their  conqueror,  to  be  permitted  to  assemble 
in  the  church,  offer  up  their  prayers  to  God  for  their  souls,  and 
take  leave  of  each  other ! 

The  commander  observed,  with  apparent  carelessness,  that 
the  Americans  did  not  trouble  themselves  about  the  religion  of 
others,  but  left  every  man  to  worship  God  as  he  pleased,  that 


1778.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  197 

they  might  go  to  church  if  they  wished,  but  on  no  account 
must  a  single  person  leave  the  town.  All  further  conversa- 
tion was  repelled,  and  they  were  sent  away,  rather  abruptly 
that  the  alarm  might  be  raised  to  the  highest  pitch. 

The  whole  population  assembled  in  the  church,  as  for  the 
last  time,  mournfully  chaunted  their  prayers,  and  bid  each 
other  farewell — never  expecting  to  meet  again  in  this  world  ! 
But  so  much  did  they  regard  this  as  a  favor,  that  the  priest 
and  deputation  returned  from  the  church  to  the  lodgings  of 
Col.  Clark,  and  in  the  name  of  the  people  expressed  thanks 
for  the  indulgence  they  had  received.  They  then  begged 
leave  to  address  their  conqueror  upon  their  separation  and 
their  lives.  They  claimed  not  to  know  the  origin  or  nature 
of  the  contest  between  Great  Britain  and  the  colonies.  What 
they  had  done  had  been  in  subjection  to  the  British  command- 
ers, whom  they  were  constrained  to  obey.  They  were  willing 
to  submit  to  the  loss  of  all  their  property  as  the  fate  of  war, 
but  they  begged  they  might  not  be  separated  from  their  fami- 
lies, and  that  clothes  and  provisions  might  be  allowed  them 
barely  sufficient  for  their  present  necessities. 

Col.  Clark  had  now  gained  the  object  of  his  artful  manoBU- 
vre.  He  saw  their  fears  were  raised  to  the  highest  pitch,  and 
he  abruptly  thus  addressed  them  : — 

"  Who  do  you  take  me  to  be  ?  Do  you  think  we  are  sav- 
ages— that  we  intend  to  massacre  you  all  ?  Do  you  think 
Americans  will  strip  women  and  children,  and  take  the  bread 
out  of  their  mouths  ?  My  countrymen,"  said  the  gallant 
Colonel,  "  never  make  war  upon  the  innocent!  It  was  to 
protect  our  own  wives  and  children  that  we  have  penetrated 
this  wilderness,  to  subdue  these  British  posts,  from  whence  the 
s  avages  are  supplied  with  arms  and  ammunition  to  murder 
us.  We  do  not  war  against  Frenchmen.  The  King  of 
France,  your  former  master,  is  our  ally.  His  ships  and  sol- 
diers are  fighting  for  the  Americans.  The  French  are  our 
firm  friends.  Go,  and  enjoy  your  religion  and  worship  when 
you  please.  Retain  your  property — and  now  please  to  inform 
all  your  citizens  from  me  that  they  are  quite  at  liberty  to  con- 
duct themselves  as  usual,  and  dismiss  all  apprehensions  of 
alarm.  We  are  your  friends,  and  come  to  deliver  you  from 
the  British." 

This  speech  produced  a  revulsion   of  feelings  better  im- 


198  Conquest  of  Illinois.  1778. 

gined  than  described.  The  news  soon  spread  throughout  the 
village,  the  bell  rang  a  merry  peal,-  the  people,  with  the 
priest,  again  assembled  in  the  church,  Te  Dcum  was  loudly 
sung,  and  the  most  uproarious  joy  prevailed  throughout  the 
night.  The  people  were  now  allowed  all  the  liberty  they 
could  desire.  All  now  cheerfully  acknowledged  Col.  Clark 
as  the  commandant  of  the  country. 

An  expedition  was  now  planned  against  Cahokia,  and  Maj. 
Bowman  with  his  detachment,  mounted  on  French  ponies, 
was  ordered  to  surprise  that  post.  Several  Kaskaskia  gentle- 
men offered  their  services  to  proceed  ahead,  notify  the  Caho- 
kians  of  the  change  of  government,  and  prepare  them  to  give 
the  Americans  a  cordial  reception.  The  plan  was  entirely 
successful,  and  the  post  was  subjugated  without  the  disaster 
of  a  battle.  Indeed,  there  were  not  a  dozen  British  soldiers 
in  the  garrison. 

In  all  their  intercourse  with  the  citizens,  Col.  Clark  instructed 
his  men  to  speak  of  a  large  army  encamped  at  the  Falls  of 
the  Ohio,  which  would  soon  overrun  and  subjugate  all  the 
British  posts  in  the  West,  and  that  Post  Vincent  would  be  in- 
vaded by  a  detachment  from  this  army.  He  soon  learned 
from  the  French  that  Governor  Abbott  was  gone  to  Detroit, 
and  that  the  defence  was  left  with  the  citizens,  who  were 
mostly  French.  M.  Gibault,  the  priest,  readily  undertook  an 
embassy  to  the  Post,  and  to  bring  over  the  people  to  the 
American  interests  without  the  trouble  and  expense  of  an  in- 
vasion. This  was  also  successful,  and  in  a  few  days  the 
American  Flag  was  displayed  on  the  fort,  and  Captain  Helm 
appointed  to  the  command,  much  to  the  surprise  and  conster- 
nation of  the  neighboring  Indians. 

M.  Gibault  and  party,  with  several  gentlemen  from  Vin- 
cennes,  returned  to  Kaskaskia  about  the  first  of  August  with 
the  joyful  intelligence. 

The  reduction  of  these  posts  was  the  period  of  the  enlist- 
ment of  the  men,  and  Colonel  Clark  was  at  a  loss  to  know 
how  to  act,  as  his  instructions  were  vague  and  general.  To 
abandon  the  country  now,  was  to  loose  the  immense  advan- 
tages gained,  and  the  commander,  never  at  a  loss  for  expedi- 
ents, opened  a  new  enlistment,  and  engaged  his  own  men 
on  a  new  establishment,  and  he  issued  commissions  for 
French  officers  in  the  country  to  command  a  company  of 


1778.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  199 

the  inhabitants.  He  then  established  a  garrison  at  Cahokia, 
commanded  by  Capt.  Bowman ;  and  another  at  Kaskaskia, 
commanded  by  Capt.  Williams.  Capt.  William  Linn  took 
charge  of  a  party  that  was  to  be  discharged  when  they  ar- 
rived at  the  Falls,  (Louisville)  and  orders  were  sent  to  remove 
the  station  from  Corn  Island,  and  erect  a  fort  on  the  main 
land,  and  a  stockade  fort  was  erected. 

Capt.  John  Montgomery,  in  charge  of  M.  Rocheblave,  the. 
late  British  commander,  and  as  bearer  of  dispatches,  was 
sent  with  a  corps  of  men  to  Virginia. 

For  the  command  of  Post  Vincent,  he  chose  Capt.  Leonard 
Helm,  in  whom  he  reposed  great  confidence.  Capt.  Helm 
had  much  knowledge  and  experience  in  Indian  character,  and 
Col.  Clark  appointed  him  agent  for  Indian  affairs  in  the  de- 
partment of  the  Wabash.  About  the  middle  of  August,  he 
went  out  to  take  possession  of  his  new  command. 

At  that  period,  an  Indian  of  the  Piankashaw  tribe  that  had 
their  principal  village  near  Vincennes,  possessed  great  influ- 
ence among  his  people.  He  was  known  by  the  name  of  "Big 
Gate,"  or  "Big  Door,"  and  called  by  the  Indians,  "The  Grand 
Door  to  the  Wabash,"  because  nothing  could  be  done  by  the 
Indian  confederacy  on  the  Wabash  without  his  approbation. 
His  father,  who  had  been  known  as  "Tobacco,"  or,  more  com- 
monly, "Old  Tobac,"  sent  him  "a  spirited  compliment  by 
Priest  Gibault,  who  had  influence  with  these  Indians.  Big  Door 
returned  it.  Next  followed  a  regular  "talk,"  with  a  belt  of 
wampum. 

Captain  Helm  arrived  safe  at  Vincennes,  and  was  received 
with  acclamation  by  the  people,  and  soon  sent  the  "talk"  and 
the  wampum  to  the  Grand  Door.  These  Indians  had  been 
under  British  influence,  and  had  done  no  small  mischief  to  the 
frontier  settlements.  The  proud  and  pompous  chief  was  taken 
with  the  courtesy  of  the  shrewd  Captain,  and  sent  him  a  mes- 
sage that  he  was  glad  to  see  one  of  the  Big  Knife  chiefs 
in  town ;  that  here  he  joined  the  English  against  the  Big 
Knives,  but  he  long  thought  they  "looked  a  little  gloomy;" 
that  he  must  consult  his  counsellors,  take  time  to  deliberate, 
and  hoped  the  Captain  of  the  Big  Knives  would  be  patient. 
After  several  days  of  very  constant  and  ceremonious  pro- 
ceedings, the  Captain  was  invited  to  council  by  Old  Tobac 
who  played  quite  a  subordinate  part  to  his  son. 


230  Conquest  of  Illinois.  1778. 

After  the  customary  display  of  Indian  eloquence,  about  the 
sky  having  been  dark,  and  the  clouds  now  had  been  brushed 
away,  the  Grand  Door  announced  "that  his  ideas  were  quite 
changed" — and  the  "Big  Knives  was  in  tke  right," — "and  that 
he  would  tell  all  the  red  people  on  the  Wabash  to  bloody  the 
land  no  more  for  the  English." 

"He  jumped  up,  struck  his  breast,  called  himself  a  man 
and  a  warrior,  said  that  he  was  now  a  Big  Knife,  and  took 
Capt.  Helm  by  the  hand.  His  example  was  followed  by  all 
present."* 

This  was  a  most  fortunate  alliance,  for,  in  a  short  time,  all 
the  tribes  along  the  Wabash,  as  high  as  the  Ouiatenon,  came 
to  Post  Vincennes  and  followed  the  example  of  the  Great 
Door  chief,  and  the  interests  of  the  British  lost  ground  daily  in 
all  the  villages  south  of  lake  Michigan. 

The  French  citizens  at  the  different  posts,  enlisted  warmly 
in  the  American  cause. 

Captain  Montgomery  reached  Williamsburg,  then  the  seat 
of  government  in  the  "Old  Dominion,"  with  Mr.  Rocheblave, 
the  Governor  of  Illinois,  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  the  dispatches 
of  Colonel  Clark,  announcing  that  the  British  posts  were  cap- 
tured, and  the  vast  territory  of  the  north-west  subjugated. 
Only  four  persons  had  known  the  real  destination  of  Clark 
when]  he  left  the  seat  of  government  at  the  commencement 
of  the  year.  These  were  the  Governor,  Patrick  Henry,  and 
his  confidential  counsellors,  Thomas  Jefferson,  George  Wythe 
and  George  Mason.  They  had  assumed  a  fearful  responsi- 
bility in  giving  him  private  instructions,  authorising  an  attack 
on  these  remote  British  posts.  The  degree  of  success  was 
beyond  the  expectations  of  the  most  sanguine. 

In  October,  the   H<  use   of  Burgesses  created  the  county  of 
Illinois,  and  appointed  John  Todd,  Esq.,  then  of  Kentucky, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  and  Civil  commandant.     The  act,  which 
we  have  in  manuscript,  with  the  seal  of  the  Commonwealth, 
contained  the  following  provisions  : 

All  the  citizens  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Virginia,  "who 
are  already  settled,  or  shall  hereafter  settle,  on  the  western 
side  of  the  O/iio,  shall  be  included  in  a  distinct  county  which 
shall  be  called  Illinois  county :  and  the  Governor  of  this  Com- 
monwealth, with  the  advice  of  the  Council,  may  appoint  a 

*  Journal  of  Clark,  in  Dillon's  Indiana,  p.  144. 


1778.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  201 

county  Lieutenant,  or  Commandant-in-chief,  in  that  county, 
during  pleasure,  who  shall  appoint  and  commission  so  many 
deputy  Commandants,  militia  and  officers,  and  Commissaries, 
as  he  shall  think  proper,  in  the  different  districts,  during  plea- 
sure, all  of  whom,  before  they  enter  into  office,  shall  take  the 
oath  of  fidelity  to  this  Commonwealth,  and  the  oath  of  office, 
according  to  the  form  of  their  own  religion.  And  all  civil 
officers  to  which  the  inhabitants  have  been  accustomed,  neces- 
sary to  the  preservation  of  peace,  and  the  administration  of 
justice,  shall  be  chosen  by  a  majority  of  citizens  in  their  res- 
pective districts,  to  be  convened  for  that  purpose,  by  the 
county  Lieutenant  or  Commandant,  or  his  deputy,  and  shall 
be  commissioned  by  the  said  county  Lieutenant,  or  Command- 
ant-in-chief. 

In  November,  the  Legislature  passed  the  following  compli- 
mentary resolution  to  Clark  and  his  men  : 

IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  DELEGATES, 
Monday,  the  23d  Nov.  1778. 

Whereas,  authentic  information  has  been  received,  that 
Lieutenant  Colonel  George  Rogers  Clark,  with  a  body  of  Vir- 
ginia militia,  has  reduced  the  British  posts  in  the  western  part 
of  this  Commonwealth,  on  the  river  Mississippi,  and  its 
branches,  whereby  great  advantage  may  accrue  to  the  com- 
mon cause  of  America,  as  well  as  to  this  Commonwealth  in 
particular : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  this  House  are  justly  due  to 
the  said  Colonel  Clark,  and  the  brave  officers  and  men  under 
his  command,  for  their  extraordinary  resolution  and  persever- 
ance, in  so  hazardous  an  enterprize,  and  for  their  important 
services  thereby  rendered  their  country.* 

Test,  E.  RANDOLPH*  C.  H.  D. 

[After  organizing  a  civil  government,  and  providing  for  an 
election  of  magistrates  by  the  people,  Col.  Clark  directed  his 
attention  to  the  subjugation  of  the  Indian  tribes.  In  this  he 
displayed  the  same  tact  and  shrewdness,  the  same  daring,  and 
his  acts  were  crowned  with  the  same  success  as  in  the  con- 
quest with  the  British  posts. 

He  always  reprobated  the  policy  of  inviting  and  urging  the 
Indians  to  hold  treaties,  and  maintained  that  such  a  course 
was  founded  upon  a  mistaken  view  of  their  character.  He 
supposed  they  always  interpreted  such  overtures  from  the  go- 
vernment as  an  evidence  of  the  fear  and  conscious  weakness  of 
the  whites.  Hence,  he  avoided  every  intimation  that  he  de- 

*See  Butler's  History  of  Kentucky,  p.  490. 

13 


202  Conquest  of  Illinois.  1778. 

sired  peace,  and  assumed  a  line  of  conduct  that  would  appear 
that  he  meant  to  exterminate  them  at  once.  He  always 
waited  for  them  to  apply  and  beg  for  a  treaty. 

These  and  other  measures,  which  displayed  great  penetra- 
tion into  Indian  character,  were  completely  successful.  No 
commander  ever  subjugated  as  many  warlike  tribes,  in  so 
short  a  time,  and  at  so  little  expense  of  life. 

His  management  of  the  Indians  presents  a  wide  field  of 
historical  research  which  the  limits  of  these  Annals  compel  us 
to  leave  unexplored.] 

His  meetings  with  them  were  opened  at  Cahokia,  in  Sep- 
tember, and  his  principles  of  action  being  never  to  court  them, 
never  to  load  them  with  presents,  never  to  seem  to  fear  them, 
though  always  to  show  respect  to  courage  and  ability,  and  to 
speak  in  the  most  direct  manner  possible, — he  waited  for  the 
natives  to  make  the  first  advances  and  offer  peace.  When 
they  had  done  so,  and  thrown  away  the  bloody  wampum  sent 
them  by  the  British,  Clark  coldly  told  them  he  would  answer 
them  the  next  day,  and,  meanwhile,  cautioned  them  against 
shaking  hands  with  the  Americans,  as  peace  was  not  yet  con- 
cluded ;  it  will  be  time  to  give  hands,  when  the  heart  can  be 
given  too,  he  said.  The  next  day  the  Indians  came  to  hear 
the  answer  of  the  Big  Knife,  which  we  give  entire,  as  taken 
by  Mr.  Butler  and  Mr.  Dillon,  from  Clark's  own  notes. 

"Men  and  warriors  :  pay  attention  to  my  words.  You  in- 
formed me  yesterday,  that  the  Great  Spirit  had  brought  us  to- 
gether, and  that  you  hope,  that  as  he  was  good,  it  would  be  for 
good.  I  have  also  the  same  hope,  and  expect  that  each  party 
will  strictly  adhere  to  whatever  may  be  agreed  upon,  whether 
it  shall  be  peace  or  war,  and  henceforward,  prove  ourselves 
worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  Great  Spirit.  I  am  a  man  and 
a  warrior,  not  a  counsellor ;  I  carry  war  in  my  right  hand,  and 
in  my  left,  peace.  I  am  sent  by  the  Great  Council  of  the  Big 
Knife,  and  their  friends,  to  take  possession  of  all  the  towns 
possessed  by  the  English  in  this  country,  and  to  watch  the 
motions  of  the  Red  people  :  to  bloody  the  paths  of  those  who 
attempt  to  stop  the  course  of  the  river;  but  to  clear  the  roads 
for  us  to  those  that  desire  to  be  in  peace ;  that  the  women 
and  children  may  \valk  in  them  without  meeting  any  thing  to 
strike  their  feet  against.  I  am  ordered  to  call  upon  the  Great 
Fire  for  warriors  enough  to  darken  the  land,  and  that  the  Red 
people  may  hear  no  sound,  but  of  birds  who  live  on  blood.  I 
know  there  is  a  mist  before  your  eyes  ;  I  will  dispel  the  clouds, 
that  you  may  clearly  see  the  causes  of  the  war  between  the 


1778.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  203 

Big  Knife  and  the  English;  then  you  may  judge  for  yourselves, 
which  party  is  in  the  right ;  and  if  you  are  warriors,  as  you 
profess  yourselves  to  be,  prove  it  by  adhering  faithfully  to  the 
party,  which  you  shall  believe  to  be  entitled  to  your  friend- 
ship, and  not  show  yourselves  to  be  squaws. 

"The  Big  Knife  is  very  much  like  the  Red  people,  they  don't 
know  how  to  make  blankets,  and  powder,  and  cloth  ;  they  buy 
these  things  from  the  English,  from  whom  they  are  sprung. 
They  live  by  making  corn,  hunting  and  trade,  as  you  and  your 
neighbors,  the  French,  do.  But  the  Big  Knife,  daily  getting 
more  numerous,  like  the  trees  in  the  woods,  the  land  became 
poor,  and  the  hunting  scarce ;  and  having  but  little  to  trade 
with,  the  women  began  to  cry  at  seeing  their  children  naked, 
and  tried  to  learn  how  to  make  clothes  for  themselves ;  some 
made  blankets  for  their  husbands  and  children  ;  and  the  men 
learned  to  make  guns  and  powder.  In  this  way  we  did  not  want 
to  buy  so  much  from  the  English;  they  then  got  mad  with  us,  and 
sent  strong  garrisons  through  our  country,  (as  you  see  they  have 
done  among  you  on  the  lakes,  and  among  the  French,)  they 
\vould  not  let  our  women  spin,  nor  our  men  make  powder,  nor 
let  us  trade  with  any  body  else.  The  English  said,  we  should 
buy  every  thing  from  them,  and  since  we  had  got  saucy,  we 
should  give  two  bucks  for  a  blanket,  which  we  used  to  get  for 
one  ;  we  should  do  as  they  pleased,  and  they  killed  some  of  our 
people,  to  make  the  rest  fear  them.  This  is  the  truth,  and  the 
real  cause  of  the  war  between  the  English  and  us ;  which  did 
not  take  place  for  some  time  after  this  treatment.  But  our 
women  become  cold  and  hungry,  and  continued  to  cry ;  our 
young  men  got  lost  for  want  of  counsel  to  put  them  in  the 
right  path.  The  whole  land  was  dark,  the  old  men  held  down 
their  heads  for  shame,  because  they  could  not  see  the  sun,  and 
thus  there  was  mourning  for  many  years  over  the  land.  At  last 
the  Great  Spirit  took  pity  on  us,  and  kindled  a  great  council 
fire,  that  never  goes  out,  at  a  place  called  Philadelphia ;  he 
then  stuck  down  a  post,  and  put  a  war  tomahawk  by  it,  and 
went  away.  The  sun  immediately  broke  out,  the  sky  was 
blue  again,  and  the  old  men  held  up  their  heads,  and  assem- 
bled at  the  fire ;  they  took  up  the  hatchet,  sharpened  it,  and 
put  it  into  the  hands  of  our  young  men,  ordering  them  to 
strike  the  English  as  long  as  they  could  find  one  on  this  side 
of  the  great  waters.  The  young  men  immediately  struck  the 
war  post,  and  blood  was  shed  :  in  this  way  the  war  began, 
and  the  English  were  driven  from  one  place  to  another,  until 
they  got  weak,  and  then  they  hired  you  red  people  to  fight  for 
them.  The  Great  Spirit  got  angry  at  this,  and  caused  your 
old  Father,  the  French  king,  and  other  great  nations,  to  join 
the  Big  Knife,  and  fight  with  them  against  all  their  enemies. 
So  the  English  have  become  like  a  deer  in  the  woods;  and  you 
may  see  that  it  is  the  Great  Spirit,  that  has  caused  your  waters 


204  Conquest  of  Illinois,  1778. 

• 

to  be  troubled ;  because  you  have  fought  for  the  people  he 
was  mad  with.  If  your  women  and  children  should  now  cry, 
you  must  blame  yourselves  for  it,  and  not  the  Big  Knife.  You 
can  now  judge  who  is  in  the  right;  I  have  already  told  you 
who  I  am;  here  is  a  bloody  belt,  and  a  white  one,  take  which 
you  please.  Behave  like  men,  and  don't  let  your  being  sur- 
rounded by  the  Big  Knife,  cause  you  to  take  up  the  one  belt 
with  your  hands,  while  your  hearts  take  up  the  other.  If  you 
take  the  bloody  path,  you  shall  leave  the  town  in  safety,  and 
may  go  and  join  your  friends,  the  English;  we  will  then  try 
like  warriors,  who  can  put  the  most  stumbling  blocks  in  each 
other's  way,  and  keep  our  clothes  longest  stained  with  blood. 
If,  on  the  other  hand,  you  should  take  the  path  of  peace,  and 
be  received  as  brothers  to  the  Big  Knife,  with  their  friends, 
the  French,  should  you  then  listen  to  bad  birds,  that  may  be 
flying  through  the  land,  you  will  no  longer  deserve  to  be 
counted  as  men ;  but  as  creatures  with  two  tongues,  that 
ought  to  be  destroyed  without  listening  to  any  thing  you 
might  say.  As  I  am  convinced  you  never  heard  the  truth  be- 
fore, I  do  not  wish  you  to  answer  before  you  have  taken  time 
to  counsel.  We  will,  therefore,  part  this  evening,  and  when 
the  Great  Spirit  shall  bring  us  together  again,  let  us  speak 
and  think  like  men,  with  one  heart  and  one  tongue."* 

This  speech  produced  the  desired  effect,  and  upon  the  fol- 
lowing day,  the  "Red  people"  and  the  "Big  Knife,"  united 
hearts  and  hands  both.  In  all  these  proceedings,  there  is  no 
question  that,  directly  and  indirectly,  the  alliance  of  the  United 
States  with  France  was  very  instrumental  in  producing  a 
friendly  feeling  among  the  Indians,  who  had  never  lost  their 
old  regard  toward  their  first  Great  Father. 

But,  though  it  was  Clark's  general  rule  not  to  court  the 
savages,  there  were  sonue  particular  chieftains  so  powerful  as 
to  induce  him  to  invite  them  to  meet  him,  and  learn  the  merits 
of  the  quarrel  between  the  colonies  and  England.  Among 
these  was  Black  Bird,  one  of  the  lake  chiefs;  he  came  at  the 
invitation  of  the  American  leader,  and,  dispensing  with  the 
usual  formulas  of  the  Indian  negotiation,  sat  down  with  Col. 
Clark  in  a  common  sense  way,  and  talked  and  listened,  ques- 
tioned and  considered,  until  he  was  satisfied  that  the  rebels 
had  the  right  of  the  matter ;  after  which  he  became,  and  re- 
mained a  firm  friend  of  the  Big  Knives. 

While  the  negotiations  between  the  conqueror  of  Kaskas- 
kia  and  the  natives  were  going  forward,  an  incident  occurred, 

*  See  Butler's  History  of  Kentucky,  p.  63. 


1778.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  205 

so  characteristic  of  Col.  Clark,  that  we  cannot  omit  its  men- 
tion, as  follows :  A  party  of  Indians,  known  as  Meadow  In- 
dians,* had  come  to  attend  ihe  council  with  their  neighbors. 
These,  by  some  means,  were  induced  to  attempt  the  murder  of 
the  invaders,  and  tried  to  obtain  an  opportunity  to  commit 
the  crime  proposed,  by  surprising  Clark  and  his  officers  in 
their  quarters.  In  this  plan  they  failed,  and  their  purpose  was 
discovered  by  the  sagacity  of  the  French  in  attendance ;  when 
this  was  done,  Clark  gave  them  to  the  French  to  deal  with  as 
they  pleased,  but  with  a  hint  that  some  of  the  leaders  would 
be  as  well  in  irons.  Thus  fettered  and  foiled,  the  chiefs  were 
brought  daily  to  the  council  house,  where  he  whom  they  pro- 
posed to  kill,  was  engaged  daily  in  forming  friendly  relations 
with  their  red  brethren.  At  length,  when  by  these  means  the 
futility  of  their  project  had  been  sufficiently  impressed  upon 
»them,  the  American  commander  ordered  their  irons  to  be 
struck  off,  and  in  his  quiet  way,  full  of  scorn,  said,  "Every 
body  thinks  you  ought  to  die  for  your  treachery  upon  my  life, 
amidst  the  sacred  deliberations  of  a  council.  I  had  determin- 
ed to  inflict  death  upon  you  for  your  base  attempt,  and  you 
yourselves  must  be  sensible  that  you  have  justly  forfeited  your 
lives ;  but  on  considering  the  meanness  of  watching  a  bear 
and  catching*  him  asleep,  I  have  found  out  that  you  are  not 
warriors,  only  old  women,  and  too  mean  to  be  killed  by  the 
Big  Knife.  But,"  continued  he,  "as  you  ought  to  be  punished 
for  putting  on  breech  cloths  like  men,  they  shall  be  taken 
away  from  you,  plenty  of  provisions  shall  be  given  for  your 
journey  home,  as  women  don't  know  how  to  hunt,  and  during 
your  stay  you  shall  be  treated  in  every  respect  as  squaws.f" 
These  few  cutting  words  concluded,  the  Colonel  turned 
away  to  converse  with  others.  The  children  of  the  prairie, 
who  had  looked  for  anger,  not  contempt — punishment,  not 
freedom — were  unaccountably  stirred  by  this  treatment. 
They  took  counsel  together,  and  presently  a  chief  came  for- 
ward with  a  belt  and  pipe  of  peace,  which,  with  proper 
words,  he  laid  upon  the  table.  The  interpreter  stood  ready 
to  translate  the  words  of  friendship,  but,  with  curling  lip,  the 

•f  These  were  a  remnant  of  the  Mascoutin  tribe,  or  Prairie  Tribe,  as  the  name  signi- 
fies.—Ed. 

•{•  This  was  a  mode  of  punishment  used  by  the  Indians  as  a  mark  of  disgrace.  An  In- 
dian thus  degraded,  never  after  could  be  a  man.  He  must  do  the  drudgery  of  a  Squaw. 
—Ed. 


206  Conquest  of  Illinois  1778. 

American  said  he  did  not  wish  to  hear  them,  and  lifting  a 
sword  which  lay  before  him,  he  shattered  the  offered  pipe, 
Avith  the  cutting  expression  that  "he  did  not  treat  with  wo- 
men." The  bewildered,  overwhelmed  Meadow  Indians,  next 
asked  the  intercession  of  other  red  men,  already  admitted  to 
friendship,  but  the  only  reply  was,  "The  Big  Knife  has  made 
no  war  upon  these  people  ;  they  are  of  a  kind  that  we  shoot 
like  wolves  when  we  meet  them  in  the  woods,  lest  they  eat 
the  deer."  All  this  wrought  more  and  more  upon  the  offend- 
ing tribe  ;  again  they  took  counsel,  and  then  two  young  men 
came  forward,  and,  covering  their  heads  with  their  blankets, 
sat  down  before  the  impenetrable  commander ;  then  two 
chiefs  arose,  and  stating  that  these  young  warriors  offered  their 
lives  as  an  atonement  for  the  misdoings  of  their  relatives, 
again  they  presented  the  pipe  of  peace.  Silence  reigned  in 
the  assembly,  while  the  fate  of  the  proffered  victims  hung 
in  suspense  :  all  watched  the  countenance  of  the  American 
leader,  who  could  scarce  master  the  emotion  which  the  inci- 
dent excited.  Still,  all  sat  noiseless,  nothing  heard  but  the 
deep  breathing  of  those  whose  lives  thus  hung  by  a  thread. 
Presently,  he  upon  whom  all  depended,  arose,  and,  approach- 
ing the  young  men,  he  bade  them  be  uncovered  and  stand  up. 
They  sprang  to  their  feet.  "I  am  glad  to  find,"  said  Clark, 
warmly,  "that  there  are  men  among  all  nations.  With  you, 
who  alone  are  fit  to  be  chiefs  of  your  tribe,  I  am  willing  to 
treat;  through  you  lam  ready  to  grant  peace  to  your  broth- 
ers; I  take  you  by  the  hands  as  chiefs,  worthy  of  being  such." 
Here  again  the  fearless  generosity,  the  generous  fearlessness 
of  Clark,  proved  perfectly  successful,  and  while  the  tribe  in 
question  became  the  allies  of  America,  the  fame  of  the  occur- 
rence, which  spread  far  and  wide  through  the  north-west, 
made  the  name  of  the  white  negotiator  everywhere  respected. 
Before  the  act  of  the  legislature  was  carried  into  effect, 
Vincennes  was  recaptured  by  Henry  Hamilton,  the  British 
Lieutenant  Governor  of  Detroit.  Having  collected  an  army  of 
about  thirty  regulars,  fifty  French  volunteers,  and  four  hundred 
Indians,  he  went  from  Detroit,  to  the  Wabash,  thence  down 
that  river,  and  appeared  before  the  fort  on  the  15th  of  Decem- 
ber, 1778.  The  people  made  no  effort  to  defend  the  place. 
Captain  Helm  and  a  man  by  the  name  of  Henry,  were  the 
only  Americans  in  the  fort.  The  latter  had  a  cannon  well 


1778.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  207 

charged,  placed  in  the  open  gate-way,  while  the  Command- 
ant, Helm,  stood  by  it  with  the  lighted  match.  When  Col. 
Hamilton  and  his  troops  approached  within  hailing  distance, 
the  American  officer  called  out,  with  a  loud  voice,  "Halt !" 
This  show  of  resistance  caused  Hamilton  to  stop,^  and  demand 
a  surrender  of  the  garrison. 

Helm,  exclaimed,  "No  man  shall  enter  here  until  I  know  the 
terms."  Hamilton  responded,  "You  shall  have  the  honors  of 
war;"  and  the  fort  was  surrendered,  and  the  one  officer,  and 
the  one  private,  received  the  customary  mark  of  respect  for 
their  brave  defence.* 

A  portion  of  Hamilton's  force  was  dispatched  with  the  In- 
dians to  attack  the  settlements  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
rivers-  Capt  Helm  was  detained  in  the  fort  as  a  prisoner, 
and  the  French  inhabitants  were  disarmed.  Col.  Clark's  posi- 
tion became  perilous.  Detached  parties  of  hostile  Indians, 
sent  out  by  Col.  Hamilton,  began  to  appear  in  Illinois.  He 
ordered  Maj.  Bowman  to  evacuate  the  fort  at  Cahokia,  and 
meet  him  at  Kaskaskia.  "I  could  see,"  says  Clark,  "but  little 
probability  of  keeping  possession  of  the  country,  as  my  num- 
ber of  men  was  too  small  to  stand  a  siege,  and  my  situation 
too  remote  to  call  for  assistance.  I  made  all  the  preparation 
I  possibly  could  for  the  attack,  and  was  necessitated  to  set  fire 
to  some  of  the  houses  in  town,  to  clear  them  out  of  the  way." 
At  this  crisis,  the  bold  and  hazardous  project  of  capturing 
Col.  Hamilton,  and  retaking  Post  Vincennes,  became  the 
theme  of  his  daily  and  nightly  meditations. 

He  employed  Col.  Francis  Vigo,  then  a  resident  of  St. 
Louis,  to  make  an  exploration  of  the  circumstances  and 
strength  of  the  enemy  at  Post  Vincennes.  Col.  Vigo,  though 
a  Spanish  subject,  possessed  an  innate  love  of  liberty;  an  at- 
tachment to  republican  principles,  and  an  ardent  sympathy 
for  an  oppressed  people,  struggling  for  their  rights.  He  dis- 
regarded personal  consequences,  for  as  soon  as  he  heard  of  the 
arrival  of  Col.  Clark  at  Kaskaskia,  and  the  possession  of  Illi- 
nois by  the  Americans,  he  went  there  and  tendered  his  wealth 
and  influence  to  sustain  the  cause  of  liberty. 

At  the  request  of  Col.  Clark,  Col.  Vigo,  with  a  single  ser- 
vant, proceeded  to  Vincennes.  At  the  Embarrass  he  was 

*  Butler's  Kentucky,  note,  p.  80. 


208  Conquest  of  Illinois.  1779. 

taken  prisoner  by  a  party  of  Indians,  plundered  and  brought 
before  Col.  Hamilton.  Being  a  Spanish  subject,  though  sus- 
pected of  being  a  spy  for  the  Americans,  the  Governor  had  no 
power  to  hold  him  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  but  forbid  him  to  leave 
the  fort.  Entreated  by  the  French  inhabitants  to  allow  him 
to  depart,  and  threatened  with  the  refusal  of  all  supplies  fop 
the  garrison,  the  Governor  reluctantly  yielded,  on  condition 
that  Col.  Vigo  would  sign  an  article  "not  to  do  any  act  dur- 
ing the  war,  injurious  to  the  British  interests."  This  he  re- 
fused, but  consented  to  a  pledge  not  to  do  any  thing  injurious 
on  his  way  to  St.  Louis.  This  was  accepted,  and  Col.  Vigo  was 
permitted  to  depart  in  a  pirogue  down  the  Wabash  and  Ohio, 
and  up  the  Mississippi  to  St.  Louis.  He  kept  his  pledge 
most  sacredly.  On  his  way  to  St.  Louis,  he  abstained  from 
all  intercourse  with  the  Americans — but  he  only  staid  at  home 
long  enough  to  change  his  dress,  when  he  returned  to  Kas- 
kaskia,  and  gave  Col.  Clark  full  and  explicit  information  of 
the  condition  of  the  British  force  at  Vincennes,  the  projected 
movements  of  Hamilton,  and  the  friendly  feelings  of  the 
French  towards  the  Americans.  From  him  Col.  Clark  learn- 
ed that  a  portion  of  the  British  troops  were  absent  on  maraud- 
ing parties  with  the  Indians,  that  the  garrison  consisted  of 
about  eighty  regular  soldiers,  three  brass  field  pieces,  and 
some  swivels,  and  that  Governor  Hamilton  meditated  the  re- 
capture of  Kaskaskia  early  in  the  spring.  Col.  Clark  deter- 
mined on  the  bold  project  of  an  expedition  to  Yincennes,  of 
which  he  wrote  to  Gov.  Henry,  and  sent  an  express  to  Vir- 
ginia. As  a  reason  for  this  hazardous  project,  Col.  Clark 
urged  the  force  and  designs  of  Hamilton,  saying  to  Governor 
Henry  in  his  letter,  "/  knew  if  I  did  not  take  him,  he  watdd  take 
me." 

A  boat  fitted  up  as  a  galley,  carrying  two  four  pounders 
and  four  swivels,  and  commanded  by  Capt  John  Rogers,  with 
forty-six  men,  and  provisions,  was  dispatched  from  Kaskaskia 
to  the  Ohio,  with  orders  to  proceed  up  the  Wabash  as  secretly 
as  possible  to  a  place  near  the  mouth  of  the  Embarrass.  Two 
companies  of  men  ware  raised  from  Cahokia,  and  Kaskaskia, 
commanded  by  Captains  McCarty  and  Charleville,  which,  with 
the  Americans,  amounted  to  one  hundred  and  seventy  men. 

The  winter  was  unusually  wet  and  the  streams  all  high,  but 
on  the  7th  of  February,  1779,  this  fragment  of  an  army  com- 


1779.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  209 

menced  its  march  from  Kaskaskia  to  Post  Vincent.  Their  route 
lay  through  the  prairies  and  points  of  timber  east  of  the  Kas- 
kaskia river,  a  north-easternly  course,  through  Washington  and 
Marion  counties,  into  Clay  county,  where  the  trail  visible  thirty 
years  since,  would  strike  the  route  of  the  present  road  from 
St.  Louis  to  Vincennes.  This  was  one  of  the  most  dreary 
and  fatiguing  expeditions  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  After 
incredible  hardships,  they  reached  the  Little  Wabash,  the  low 
bottoms  of  which,  for  several  miles,  were  covered  with  water, 
as  Col.  Clark's  report  affirms,  "generally  three  feet  deep,  never 
under  two,  and  frequently  over  four  feet."  They  arrived  at 
the  "two  Wabashes,"  as  Bowman  in  his  journal  calls  the  two 
branches,  (now  known  as  the  "Little  Wabash"  and  "Muddy" 
rivers,)  on  the  13th.  Here  they  made  a  canoe,  and  on  the 
15th,  ferried  over  their  baggage,  which  they  placed  on  a  scaf- 
fold on  the  opposite  bank.  Rains  fell  nearly  every  day,  but 
the  weather  was  not  cold.  Hitherto  they  had  borne  their  ex- 
treme privations  and  difficulties  with  incredible  patience,  but 
now  the  spirits  of  many  seemed  exhausted.  There  was  an 
Irish  drummer  in  the  party  who  possessed  an  uncommon  talent 
in  singing  comic,  Irish  songs. 

While  the  men  were  wading  to  the  waist,  and  sometimes  to 
the  arm-pits  in  mud  and  water,  the  fertile  ingenuity  of  Col. 
Clark,  who  never  failed  in  resources,  placed  the  Irishman  on 
his  drum  which  readily  floated,  while  he  entertained  the  ex- 
hausteed  troops  with  his  comic  and  musical  powers. 

On  the  18th  day  of  February,  eleven  days  after  their  depar- 
ture from  Kaskaskia,  they  heard  the  morning  gun  of  the  fort, 
and  at  evening  of  the  same  day,  they  were  on  the  Great  Wa- 
bash, below  the  mouth  of  the  Embarrass.  The  party  were 
now  in  the  most  exhausted,  destitute  and  starving  condition, 
and  no  signs  of  their  boat  with  supplies.  The  river  was  out 
of  its  banks,  all  the  low  grounds  covered  with  water,  and 
canoes  could  not  be  constructed  to  carry  them  over  before  the 
British  garrison  would  discover  and  capture,  or  massacre  the 
whole  party.  February  20th,  they  hailed  and  brought  to  a 
boat  from  Post  Vincent,  and,  from  the  crew,  whom  they  de- 
tained, they  learned  that  the  French  population  were  friendly 
to  the  Americans,  and  that  no  suspicion  of  the  expedition  had 
reached  the  British  garrison. 

Here  we  shall  let  Col.  Clark  tell  the  story  in  his  journal  : 


210  Conquest  of  Illinois.  1779. 

"This  last  day's  march,  [February  21st,]  through  the  water, 
was  far  superior  to  any  thing  the  Frenchmen  had  any  idea  of: 
they  were  backward  in  speaking — said  that  the  nearest  land 
to  us  was  a  small  league,  called  the  sugar  camp,  on  the 
bank  of  the  slough.  A  canoe  was  sent  off,  and  returned  with- 
out finding  that  we  could  pass.  I  went  in  her  myself,  and 
sounded  the  water  :  found  it  deep  as  to  my  neck.  I  returned 
with  a  design  to  have  the  men  transported  on  board  the  ca- 
noes to  the  sugar  camp,  which  I  knew  would  spend  the  whole 
day  and  ensuing  night,  as  the  vessels  would  pass  slowly 
through  the  bushes.  The  loss  of  so  much  time,  to  men  half 
starved,  was  a  matter  of  consequence.  I  would  have  given 
now  a  great  deal  for  a  day's  provision,  or  for  one  of  our 
horses.  I  returned  but  slowly  to  the  troops — giving  myself 
time  to  think.  On  our  arrival,  all  ran  to  hear  what  was  the 
report.  Every  eye  was  fixed  on  me.  I  unfortunately  spoke 
in  a  serious  manner  to  one  of  the  officers :  the  whole  were 
alarmed  without  knowing  what  I  said.  I  viewed  their  con- 
fusion for  about  one  minute — whispered  to  those  near  me  to 
do  as  I  did — immediately  put  some  water  in  my  hand,  poured 
on  powder,  blackened  my  face,  gave  the  war-whoop,  marched 
into  the  water,  without  saying  a  word.  The  party  gazed,  fell 
in,  one  after  another,  without  saying  a  word,  like  a  flock  of 
sheep.  I  ordered  those  near  me  to  give  a  favorite  song  of 
theirs  :  It  soon  passed  through  the  line,  and  the  whole  went 
on  cheerfully.  I  now  intended  to  have  them  transported 
across  the  deepest  part  of  the  water ;  but  when  about  waist 
deep,  one  of  the  men  informed  me  that  he  thought  he  felt  a 
path.  We  examined,  and  found  itso;  and  concluded  that  it 
kept  on  the  highest  ground,  which  it  did ;  and  by  taking  pains 
to  follow  it,  we  got  to  the  sugar  camp,  without  the  least  dif- 
ficulty, where  there  was  about  half  an  acre  of  dry  ground,  at 
least  not  under  water,  where  we  took  up  our  lodgings.  The 
Frenchmen  that  we  had  taken  on  the  river,  appeared  to  be 
uneasy  at  our  situation.  They  begged  that  they  might  be 
permitted  to  go  in  the  two  canoes  to  town  in  the  night:  they 
said  they  would  bring  from  their  own  houses  provisions,  with- 
out the  possibility  of  any  person  knowing  it;  that  some  of  our 
men  should  go  with  them,  as  a  surety  of  their  good  conduct — 
that  it  was  impossible  we  could  march  from  that  place  till  the 
water  fell,  for  the  plain  was  too  deep  to  march.  Some  of  the 
[officers?]  believed  that  it  might  be  done.  I  would  not  suffer 
it.  I  never  could  well  account  for  this  piece  of  obstinacy,  and 
give  satisfactory  reasons  to  myself,  or  any  body  else,  why  I 
denied  a  proposition  apparently  so  easy  to  execute,  and  of  so 
much  advantage  :  but  something  seemed  to  tell  me  that  it 
should  not  be  done  ;  and  it  was  not  done. 

"The  most  of  the  weather  that  we  had  on  this  march,  was 
moist  and  warm,  for  the  season.     This  was  the  coldest  night 


1779.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  211 

we  had.  The  ice  in  the  morning  \vas  from  one  half  to  three 
quarters  of  an  inch  thick,  near  the  shores,  and  in  still  water. 
The  morning  was  the  finest  we  had  on  our  march.  A  little 
after  sunrise  I  lectured  the  whole.  What  I  said  to  them  I  for- 
get ;  but  it  may  be  easily  imagined  by  a  person  that  could 
possess  my  affections  for  them  at  that  time  :  I  concluded  by 
informing  them,  that  passing  the  plain  that  was  then  in  full 
view,  and  reaching  the  opposite  woods,  would  put  an  end  to 
their  fatigue — that  in  a  few  hours  they  would  have  a  sight  of 
their  long  wished  for  object — and  immediately  stepped  into  the 
water  without  waiting  for  any  reply.  A  huzza  took  place. 
As  we  generally  marched  through  the  water  in  a  line,  before 
the  third  entered  I  halted  and  called  to  Major  Bowman,  order- 
ed him  to  fall  in  the  rear  with  twenty-five  men,  and  to  put  to 
death  any  man  who  refused  to  march  ;  as  we  wished  to  have 
no  such  person  among  us.  The  whole  gave  a  cry  of  approba- 
tion, and  on  we  went.  This  was  the  most  trying  of  all  the  dif- 
ficulties we  had  experienced.  I  generally  kept  fifteen  or 
twenty  of  the  strongest  men  next  myself;  and  judged  from 
my  own  feelings  what  must  be  that  of  others.  Getting  about 
the  middle  of  the  plain,  the  water  about  mid-deep,  1  found 
myself  sensibly  failing ;  and  as  there  were  no  trees  nor  bushes 
for  the  men  to  support  themselves  by,  I  feared  that  many  of 
the  most  weak  would  be  drowned.  I  ordered  the  canoes  to 
make  the  land,  discharge  their  loading,  and  play  backwards 
and  forwards  with  all  diligence,  and  pick  up  the  men ;  and  to 
encourage  the  party,  sent  some  of  the  strongest  men  forward, 
with  orders,  when  they  got  to  a  certain  distance,  to  pass  the 
word  back  that  the  water  was  getting  shallow ;  and  when 
getting  near  the  woods  to  cry  out 'Land!'  This  stratagem  had 
its  desired  effect.  The  men,  encouraged  by  it,  exerted  them- 
selves almost  beyond  their  abilities — the  weak  holding  by  the 
stronger.  *  *  *  The  water  never  got  shallower,  but  con- 
tinued deepening.  Getting  to  the  woods  where  the  men  ex- 
pected land,  the  water  was  up  to  my  shoulders:  but  gaining 
the  woods  was  of  great  consequence  :  all  the  low  men  and 
weakly,  hung  to  the  trees,  and  floated  on  the  old  logs,  until 
they  were  taken  off  by  the  canoes.  The  strong  and  tall  got 
ashore  and  built  fires.  Many  would  reach  the  shore,  and  fall 
with  their  bodies  half  in  the  water,  not  being  able  to  support 
themselves  without  it. 

"This  was  a  delightful  dry  spot  of  ground,  of  about  ten  acres. 
We  soon  found  that  fires  answered  no  purpose  ;  but  that  two 
strong  men  taking  a  weaker  one  by  the  arms  was  the  only 
way  to  recover  him — and,  being  a  delightful  day,  it  soon  did. 
But,  fortunately,  as  if  designed  by  Providence,  a  canoe  of  Indian 
squaws  and  children  were  coming  up  to  town,  and  took  thro' 
part  of  this  plain  as  a  nigh  "way.  It  was  discovered  by  our  ca- 
noes as  they  were  out  after  the  men.  They  gave  chase  and  took 


212  Conquest  of  Illinois.  1779. 

the  Indian  canoe,  on  board  of  which  was  near  half  a  quarter 
of  buffalo,  some  corn,  tallow,  kettles,  &c.  This  was  a  grand 
prize,  and  was  in  valuable.  Broth  was  immediately  made  and 
served  out  to  the  most  weakly,  with  great  care :  most  of  the 
whole  got  a  little ;  but  a  great  many  gave  their  part  to  the 
weakly,  jocosely  saying  something  cheering  to  their  comrades. 
This  little  refreshment  and  fine  weather,  by  the  afternoon, 
gavelife  to  the  whole.  Crossing  a  narrow  deep  lake  in  the 
canoes,  and  marching  some  distance,  we  came  to  a  copse 
of  timber  called  the  Warrior's  Island.  We  were  now  in  full 
view  of  the  fort  and  town,  not  a  shrub  between  us,  at  about 
two  miles  distance.  Every  man  now  feasted  his  eyes,  and 
forgot  that  he  had  suffered  any  thing — saying,  that  all  that  had 
passed  was  owing  to  good  policy,  and  nothing  but  what  a  man 
could  bear ;  and  that  a  soldier  had  no  right  to  think,  &c. — 
passing  from  one  extreme  to  another,  which  is  common  in 
such  cases.  It  was  now  we  had  to  display  our  abilities.  The 
plain  between  us  and  the  town  was  not  a  perfect  level.  The 
sunken  grounds  were  covered  with  water  full  of  ducks.  We 
observed  several  men  out  on  horseback,  shooting  them,  within 
half  a  mile  of  us ;  and  sent  out  as  many  of  our  active  young 
Frenchmen  to  decoy  and  take  one  of  these  men  prisoner,  in 
such  a  manner  as  not  to  alarm  the  others ;  which  they  did. 
The  information  we  got  from  this  person  was  similar  to  that 
which  we  got  from  those  we  took  on  the  river;  except  that  of 
the  British  having  that  evening  completed  the  wall  of  the  fort, 
and  that  there  were  a  good  many  Indians  in  town. 

Our  situation  was  now  truly  critical — no  possibility  of  re- 
treating in  case  of  defeat — and  in  full  view  of  a  town  that  had 
at  this  time  upwards  of  six  hundred  men  in  it,  troops,  inhab- 
itants, and  Indians.  The  crew  of  the  galley,  though  not  fifty 
men,  would  now  have  been  a  reinforcement  of  immense  mag- 
nitude to  our  little  army,  (if  I  may  so  call  it,)  but  we  would 
not  think  of  them.  We  were  now  in  the  situation  that  I  had 
labored  to  get  ourselves  in.  The  idea  of  being  made  prisoner 
was  foreign  to  almost  every  man,  as  they  expected  nothing 
but  torture  from  the  savages,  if  they  fell  into  their  hands.  Our 
fate  was  now  to  be  determined,  probably  in  a  few  hours.  We 
knew  that  nothing  but  the  most  daring  conduct  would  ensure 
success.  I  knew  that  a  number  of  the  inhabitants  wished  us 
well — that  many  were  lukewarm  to  the  interest  of  either — and 
I  also  learned  that  the  Grand  Chief,  the  Tobacco's  son,  had, 
but  a  few  days  before,  openly  declared  in  council  with  the 
British,  that  he  was  a  brother  and  a  friend  to  the  Big  Knives. 
These  were  favorable  circumstances ;  and  as  there  was  but 
little  probability  of  our  remaining  until  dark  undiscovered,  I 
determined  to  begin  the  career  immediately,  and  wrote  the 
following  placard  to  the  inhabitants  : 


1779.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  213 

To  the  inhabitants  of  Post  Vinccnnes. 

Gentlemen :  Being  now  within  two  miles  of  your  village, 
with  my  army,  determined  to  take  your  fort  this  night,  and  not 
being  willing  to  surprise  you,  I  take  this  methpd  to  request 
such  of  you  as  are  true  citizens  and  willing  to  enjoy  the  lib- 
erty I  bring  you,  to  remain  still  in  your  houses.  And  those,  if 
any  there  be,  that  are  friends  to  the  king,  will  instantly  repair 
to  the  fort  and  join  the  hair-buyer  General,  and  fight  like  men. 
And  if  any  such  as  do  not  go  to  the  fort  shall  be  discovered 
afterwards,  they  may  depend  on  severe  punishment.  On  the 
contrary,  those  who  are  true  friends  to  liberty  may  depend  on 
being  well  treated ;  and  I  once  more  request  them  to  keep  out 
of  the  streets.  For  every  one  I  find  in  arms  on  my  arrival,  I 
shall  treat  him  as  an  enemy. 

[Signed,]  G.  R.  CLARK. 

[This  singular  epistle,  as  Clark  designed,  had  a  two-fold  ef- 
fect, and  displayed  his  astonishing  insight,  into  human  nature. 
Its  imposing  character  inspired  the  inhabitants  who  were  friend- 
ly with  confidence,  and  filled  the  enemy  with  terror  and  dis- 
may. As  no  one  imagined  an  expedition,  at  that  season, 
could  cross  the  waters  from  Illinois,  the  impression  was  made 
that  the  town  was  about  to  be  invaded  by  a  large  army  from 
Kentucky.  This  impression  was  confirmed  by  several  messa- 
ges being  sent  in  under  assumed  names  of  gentlemen  known 
in  Kentucky,  to  their  acquaintances  in  Vincennes. 

The  same  day  about  sunset,  (Feb.  23,)  the  American  forces 
set  off  to  attack  the  Fort.  To  confirm  the  impression  that  the 
invaders  consisted  of  a  large  army,  Col.  Clark  divided  his 
men  into  platoons,  each  displaying  a  different  flag,  and  after 
marching  and  countermarching  around  some  mounds,  within 
sight  of  the  fort,  and  making  other  demonstrations  of  numbers 
and  strength,  till  after  dark,  when  Lieut.  Bayley  with  fourteen 
men,  was  sent  to  attack  the  Fort.  This  party  lay  within  thirty 
yards  of  the  Fort,  defended  by  a  bank  and  safe  from  the  ene- 
my's guns.  No  sooner  was  a  port  hole  opened  than  a  dozen 
rifles  were  directed  to  the  aperture — one  soldier  was  killed  and 
the  rest  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  stand  to  the  guns. 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th,  at  9  o'clock,  Col.  Clark  sent  a 
flag  of  truce  with  the  following  letter,  while  his  men,  for  the 
first  time  in  six  days,  were  provided  with  breakfast.  The 
letter  of  Col.  Clark  is  characteristic  of  the  man  : 

"  Sir — In  order  to  save  yourself  from  the  impending  storm 
that  now  threatens  you,  I  order  you  immediately  to  surrender 


214  Conquest  of  Illinois.  1779. 

yourself,  with  all  your  garrison,  stores,  &c.  &c.  For  if  I  am 
obliged  to  storm,  you  may  depend  upon  such  treatment  as 
is  justly  due  to  a  murderer.  Beware  of  destroying  stores  of 
any  kind,  or  'any  papers  or  letters  that  are  in  your  possession, 
or  hurting  one  house  in  town.  For,  by  Heavens,  if  you  do, 
there  shall  be  no  mercy  shown  you.  G.  R.  CLARK. 

"  To  Gov.  Hamilton." 

The  reply  of  Gov.  Hamilton  shows  that  this  daring  course 
of  Col.  Clark  had  its  intended  effect.  He  replies  : 

"  Governor  Hamilton  begs  leave  to  acquaint  Col.  Clark,  that 
he  and  his  garrison  are  not  disposed  to  be  awed  into  any  action 
unworthy  British  subjects." 

The  attack  was  renewed  with  vigor  and  soon  produced  an- 
other message: 

"  Gov.  Hamilton  proposes  to  Col.  Clark  a  truce  for  three 
days,  during  which  time  he  promises,  that  there  should  be  no 
defensive  works  carried  on  in  the  garrison,  on  condition  that 
Col.  Clark  will  observe,  on  his  part,  a  like  cessation  of  offen- 
sive work :  that  is,  he  wishes  to  confer  with  Col.  Clark,  as 
soon  as  can  be,  and  promises  that  whatever  may  pass  between 
them  two,  and  another  person,  mutually  agreed  on  to  be  pres- 
ent, shall  remain  secret  till  matters  be  finished ;  as  lie  wishes, 
that  whatever  the  result  of  the  conference  may  be,  it  may  tend 
to  the  honor  and  credit  of  each  party.  If  Col.  Clark  makes  a 
difficulty  of  coming  into  the  Fort,  Lieut.  Gov.  Hamilton  will 
speak  with  him  by  the  gate.  HENRY  HAMILTON." 

February  24th,  '79. 

To  which  the  following  reply  was  sent : 

"  Col.  Clark's  compliments  to  Governor  Hamilton,  and  begs 
leave  to  say,  that  he  will  not  agree  to  any  terms,  other  than 
Mr.  Hamilton  surrender  ing  himself  and  garrison  prisoners  at  dis- 
cretion." 

"  If  Mr.  Hamilton  wants  to  talk  with  Col.  Clark,  he  will 
meet  him  at  the  Church  with  Capt.  Helm." 

A  conference  was  held  as  proposed,  when  Col.  Clark  de- 
manded a  surrender,  and  threatened  to  massacre  the  leading 
men  in  the  Fort  for  supplying  the  Indians  with  the  means  of 
annoyance,  and  purchasing  scalps,  if  his  terms  were  not  ac- 
cepted. In  one  hour  after,  Col.  Clark  dictated  the  following 
terms,  which  were  accepted  : 


1779.  Conquest  of  Illinois.  215 

"1st.  Lieutenant  Governor  Hamilton  agrees  to  deliver  up  to 
Colonel  Clark,  'Fort  Sackville,'  as  it  is  at  present,  with  its 
stores,  &c. 

"2d.  The  garrison  are  to  deliver  themselves  as  prisoners  of 
war,  and  march  out  with  their  arms  and  accoutrements. 

"3d.  The  garrison  to  be  delivered  up  to-morrow,  at  ten 
o'clock. 

"4th.  Three  days'  time  to  be  allowed  the  garrison  to  settle 
their  accounts  with  the  inhabitants  and  traders. 

"5th.  The  officers  of  the  garrison  to  be  allowed  their  neces- 
sary baggage,  &c. 

"Signed  at  Post  St.  Vincennes,  this  24th  day  of  February, 
1779;  agreed  to  for  the  following  reason  :  1st.  Remoteness  from 
succor:  2d.  the  state  and  quantity  of  provisions :  3d.  The 
unanimity  of  the  officers  and  men  in  its  expediency:  4th.  The 
honorable  terms  allowed :  and,  lastly,  the  confidence  in  a 
generous  enemy.  HENRY  HAMILTON, 

Lieutenant  Governor  and  Superintendent" 

On  the  25th  of  February,  Fort  Sackville  was  surrendered  to 
the  American  troops,  and  the  garrison  treated  as  prisoners  of 
war.  The  American  flag  waved  on  its  battlements,  and  thir- 
teen guns  celebrated  the  victory. 

Seventy-nine  prisoners,  and  stores  to  the  value  of  50,000 
dollars,  were  obtained  by  this  bold  and  desperate  enterprise, 
and  the  whole  country  along  the  Mississippi  and  Wabash,  re- 
mained ever  after  in  the  peaceable  possession  of  the  Ameri- 
cans. Gov.  Hamilton  was  sent  to  Richmond,  and  his  men 
permitted  to  return  to  Detroit  on  parole  of  honor. 

Six  were  badly,  and  one  man  mortally  wounded  on  the  part 
of  the  British,  and  only  one  man  wounded  on  the  part  of  the 
Americans.] 

The  Governor  and  some  others  were  sent  prisoners  to  Vir- 
ginia, where  the  council  ordered  their  confinement  in  jail,  fet- 
tered and  alone,  in  punishment  for  their  abominable  policy  of 
urging  barbarians  to  ultra  barbarism,  as  they  surely  had  done 
by  offering  rewards  for  scalps  but  none  for  prisoners,  a  course 
which  naturally  resulted  in  wholesale  and  cold-blooded  mur- 
der ;  the  Indians  driving  captives  within  si^ht  of  the  British 
forts  and  then  butchering  them.  As  this  rigid  confinement, 
however  just,  was  not  in  accordance  with  the  terms  of  Ham- 
ilton's surrender,  General  Phillips  protested  in  regard  to  it, 
and  Jefferson  having  referred  the  matter  to  the  Commander-in- 
chief,  Washington  gave  his  opinion  decidedly  against  it,  in 


216  Conquest  of  Illinois.  1778. 

consequence  of  which  the   Council  of  Virginia   released  the 
Detroit  "  hair-buyer"  from  his  irons.  * 

Clark  returned  to  Kaskaskia,  where,  in  consequence  of  the 
competition  of  the  traders,  he  found  himself  more  embarrassed 
from  the  depreciation  of  the  paper  money  which  had  been  ad- 
vanced him  by  Virginia,  than  he  had  been  by  the  movements 
of  the  British ;  and  where  he  was  forced  to  pledge  his  own 
credit  to  procure  what  he  needed,  to  an  extent  that  influenced 
vitally  his  own  fortune  and  life  thenceforward. 

After  the  taking  of  Vincennes,  Detroit  was  undoubtedly 
within  the  reach  of  the  enterprising  Virginian,  had  he  been 
but  able  to  raise  as  many  soldiers  as  were  starving  and  idling 
at  Forts  Laurens  and  Mclntosh.  [Col.  Clark,  in  his  letter  to 
Mr.  Jefferson,  says,  that  with  five  hundred  men,  when  he 
reached  Illinois,  or  with  three  hundred  after  the  conquest  of 
Post  Vincennes,  he  could  have  taken  Detroit.  The  people  of 
Detroit  rejoiced  greatly  when  they  heard  of  Hamilton's  cap- 
ture.] Gov.  Henry  having  promised  him  a  reinforcement,  he 
concluded  to  wait  for  that,  as  his  force  was  too  small  to  both 
conquer  and  garrison  the  British  forts.  But  the  results  of  what 
was  done  were  not  unimportant ;  indeed  we  cannot  estimate 
those  results.  Hamilton  had  made  arrangements  to  enlist  the 
Southern  and  Western  Indiansf  for  the  next  spring's  cam- 
paign ;  and,  if  Mr.  Stone  be  correct  in  his  suppositions,  Brant 
and  his  Iroquois  were  to  act  in  concert  with  him.J  Had 
Clark,  therefore,  failed  to  conquer  the  Governor,  there  is  too 
much  reason  to  fear,  that  the  West  would  have  been,  indeed, 
swept,  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  mountains,  and  the  great 
blow  struck,  which  had  been  contemplated,  from  the  outset, 
by  Britain.  But  for  his  small  army  of  dripping,  but  fearless 
Virginians,  the  union  of  all  the  tribes  from  Georgia  to  Maine, 
against  the  colonies,  might  have  been  effected,  and  the  whole 
current  of  our  history  changed. 

[The  conquest  of  Clark  changed  the  face  of  affairs  in  rela- 
tion to  the  whole  country  north  of  the  Ohio  river,  which,  in  all 
probability,  would  have  been  the  boundary  between  Canada 
and  the  U.  States.  This  conquest  was  urged  by  the  American 
Commissioners  in  negotiating  the  definite  treaty  of  1793.] 

•Sparks' Washington,  vi.  315. — Almon'a  Remembrancer  for  1779,  pp.  337.  340. — Jef- 
ferson's Writings,  i.  451  to  458. 
|  Butler,  p.  80.  t  Stone's  Brandt,  i.  400.  Notes,  Boston  Edition. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
SKETCHES  OF  KENTUCKY. 

Captivity  of  Boone — Siege  of  Boonesborough— Invasion  of  the  Six  Nations— Treaty  with  the 
Delawares — Virginia  land  laws — Claims  of  France  and  Spain — Invasion  of  Kentucky 
— Civil  organization  of  the  same — Invasion  of  St.  Louis — Brents  in  Ohio. 

[We  now  return  to  bring  forward  the  annals  of  Kentucky. 
The  people  had  suffered  much  for  salt,  and  the  labor  and  risk 
of  packing  it  over  the  mountains  on  horseback  were  too  great; 
for  only  by  that  mode  of  transportation  could  they  obtain  the 
necessaries  of  life  which  the  wilderness  did  not  furnish.  It 
was  arranged  that  thirty  men,  under  the  guidance  of  Captain 
Boone,  should  proceed  to  the  Lower  Blue  Licks,  on  Licking 
river,  and  manufacture  salt,  The  enterprise  was  commenced 
on  new  year's  day,  1778.] 

Boone  was  to  be  guide,  hunter,  and  scout;  the  rest  cut  wood 
and  attend  to  the  manufacturing  department.  January  passed 
quietly,  and  before  the  7th  of  February,  enough  of  the  pre- 
cious condiment  had  accumulated  to  lead  to  the  return  of 
three  of  the  party  to  the  stations,  with  the  treasure.  The  rest 
still  labored  on,  and  Boone  enjoyed  the  winter  weather  in  the 
forest  after  his  own  fashion.  But.  alas  for  him,  there  was 
more  than  mere  game  about  him  in  those  woods  along  the 
rugged  Licking.  On  the  7th  of  February,  as  he  was  hunting, 
he  came  upon  a  party  of  one  hundred  and  two  foes,  two 
Canadians,  the  remainder  Indians,  Shawanese  apparently. 
Boone  fled  ;  but  their  swiftest  runners  were  on  his  trail,  and 
he  was  soon  their  prisoner.  Finding  it  impossible  to  give  his 
companions  at  the  Licks  due  notice  so  as  to  secure  their  es- 
cape, he  proceeded  to  make  terms  on  their  behalf  with  his 
captors,  and  then  persuaded  his  men  by  gestures,  at  a  dis- 
tance, to  surrender  without  offering  battle.  Thus,  without  a 
blow,  the  invaders  found  themselves  possessed  of  twenty- 
eight  prisoners,  and  among  them  the  greatest,  in  an  Indian's 
eyes,  of  all  the  Long  Knives.  This  band  was  on  its  way  to 
Boonesborough,  to  attack  or  to  reconnoitre ;  but  such  good  luck 
as  they  had  met  with  changed  their  minds,  and,  turning  upon 
14 


218  Boone  a   Captive.  1778. 

their  track,  they  took  up  their  march  for  old  Chillicothe,  an 
Indian  town  on  the  Little  Miami. 

It  was  no  part  of  the  plan  of  the  Shawanese,  however,  to 
retain  these  men  in  captivity,  nor  yet  to  scalp,  slay,  or  eat 
them.  Under  the  influence  and  rewards  of  Governor  Hamil- 
ton, the  British  Commander  in  the  Northwest,  the  Indians  had 
taken  up  the  business  of  speculating  in  human  beings,  both 
dead  and  alive  ;  and  the  Shawanese  meant  to  take  Boone  and 
his  comrades  to  the  Detroit  market.  On  the  10th  of  March, 
accordingly,  eleven  of  the  party,  including  Daniel  himself, 
were  dispatched  for  the  North,  and,  after  twenty  days  of  jour- 
neying, were  presented  to  the  English  Governor,  who  treated 
them,  Boone  says,  with  great  humanity.  To  Boone  himself, 
Hamilton  and  several  other  gentlemen  seem  to  have  taken  an 
especial  fancy,  and  offered  considerable  sums  for  his  release  ; 
but  the  Shawanese  had  also  become  enamored  of  the  veteran 
hunter  and  would  not  part  with  him.  He  must  go  home  with 
them,  they  said,  and  be  one  of  them,  and  become  a  great 
chief.  So  the  pioneer  found  his  very  virtues  becoming  the 
cause  of  a  prolonged  captivity.  In  April,  the  red  men,  with 
their  one  white  captive,  about  to  be  converted  into  a  genuine 
son  of  nature,  returned  from  the  flats  of  Michigan,  covered 
with  brush-choked  forests,  to  the  rolling  valley  of  the  Miamis, 
with  its  hill-sides  clothed  in  their  rich  open  woods  of  maple 
and  beech,  then  just  bursting  into  bloom.  And  now  the  white 
blood  was  washed  out  of  the  Kentucky  ranger,  and  he  was 
made  a  son  in  the  family  of  Blackfish,  a  Shawanese  Chief, 
and  was  loved  and  caressed  by  father  and  mother,  brothers 
and  sisters,  till  he  was  thoroughly  sick  of  them.  But  disgust, 
he  could  not  show ;  so  he  was  kind,  and  affable,  and  knew 
how  to  allay  any  suspicions  they  might  harbor  Jest  he  should 
runaway.  He  took  his  part  in  their  games  and  romps ;  shot 
as  near  the  centre  of  a  target  as  a  good  hunter  ought  to,  and 
yet  left  the  savage  marksmen  a  chance  to  excel  him,  and  smil- 
ed in  his  quiet  eye  when  he  witnessed  their  joy  at  having 
done  better  than  the  best  of  the  Long  Knives.  He  grew  into 
favor  with  the  chief,  was  trusted,  treated  with  respect,  and 
listened  to  with  attention.  No  man  could  have  been  better 
calculated  than  Boone  to  disarm  the  suspicions  of  the  red 
men.  Some  have  called  him  a  white  Indian,  except  that  he 
never  showed  the  Indian's  blood  thirstiness,  when  excited. 


1778.  His  Fortunate  Escape.  219 

Scarce  any  other  white  ever  possessed  in  an  equal  degree  the 
true  Indian  gravity,  which  comes  neither  from  thought,  feeling, 
or  vacuity,  but  from  a  bump  peculiar  to  their  own  craniums. 
And  so  in  hunting,  shooting,  swimming,  and  other  Shawanese 
amusements,  the  newly  made  Indian  Boone  spent  the  month 
of  May,  necessity  making  all  the  little  inconveniences  of  his 
lot  quite  endurable. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  his  aid  was  required  in  the  business  of 
salt  making,  and  for  that  purpose  he  and  a  party  of  his  brethren 
started  for  the  valley  of  the  Scioto,  where  he  stayed  ten  days, 
hunting,  boiling  brine,  and  cooking  ;  then  the  homeward  path 
was  taken  again.  But  when  Chillicothe  was  once  more  reach- 
ed, a  sad  sight  met  our  friend  Daniel's  eyes ;  four  hundred  and 
fifty  of  the  choice  warriors  of  the  West,  painted  in  the  most 
exquisite  war  style,  and  armed  for  the  battle.  He  scarce  need- 
ed to   ask  whither  they  were   bound ;     his  heart   told  him 
Boonesborough  ;  and  already  in  imagination  he  saw  the  blaz- 
ing roofs  of  the  little  borough  he  had  founded ,  and  he  saw 
the  bleeding  forms  of  his  friends.     Could  he  do  nothing?     He 
would  see ;  meanwhile  be  a  good  Indian  and  look  all  ease  and 
joy.  He  was  a  long  way  from  his  own  white  homestead  ;  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  at  least,  and  a  rough  and  inhospitable 
country  much  of  the  way  between  him  and  it.     But  he  had 
traveled  fast  and  far,  and  might  again.     So,  without  a  word 
to  his  fellow  prisoners,  early  in  the  morning  of  June  the  16th, 
without  his  breakfast,  in  the  most  secret  manner,  unseen,  un- 
heard, he  departed.     He  left  his  red  relatives  to  mourn  his 
loss,  and  over  hill  and  valley  sped,  forty  miles  a  day,  for  four 
successive  days,  and  ate  but  one  meal  by  the  way.     He  found 
the  station  wholly  unprepared  to  resist  so  formidable  a  body  as 
that  which  threatened  it,  and  it  was  a  matter  of  life  and  death 
that  every  muscle  should  be  exerted  to  get  all  in  readiness  for 
the  expected  visiters.     Rapidly  the  white  men  toiled  in  the 
summer  sun,  and  through  the  summer  night,  to  repair  and 
complete  the  fortifications,  and  to  have  all  as  experience  had 
shown  it  should  be.     But  still  the  foe  came  not,  and  in  a  few 
days  another  escaped  captive  brought  information  of  the  delay 
of  the  expedition  in  consequence  of  Boone's  flight.     The  sav- 
ages had  relied  on  surprising  the  stations,  and  their  plans  be- 
ing foiled  by  their  adopted  son  Daniel,  all  their  determinations 
were  unsettled.     Thus  it  proved  the  salvation  of  Boonesbo- 


220  Boonesborough  Attacked,  1778. 

rough,  and  probably  of  all  the  frontier  forts,  that  the  founder 
of  Kentucky  was  taken  captive  and  remained  a  captive  as  long 
as  he  did.  So  often  do  seeming  misfortunes  prove,  in  God's 
hand,  our  truest  good. 

Boone,  finding  his  late  relatives  so  backward  in  their  pro- 
posed call,  determined  to  anticipate  them  by  a  visit  to  the 
Scioto  valley,  where  he  had  been  at  salt-making  ;  and  early 
in  August,  with  nineteen  men,  started  for  the  town  on  Paint 
Creek.  He  knew,  of  course,  that  he  was  trying  a  somewhat 
hazardous  experiment,  as  Boonesborough  might  be  attacked 
in  his  absence  ;  but  he  had  his  wits  about  him,  and  his  scouts 
examined  the  country  far  and  wide.  Without  interruption,  he 
crossed  the  Ohio,  and  had  reached  within  a  few  miles  of  the 
place  he  meant  to  attack,  when  his  advanced  guard,  consist- 
ing of  one  man,  Simon  Kenton,  discovered  two  natives  riding 
one  horse,  and  enjoying  some  joke  as  they  rode.  Not  consid- 
ering that,  these  two  might  be,  like  himself,  the  van  ot  a  small 
army,  Simon,  one  of  the  most  impetuous  of  men,  shot  and  run 
forward  to  scalp  them, — but  found  himself  at  once  in  the 
midst  of  a  dozen  or  more  of  his  red  enemies,  from  whom  he 
escaped  only  by  the  coming  up  of  Boone  and  the  remainder. 
The  commander,  upon  considering  the  circumstances,  and 
learning  from  spies  whom  he  sent  forward,  that  the  town  he  in- 
tended to  attack  was  deserted,  came  to  the  opinion  that  the 
band  just  met  was  on  its  way  to  join  a  larger  body  for  the  in- 
vasion of  Kentucky,  and  advised  an  immediate  return. 

His  advice  was  taken,  and  the  result  proved  its  wisdom;  for 
in  order  to  reach  Boonesborough,  they  were  actually  obliged 
to  coast  along,  go  round,  and  outstrip  a  body  of  nearly  five 
hundred  savages,  led  by  Canadians,  who  were  marching 
against  his  doomed  borough,  and  after  all,  got  there  only  the 
day  before  them. 

[Shortly  after  their  return,  on  the  7th  of  September,*  the 
whole  Indian  army,  four  hundred  and  forty-four  in  number, 
commanded  by  Blackfish,  with  eleven  Canadians  under  Capt. 
Du  Quesne,  with  British  and  French  colors  flying,  appeared 

*Eilsen  from  Boone's  dictation,  says  it  was  the  8th  of  August,  and  Marshall,  Flint, 
Butler,  and  others  follow  this  date.  This  is  certainly  a  mistake,  as  at  that  time,  Boone 
and  his  party  were  on  this  expedition  at  Paint  Creek.  Col.  Bowman's  letter  tfc  Col.  GK  K. 
Clark,  is  the  date  we  follow,  and  this  accords  with  the  recollection  of  the  late  Flanders 
CaUaway  of  Missouri.  See  Life  of  Boone  in  Sparks'  Biography,  p  18 — Ed. 


1778.  Indian   Treacliery.  221 

before  Boonesborough.  The  summons  was  to  "  surrender  the 
fort  in  the  name  of  his  Britannic  Majesty,"  with  promises 
of  liberal  treatment.] 

It  was,  as  Daniel  says,  a  critical  period  for  him  and  his 
friends.  Should  they  yield,  what  mercy  could  they  look  for? 
and  he,  especially,  after  his  unkind  flight  from  his  Shawanese 
parents?  They  had  almost  stifled  him  with  their  caresses 
before ;  they  would  literally  hug  him  to  death,  if  again  within 
their  grasp.  Should  they  refuse  to  yield,  what  hope  of  suc- 
cessful resistance  ?  And  they  had  so  much  need  of  all  their 
cattle,  to  aid  them  in  sustaining  a  siege,  and  yet  their  cows 
were  abroad  in  the  woods.  Daniel  pondered  the  matter,  and 
concluded  it  would  be  safe,  at  any  rate,  to  ask  two  days  for 
consideration.  It  was  granted,  and  he  drove  in  his  cows  !  The 
evening  of  the  9th  soon  arrived,  however,  and  he  must  say 
one  thing  or  another ;  so  he  politely  thanked  the  represent- 
ative of  his  gracious  Majesty  for  giving  the  garrison  time  to 
prepare  for  their  defence,  and  announced  their  determination 
to  fight.  Capt.  Du  Quesne  was  much  grieved  at  this ;  Gov- 
ernor Hamilton  was  anxious  to  save  bloodshed,  and  wished  the 
Kentuckians  taken  alive ;  and  rather  than  proceed  to  extremi- 
ties, the  worthy  Canadian  offered  to  withdraw  his  troops,  if  the 
garrison  would  make  a  treaty,  though  to  what  point  the  treaty 
was  to  aim,  is  unknown.  Boone  was  determined  not  to  yield; 
but  then  he  had  no  wish  to  starve  in  his  fort,  or  have  it  taken  by 
storm,  arid  be  scalped,  and  he  thought,  remembering  Hamilton's 
kindness  to  him  when  in  Detroit,  that  there  might  be  something 
in  what  the  Captain  said,  and  at  any  rate,  to  enter  upon  a  treaty 
was  to  gain  time,  and  something  might  turn  up.  So  he  agreed 
to  treat ;  but  where  ?  Could  nine  of  the  garrison,  as  desired, 
safely  venture  into  the  open  field  ?  It  might  be  all  a  trick  to 
get  possession  of  some  of  the  leading  whites.  Upon  the  whole, 
however,  as  the  leading  Indians  and  their  Canadian  allies  must 
come  under  the  rifles  of  the  garrison,  who  might  with  certainty 
and  safety  pick  them  off  if  treachery  were  attempted,  it  was 
thought  best  to  run  the  risk ;  and  Boone,  with  eight  others, 
went  out  to  meet  the  leaders  of  the  enemy,  sixty  yards  from 
the  fort,  within  which  the  sharpest  shooters  stood  with  leveled 
rifles,  ready  to  protect  their  comrades.  The  treaty  was  made 
and  signed,  and  then  the  Indians,  saying  it  was  their  custom 
for  two  of  them  to  shake  hands  with  every  white  man  when  a 


222  Hostility  of  the  Mohawks.  1778. 

treaty  was  made,  expressed  a  wish  to  press  the  palms  of  their 
new  allies.  Boone  and  his  friends  must  have  looked  rather 
queer  at  this  proposal ;  but  it  was  safer  to  accede  than  to  re- 
fuse and  be  shot  instantly ;  so  they  presented  each  his  hand. 
As  anticipated  the  warriors  seized  them  with  rough  and  fierce 
eagerness,  the  whites  drew  back  struggling,  the  treachery  was 
apparent,  the  rifle  balls  from  the  garrison  struck  down  the 
foremost  assailants  of  the  little  band,  and,  amid  a  fire  from 
friends  and  foes,  Boone  and  his  fellow  deputies  bounded  back 
into  the  station,  with  the  exception  of  one,  unhurt. 

[Of  the  nine  men,  we  can  give  the  names  of  five ;  from 
four  of  whom,  we  have  heard  the  story :  They  were  Daniel 
Boone,  Flanders  Callaway,  Stephen  Hancock  and  William 
Hancock,  all  of  whom  were  living  in  Missouri  in  1818.  Squire 
Boone,  the  brother  of  Daniel,  was  the  fifth.  Neither  party  was 
armed.  In  rushing  to  the  fort,  Squire  Boone  was  slightly 
wounded  in  the  shoulder.] 

The  treaty  trick  having  thus  failed,  Capt.  Du  Quesne  had 
to  look  to  more  ordinary  modes  of  warfare,  and  opened  a  fire 
which  lasted  during  ten  days,  though  to  no  purpose,  for  the 
woodsmen  were  determined  not  to  yield.  On  the  20th  of  Au- 
gust, the  Indians  were  forced  unwillingly  to  retire,  having  lost 
thirty-seven  of  their  number,  and  wasted  a  vast  amount  of 
powder  and  lead.  The  garrison  picked  up  from  the  ground, 
after  their  departure,  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  of 
their  bullets.* 

[In  the  "Pioneer  History,"  by  Dr.  Hildreth,  we  learn  that  in 
January,  1778,  provisions  became  very  scarce  in  the  region 
about  Pittsburgh.  Flour  was  $8  per  hundred  pounds.] 

Meanwhile  the  United  States  had  not  lost  sight  entirely  of 
western  affairs.  A  fort  was  built  early  in  the  summer  of  this 
year,  upon  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  a  little  below  Pittsburgh,  near 
the  spot  where  Beaver  now  stands.  It  was  built  by  General 
Mclntosh,  who  had  been  appointed  in  May  to  succeed  General 
Handf  in  the  West,  and  was  named  with  his  name.J  It  was 
the  first  fort  built  by  the  whites  north  of  the  Ohio.  From  this 
point  it  was  intended  to  operate  in  reducing  Detroit,  where 
mischief  was  still  brewing.  Indeed  the  natives  were  now 

*See  Butler,  534.— Marshall  i.  Boone'a  Narrative,  Ac. 

fSparks'  Washington,  v.  361,  382. 

JDoddridge,  p.  243. — Silliman's  Journal,  vol.  xxxi.  Art.  i.  p.  18. 


1778.  Operations  in  Ohio.  223 

more  united  than  ever  against  the  colonies.  In  June  we  find 
Congress  in  possession  of  information,  that  led  them  to  think 
a  universal  frontier  war  close  at  hand.*  The  Senecas,  Cayu- 
gas,  Mingoes,  (by  which,  we  presume,  were  meant,  the  Ohio 
Iroquois,  or  possibly  the  Mohawks,)  Wyandots,  Onondagas, 
Ottawas,  Chippeways,  Shawanese  and  Delawares,  were  all 
said  to  be  more  or  less  united  in  opposition  to  America.  Con- 
gress, learning  the  danger  to  be  so  immediate  and  great, 
determined  to  push  on  the  Detroit  expedition,  and  ordered 
another  to  be  undertaken  by  the  Mohawk  valley  against  the 
Senecas,  who  might  otherwise  very  much  annoy  and  impede 
the  march  from  Fort  Pitt.  For  the  capture  of  Detroit,  three 
thousand  continental  troops  and  two  thousand  five  hundred 
militia  were  voted ;  an  appropriation  was  made  of  nearly  a 
million  of  dollars;  and  General  Mclntosh  was  to  carryfor- 
ward the  needful  operations. 

[Washington  mentions  Mclntosh  as  an  officer  of  great  worth 
and  merit,  possessing  firmness,  love  of  justice,  assiduity,  and  a 
good  understanding.!] 

All  the  flourish  which  was  made  about  taking  Detroit,  how- 
ever, and  conquering  the  Senecas,  ended  in  the  Resolves  of 
Congress,  it  being  finally  thought  too  late  in  the  season  for 
advantageous  action,  and  also  too  great  an  undertaking  for 
the  weak-handed  colonies. 

This  having  been  settled,  it  was  resolved,  that  the  forces 
in  the  West  should  move  up  and  attack  the  Wyandots  and 
other  Indians  about  the  Sandusky,J  and  a  body  of  troops  was 
accordingly  marched  forward  to  prepare  a  half-way  house,  or 
post  by  which  the  necessary  connexion  might  be  kept  up.  This 
was  built  upon  the  Tuscarawas,  a  few  miles  south  of  the  pres- 
ent town  of  Bolivar.  In  these  quiet,  commercial  days  the 
Ohio  canal  passes  through  its  midst.  It  was  named  Fort  Lau- 
rens,  in  honor  of  the  President  of  Congress.J 

While  these  warlike  measures  were  pursued  on  the  one 
hand,  the  Confederacy,  on  the  other,  by  its  Commissioners,  An- 
drew and  Thomas  Lewis  of  Virginia,  formed  at  Fort  Pitt,  on 
the  17th  of  September,  a  treaty  of  peace  and  alliance  with  the 
Chiefs  of  the  Delawares,  White-Eyes,  Kill-Buck,  and  Pipe. 

*Journals  of  the  Old  Congress,  vol.  ii.  p.  585. 
•{•Journals  of  the  Old  Congress,  vol  ii.  p.  633. 

JSilliman's  Journal,  x.xxi.  57;  where  the  name  as  in  many  treaties,  <tc.  is  misprinted. 
Lawrence. 


224  Hostility  of  the  Iroquois.  1779. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  erection  of  Fort  Laurens.  At 
that  point,  seventy  miles  from  Fort  Mclntosh,  and  exposed  to 
all  the  fierce  north-western  tribes,  Col.  Jno.  Gibson  had  been  left 
with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  to  get  through  the  winter  of 
1778-9,  as  he  best  could,  while  Mclntosh  himself  returned  to 
Pittsburgh,  disappointed  and  dispirited.  Nor  was  Congress 
in  a  very  good  humor  with  him,  for  already  had  six  months 
passed  to  no  purpose.  Washington  was  consulted,  but  could 
give  no  definite  advice,  knowing  nothing  of  those  details 
which  must  determine  the  course  of  things  for  the  winter. 
Mclntosh,  at  length,  in  February  asked  leave  to  retire  from 
his  unsatisfactory  command,  and  was  allowed  to  do  so.  No 
blame,  however,  appears  to  have  fairly  attached  to  him,  as  he 
did  all  in  his  power ;  among  other  things  leading  a  party  with 
provisions  to  the  relief  of  Colonel  Gibson's  starving  garrison. 
Unhappily  the  guns  fired  as  a  salute  by  those  about  to  be  re- 
lieved, scared  the  pack-horses  and  much  of  the  provision  was 
scattered  and  lost  in  the  woods.  The  force  at  Fort  Laurens, 
meantime,  had  been,  as  we  have  intimated,  suffering  cruelly, 
both  from  the  Indians  and  famine,  and,  though  finally  rescued 
from  starvation,  had  done,  and  could  do,  nothing.  The  post 
was  at  last  abandoned  in  August,  1779. 

Turning  from  the  west  to  the  north,  we  find  a  new  cause  of 
trouble  arising  there.  Of  the  six  tribes  of  the  Iroquois,  the 
Senecas,  Mohawks,  Cayugas,  and  Onondagas,  had  been,  from 
the  outset,  inclining  to  Britain,  though  all  of  these,  but  the 
»  Mohawks,  had  n/rw  and  then  tried  to  persuade  the  Americans 

/to  the  contrary. |  During  the  winter  of  1778-9,  the  Onondagas, 
who  had  been  for  a  while  nearly  neutral,  were  suspected,  by 
the  Americans,  of  deception  ;/and,  this  suspicion  having  be- 
come nearly  knowledge,|a  bamt  was  sent,  early  in  April,  to 
destroy  their  towns,  and  take  such  of  them,  as  could  be  taken, 
prisoners.  The  work  appointed  was  done,  and  the  villages 
and  wealth  of  the  poor  savages  were  annihilated.  This  sud- 
den act  of  severity  startled  all.  I  The  Oneidas,  hitherto  faith- 
ful to  their  neutrality,  were  alairoed,  lest  the  next  blow  should 
fall  on  them,  and  it  was  only  after  a  full  explanation  that  their 
fears  were  quieted.  *  As  for  the  Onondagas,  it  was  not  to  be 
hoped  that  they  wtfuld  sit  down  under  such  treatment ;  and 
we  find,  accordingly,  that  some  hundred  of  their  warriors 
were  at  once  in  the  field,  and  from  that  time  forward,  a  por- 


1779.  General  Sullivan's  Expedition.  225 

tion  of  their  nation  remained,  and,  we  think,  justly,  hostile  to 
the  United  Colonies.* 

The  Continental  Congress,  meanwhile,  had  become  con- 
vinced, from  the  massacre  at  Wyoming  and  Cherry  Valley, 
that  it  was  advisable  to  adopt  some  means  of  securing  the 
north-western  and  western  frontiers  against  the  recurrence  of 
such  catastrophes ;  and,  the  hostile  tribes  of  the  Six  Nations 
being  the  most  numerous  and  deadly  foes,  it  was  concluded  to 
begin  by  strong  action  against  them.  Washington  had  al- 
ways said,  that  the  only  proper  mode  of  defence  against  the 
Indians  was  to  attack  them,  and  this  mode  he  determined  to 
adopt  on  this  occasion.  Some  difference  of  opinion  existed, 
however,  as  to  the  best  path  into  the  country  of  the  inimical 
Iroquois.  General  Schuyler  was  in  favor  of  a  movement  up 
the  Mohawk  river ;  the  objection  to  which  route  was,  that  it 
carried  the  invaders  too  near  to  Lake  Ontario,  and  within 
reach  of  the  British.  The  other  course  proposed,  was  up  the 
Susquehanna,  which  heads,  as  all  know,  in  the  region  that 
was  to  be  reached.  The  latter  route  was  the  one  determined 
on  by  Washington  for  the  main  body  of  troops,  which  was  to 
be  joined  by  another  body  moving  up  the  Mohawk,  and  also 
by  detachments  coming  from  the  western  army,  by  the  way 
of  the  Allegheny  and  French  Creek.  Upon  further  thought, 
however,  the  movement  from  the  West  was  countermanded. f 
All  the  arrangements  for  this  invasion  were  made  in  March 
and  April,  but  it  was  the  last  of  July  before  General  Sullivan 
could  get  his  men  on  their  march  from  Wyoming,  where  they 
had  gathered ;  and,  of  course,  information  of  the  proposed 
movements  had  been  given  to  the  Indians  and  Tories,  so  that 
Brant,  the  Johnsons,  and  their  followers  stood  ready  to  receive 
the  invaders. 

They  were  not,  however,  strong  enough  to  withstand  the 
Americans;  and,  having  been  defeated  at  the  battle  of  New- 
ton, were  driven  from  village  to  village,  and  their  whole  coun- 
try was  laid  waste.  Houses  were  burned,  crops  and  orchards 
destroyed,  and  every  thing  done  that  could  be  thought  of,  to 
render  the  country  uninhabitable.  Of  all  these  steps  Mr.  Stone 
speaks  fully.  Forty  towns,  he  tells  us,  were  burnt,  and  more 
than  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  bushels  of  corn  destroy- 

*  Stone,  vol.  i.  p.  205. 

t  Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  vi.  pp.  183  ct.  seq. 


226  Attack  on  Detroit  Projected.  1778. 

ed.  Well  did  the  Senecas  name  Washington,  whose  armies 
did  all  this,  "the  Town  Destroyer."  Having  performed  this 
portion  of  his  work,  Sullivan  turned  homeward  from  the 
beautiful  valley  of  the  Genessee ;  leaving  Niagara,  whither 
the  Indians  fled,  as  to  the  strong  hold  of  British  power  in  that 
neighborhood,  untouched.  This  conduct,  Mr.  Stone  thinks, 
"difficult  of  solution,"*  as  he  supposes  the  destruction  of  that 
post  to  have  been  one  of  the  main  objects  of  the  expedition. 
Such,  however,  was  not  the  fact.  Originally,  it  had  been  part 
of  the  proposed  plan  to  attack  Niagara  ;  but,  early  in  January, 
Washington  was  led  to  doubt,  and  then  to  abandon  that  part 
of  the  plan,  thinking  it  wiser  to  carry  on,  merely,  some  opera- 
tions on  a  smaller  scale  against  the  savages." 

One  of  the  smaller  operations  was  from  the  West.  On  the 
22d  of  March,  1779,  Washington  wrote  to  Colonel  Daniel 
Brodhead,  who  had  succeeded  Mclntosh  at  Fort  Pitt,  that  an 
incursion  into  the  country  of  the  Six  Nations  was  in  prepara- 
tion, and  that  in  connection  therewith,  it  might  be  advisable 
for  a  force  to  ascend  the  Allegheny  to  Kittaning,  and  thence 
to  Venango,  and  having  fortified  both  points,  to  strike  the  Min- 
goes  and  Munceys  upon  French  Creek  and  elsewhere  in  that 
neighborhood,  and  thus  aid  Gen.  Sullivan  in  the  great  blow  he 
was  to  give  by  his  march  up  the  Susquehanna.  ABrodhead 
was  also  directed  to  say  to  the  Western  Indians,  niat  if  they 
made  any  trouble,  the  whole  force  of  the  United  States  would 
be  turned  against  them,  and  they  should  be  cut  off  from  the 
face  of  the  earth.  But,  on  the  21st  of  April,  these  orders 
were  countermanded,  and  the  western  commander  was  direct- 
ed to  prepare  a  rod  for  the  Indians  of  the  Ohio  and  Western 
Lakes;  and  especially  to  learn  the  best  time  for  attacking 
Detroit.  Whether  this  last  advice  came  too  late,  or  was  with- 
drawn again,  we  have  no  means  of  learning;  but  Brodhead 
proceeded  as  originally  directed ;  marched  up  the  Allegheny., 
burned  the  towns  of  the  Indians,  and  destroyed  their  crops<t  J) 

The  immediate  results  of  this  and  other  equally  prompt>a«il 
severe  measures,  was  to  bring  the  Delawares,  Shawanese,  and 
even  Wyandots,  to  Fort  Pitt,  on  a  treaty  of  peace.  There 
Bcodhead  met  them,  on  his  return  in  September,  and  a  long 
conference  was  held,  to  the  satisfaction  of  both  parties. 

*Life  of  Brant,  vol.  ii.  p.  30. 

t  Sparks'  Washington,  vol.  vi.  pp.  120, 146, 162,  205,  224,  384,  387. 


1779.  Contests  with  the  Indians.  227 

Farther  west,  during  this  summer  and  autumn,  the  Indians 
were  more  successful.  In  July,  the  stations  being  still  trou- 
bled, Colonel  Bowman  undertook  an  expedition  into  the 
country  of  the  Shawanese,  acting  upon  the  principle,  that  to 
defend  yourself  against  Indians,  you  must  assail  them.  He 
marched  undiscovered  into  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
towns  upon  the  Little  Miami,  and  so  divided  and  arranged 
his  forces,  as  to  ensure  apparent  success,  one  portion  of  the 
troops  being  commanded  by  himself,  another  by  Colonel  Ben- 
jamin Logan;  but  from  some  unexpected  cause,  his  division 
of  the  whites  did  not  co-operate  fully  with  that  led  by  Logan, 
and  the  whole  body  was  forced  to  retreat,  after  having  taken 
some  booty,  including  one  hundred  and  sixty  horses,  and 
leaving  the  town  of  the  savages  in  cinders,  but  also  leaving 
the  fierce  warriors  themselves  in  no  degree  daunted  or 
crippled.* 

Nor  was  it  long  before  they  showed  themselves  south  of  the 
Ohio  again,  and  unexpectedly  \von  a  victory  over  the  Ameri- 
cans of  no  slight  importance.  The  facts,  so  far  as  we  can 
gather  them,  are  these  : 

An  expedition  which  had  been  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lex- 
ington, where  the  first  permanent  improvements  were  made 
in  April  of  this  year,f  upon  its  return  came  to  the  Ohio  near 
the  Licking,  at  the  very  time  that  Colonel  Rogers  and  Cap- 
tain Benham  reached  the  same  point  on  their  way  up  the 
river  in  boats.  A  few  of  the  Indians  were  seen  by  the  com- 
mander of  the  little  American  squadron,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Licking ;  and  supposing  himself  to  be  far  superior  in 
numbers,  he  caused  seventy  of  his  men  to  land,  intending  to 
surround  the  savages  ;  in  a  few  moments,  however,  he  found 
he  was  himself  surrounded,  and  after  a  hard  fought  battle, 
only  twenty  or  twenty-five,  or  perhaps  even  fewer,  of  the  party 
were  left  alive. J  It  was  in  connection  with  this  skirmish  that 
an  incident  occurred  which  seems  to  belong  rather  to  a  fajri- 
ciful  story  than  to  sober  history,  and  which  yet  appears  to  be 
well  authenticated.  In  the  party  of  whites  was  Captain 

•Marshall  i.  91.     See  General  Ray's  opinion,  note  to  Butler,  110. 

tHolmes'  Annals,  ii.  304;  note.  American  Pioneer,  ii.  346.  Butler,  101.  Marshall, 
L  198. 

J Butler,  2d  edition,  102.  (In  this  account  there  is  confusion;  the  Indians  are  re- 
presented as  coining,  on  their  return  from  Kentucky,  down  the  Little  Miami.)  McClung, 
143. 


Singular  Co-partnership.  1779 

Robert  Benham.  He  was  one  of  those  that  fell,  being  shot 
through  both  hips,  so  as  to  be  powerless  in  his  lower  limbs; 
he  dragged  himself,  however,  to  a  tree-top,  and  there  lay 
concealed  from  the  savages  after  the  contest  was  over.  On 
the  evening  of  the  second  day,  seeing  a  raccoon,  he  shot  it, 
but  no  sooner  was  the  crack  of  his  rifle  heard  than  he  distin- 
guished a  human  voice  not  far  distant ;  supposing  it  to  be 
some  Indian,  he  reloaded  his  gun  and  prepared  for  defence ; 
but  a  few  moments  undeceived  him,  and  he  discovered  that 
the  person  whose  voice  he  had  heard  was  a  fellow  sufferer, 
with  this  difference,  however,  that  both  his  arms  were  broken! 
Here  then,  were  the  only  two  survivors  of  the  combat,  (ex- 
cept those  who  had  entirely  escaped,)  with  one  pair  of  legs 
and  one  pair  of  arms  between  them.  It  will  be  easily  be- 
lieved that  they  formed  a  co-partnership  for  mutual  aid  and 
defence.  Benham  shot  the  game  which  his  friend  drove  to- 
wards him,  and  the  man  with  sound  legs  then  kicked  it  to  the 
spot  where  he  with  sound  arms  sat  ready  to  cook  it.  To  pro- 
cure water,  the  one  with  legs  took  a  hat  by  the  brim  in  his 
teeth,  and  walked  into  the  Licking  up  to  his  neck,  while  the 
man  with  arms  was  to  make  signals  if  any  boat  appeared  in 
sight.  In  this  way,  they  spent  about  six  weeks,  when,  upon 
the  27th  of  November,  they  were  rescued.  Benham  after- 
wards bought  and  lived  upon  the  land  where  the  battle  took 
place;  his  companion,  Mr.  Butler  tells  us,  was,  a  few  years 
since,  still  living  at  Brownsville,  Pennsylvania. 

But  the  military  operations  of  1779  were  not  those  which 
were  of  the  most  vital  importance  to  the  West.  The  passage 
of  the  Land  Laws  by  Virginia  was  of  more  consequence  than 
the  losing  or  gaining  of  many  battles,  to  the  hardy  pioneers 
of  Kentucky  and  to  their  descendants.  Of  these  laws  we  can 
give  at  best  but  a  vague  outline,  but  it  may  be  enough  to 
render  the  subject  in  some  degree  intelligible. 

In  1779  there  existed  claims  of  very  various  kinds  to  the 
western  lands : 

1.  Those    of  the    Ohio,  Walpole,  and  other   companies, 
who  had  a  title  more  or  less  perfect,  from  the  British  Gov- 
ernment :  none  of  these  had  been  perfected  by  patents,  how- 
ever. 

2.  Claims  founded  on  the  military  bounty  warrants  of  1763; 
some  of  these  were  patentedj 


1779.  Claims  for  Lands.  229 

3.  Henderson's  claim  by  purchase  from  the  Indians. 

4.  Those  based  on  mere  selection  and  occupancy. 

5.  Others  resting  on  selection  and  survey,  without  occu- 
pancy. 

6.  Claims  of  persons  who  had  imported  settlers  ;  for  each 
such  settler,  under  an  old  law,  fifty  acres  were  to  be  allowed. 

7.  Claims  of  persons  who  had  paid  mtoney  into  the  old  co- 
lonial treasury  for  land. 

8.  The  claims  of  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Revolution, 
to  whom  Virginia  was  indebted. 

These  various  claims  were,  in  the  first  place,  to  be  provided 
for,  and  then  the  residue  of  the  rich  vallies  beyond  the 
mountains  might  be  sold  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  parent  State. 
In  May,*  the  chief  laws  relative  to  this  most  important  and 
complicated  subject  were  passed,  and  commissioners  were  ap- 
pointed to  examine  the  various  claims  which  might  be  pre- 
sented, and  give  judgment  according  to  the  evidence  brought 
forward ;  their  proceedings,  however,  to  remain  open  to  revi- 
sion until  December  1,  1780.  And  as  the  subject  was  a  per- 
plexed one,  the  following  principles  were  laid  down  for  their 
guidance : 

I.  All  surveys  (without  patents,)  made  before  January  1, 
1778,  by  any  county  surveyor  commissioned  by  William  and 
Mary  College,  and  founded  upon  charter ;  upon  importation 
rights  duly  proved ;  upon  treasury  rights,  (money  paid  into 
the  colonial  treasury ;)  upon  entries  not  exceeding  four  hun- 
dred acres,  made  before  October  26,  1763;  upon  acts  of  the 
Virginia    Assembly   resulting  from  orders   in    council,   &c.; 
upon    any  warrant   from    a   colonial  governor,  for  military 
services,  &c.  were   to   be  good  ;  all  other  surveys  null  and 
void. 

II.  Those  who  had  not  made  surveys,  if  claiming  under  im- 
portation rights ;  under  treasury  rights ;  under  warrants  for 
military  services,  were  to  be  admitted  to  survey  and  entry. 

III.  Those  who  had  actually  settled,  or  caused  at  their 
cost  others  to  settle,  on  unappropriated  lands,  before  January 
1,  1778,  were  to  have  four  hundred   acres,  or  less,  as  they 
pleased,  for  every  family  so  settled ;  paying  $2  25  for  each 
hundred  acres. 

*Morehead,  166. 


230  Claims  for  Lands.  1779. 

IV.  Those  who  had  settled  in  villages  before  January  1, 
1778,  were  to  receive  for  each  family  four  hundred  acres,  ad- 
jacent to  the  village,  at  $2  25  per  hundred  acres ;  and  the 
village  property  was  to  remain  unsurveyed  until  the  Gene- 
ral Assembly  could  examine  the  titles  to  it,  and  do  full  justice. 

V.  To  all  having  settlement  rights,  as  above    described, 
was  given  also  a  right  of  pre-emption  to  one  thousand  acres 
adjoining  the  settlement,  at  State  prices — forty  cents  an  acre. 

VI.  To  those  ,who  had  settled  since  January  1,  1778,  was 
given  a  pre-emption  right  to  four  hundred  acres,  adjoining  and 
including  the  settlement  made  by  them. 

VII.  All  the  region  between  Green  river,  the  Cumberland 
mountains,  Tennessee,  the    river   Tennessee,  and  the  Ohio, 
was  reserved,  to  be  used  for  military  claims. 

VIII.  The  two  hundred  thousand  acres  granted  Henderson 
and  his  associates,  October,  1778,  along  the  Ohio,  below  the 
mouth  of  Green  river,  remained  still  appropriated  to  them. 

Having  thus  provided  for  the  various  classes  of  claimants, 
the  Legislature  offered  the  remainder  of  the  public  lands  at 
forty  cents  an  acre  :  the  money  was  to  be  paid  into  the  Trea- 
sury and  a  warrant  for  the  quantity  wished  taken  by  the 
purchaser ;  this  warrant  he  was  to  take  to  the  surveyor  of  the 
county  in  which  he  wished  to  locate,  and  an  entry  was  to  be 
made  of  every  location,  so  special  and  distinct,  that  the  ad- 
joining lands  might  be  known  with  certainty.  To  persons 
unable  to  pay  cash,  four  hundred  acres  were  to  be  sold  on 
credit,  and  an  order  of  the  county  court  was  to  be  substituted 
for  the  warrant  of  the  Treasury. 

To  carry  these  laws  into  effect,  four  Virginians  were  sent 
westward  to  attend  to  claims ;  these  gentlemen  opened  their 
court  on  the  13th  of  October,  at  St.  Asaphs,  and  continued 
their  sessions  at  various  points,  until  April  26,  1780,  when 
they  adjourned  to  meet  no  more,  after  having  given  judgment 
in  favor  of  about  three  thousand  claims.  The  labors  of  the 
commissioners  being  ended,  those  ef  the  surveyor  commenced; 
and  Mr.  George  May,  \vho  had  been  appointed  to  that  office, 
assumed  its  duties  upon  the  10th  day  of  that  month,  the  name 
of  which  he  bore.*  » 

*  Marshall,  i.  82,  97.    See  also  Statutes  of  Virginia,  by  B.  W.  Leigh,  ii.  347,  348,  350, 
353,  388. 


1779.  Virginia  Land  Laws.  231 

[The  Governor  of  Virginia  appointed  and  commissioned 
William  Fleming,  Edmund  Lyne,  James  Barbour  and  Stephen 
Trigg  as  Commissioners  for  Kentucky ;  but  it  was  not  until 
some  time  in  October,  1779,  they  arrived  in  the  country  and 
opened  court.  The  law  itself  was  vague,  and  the  proceed- 
ings of  the  court,  and  the  certificates  granted  to  claimants 
under  the  law,  were  more  indefinite  and  uncertain.  The  de- 
scription of  tracts  were  general,  the  boundaries  not  well 
defined,  and  consequently  the  claims,  when  located,  inter- 
fered with  each  other.  Every  family  that  settled  on  waste  or 
unappropriated  lands  belonging  to  Virginia,  upon  the  western 
waters,  was  entitled  to  a  pre-emption  right  to  any  quantity  of 
land  not  exceeding  four  hundred  acres ;  and,  upon  the  pay- 
ment of  two  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents  on  each  one  hun- 
dred acres,  a  certificate  was  granted,  and  a  title  in  fee  simple 
confirmed. 

Each  settler  could  select  and  survey  for  pre-emption  any 
quantity  of  waste  or  unappropriated  lands,  not  exceeding  one 
thousand  acres  to  each  claimant,  for  which  forty  dollars  for 
each  hundred  acres  were  required.  Payments  could  be  made 
in  the  paper  currency  of  Virginia,  which  had  depreciated 
greatly.* 

We  give  the  following  specimen  from  the  record  of  the 
Commissioners'  Court,  to  illustrate  the  vague  manner  in 
which  tracts  of  land  were  described  in  the  entry: 

"  Michael  Stoner  this  day  appeared,  and  claimed  a  right  of 
settlement  and  pre-emption  to  a  tract  of  land  lying  on  Sto- 
ner's  Fork,  a  branch  of  the  south  fork  of  the  Licking,  about 
twelve  miles  above  Licking  Station,  by  making  corn  in  the 
country  in  the  year  1775,  and  improving  said  land  in  1776. 
Satisfactory  proof  being  made  to  the  court,  they  are  of  opin- 
ion that  said  Stoner  has  a  right  to  a  settlement  of  four  hun- 
dred acres  of  land,  including  the  above  mentioned  improve- 
ment, and  a  pre-emption  of  one  thousand  acres  adjoining  the 
same,  and  that  a  certificate  issue  accordingly." 

"Joseph  Combs,  this  day  claimed  a  right  to  a  pre-emption 
of  one  thousand  acres  of  land  lying  on  Comb's,  since  called 
Howard's  creek,  about  eight  miles  above  Boonesborough,  on 
both  sides  of  the  creek,  and  about  three  or  four  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  it,  by  improving  the  said  land,  by  building  a 
cabin  on  the  premises,  in  the  month  of  May,  1775.  Satisfkc- 
tory  proof  being  made  to  the  court,  they  are  of  opinion  that 

*Life  of  Boone,  in  Sparks'  Biography,  p.  95. 


232  Commissioner's  Court.  1779. 

the  said  Combs  has  a  right  to  a  pre-emption  of  one  thousand 
acres,  including  the  said  improvement,  and  that  a  certificate 
issue  accordingly." 

The  sessions  of  this  court  were  held  at  different  places  in 
Kentucky,  to  accommodate  the  claimants,  for  the  period  of 
one  year,  during  which,  about  three  thousand  certificates 
were  granted.  The  foregoing  extracts  illustrate  the  vague 
and  undefined  descriptions  of  localities.  Many  of  the  claims 
were  rendered  null  from  more  specific  and  definite  surveys 
covering  the  same  land ;  and  many  of  the  old  pioneers, 
amongst  whom  was  Daniel  Boone,  lost  the  lands  they  had 
entered  and  surveyed,  by  subsequent  law  suits.* 

The  winter  of  1779-80,  was  uncommonly  severe  through- 
out the  United  States,  and  has  been  distinguished  as  "the  hard 
winter"  The  effect  on  the  new  settlements  in  the  West  was 
great  distress  and  suffering.  In  Kentucky,  the  rivers,  creeks 
and  branches  were  frozen  to  an  uncommon  thickness  where 
the  water  was  deep,  and  became  exhausted  in  shallow  places. 
Horses  and  cattle  died  from  thirst  and  starvation.  The  snow, 
from  continuous  storms,  became  of  unusual  depth  and  con- 
tinued a  long  time.  Men  could  not  hunt.  Families  were 
overtaken  in  the  wilderness  on  their  journey,  and  their  pro- 
gress arrested,  and  there  was  great  suffering.  The  supplies 
of  the  settlements  were  exhausted,  and  corn  became  extremely 
scarce. 

When  the  snow  melted,  and  the  ice  broken  up  in  the  rivers, 
the  lowr  grounds  and  river  bottoms  were  submerged,  and  much 
of  the  stock  that  had  survived  the  severity  of  the  winter,  per- 
ished in  the  waters.  The  game  of  the  forest  furnished  meat, 
which  was  the  only  solid  food  to  be  obtained  until  the  corn 
was  grown.  The  summer  brought  large  accessions  to  the 
population  by  emigration.] 

With  the  year  1780,  commences  the  history  of  those  troubles 
relative  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  which,  for  so  long 
a  time,  produced  the  deepest  discontent  in  the  West.  Spain 
had  taken  the  American  part  so  far  as  to  go  to  war  with 
Britain,  but  no  treaty  had  yet  been  concluded  between  Con- 
gress and  the  powers  at  Madrid.  Mr.  Jay,  however,  had  been 
appointed  Minister  from  the  United  States,  at  the  Spanish 
court,  where  he  arrived  in  the  spring  of  this  year,  and  where 

*  Marshall's  Kentucky,  rol.  i.  pp.  99, 100. 


1778.  Claims  of  France  and  Spain.  233 

he  soon  learned  the  grasping  plans  of  the  Southern  Bourbons. 
These  plans,  indeed,  were  in  no  degree  concealed,  the  French 
Minister  being  instructed  to  inform  Congress, — 

That  his  most  Christian  Majesty  [of  France,]  being  informed 
of  the  appointment  of  a  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  treat  of 
an  alliance  between  the  United  States  and  his  Catholic  Ma- 
jesty, [of  Spain,]  has  signified  to  his  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
to  the  United  States,  that  he  wishes  most  earnestly  for  such 
an  alliance ;  and  in  order  to  make  the  way  more  easy,  has  com- 
manded him  to  communicate  to  the  Congress,  certain  articles, 
which  his  Catholic  Majesty  deems  of  great  importance  to  the 
interests  of  his  crown,  and  on  which  it  is  highly  necessary  that 
the  United  States  explain  themselves  \vi\\\.  precision,  and  with 
such  moderation  as  may  consist  with  their  essential  rights. 

That  the  articles  are, 

1.  A  precise  and  invariable  western  boundary  to  the  Uni- 
ted States. 

2.  The  exclusive  navigation  of  the  river  Mississippi. 

3.  The  possession  of  the  Floridas;  and, 

4.  The  land  on  the  lelt  or  eastern  side  of  the  river  Missis- 
sippi. 

That  on  the  first  article,  it  is  the  idea  of  the  Cabinet  of 
Madrid,  that  the  United  States  extend  to  the  westward  no  far- 
ther than  settlements  were  permitted  by  the  Royal  Proclama- 
tion, bearing  date  the  7th  day  of  October,  1763,  (that  is  to  say, 
not  west  of  the  Alleghenies.) 

On  the  second,  that  the  United  States  do  not  consider  them- 
selves as  having  any  right  to  navigate  the  river  Mississippi,  no 
territory  belonging  to  them  being  situated  thereon. 

On  the  third,  that  it  is  probable  the  King  of  Spain  will  con- 
quer the  Floridas,  during  the  course  of  the  present  war  ;  and 
in  such  an  event,  every  cause  of  dispute  relative  thereto,  be- 
tween Spain  and  these  United  States,  ought  to  be  removed. 

On  the  fourth,  that  the  lands  lying  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Mississippi,  whereon  the  settlements  were  prohibited  by  the 
aforesaid  proclamation,  are  possessions  of  the  crown  of  Great 
Britain,  and  proper  objects  against  which  the  arms  of  Spain 
may  be  employed,  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  permanent  con- 
quest for  the  Spanish  crown.  That  such  conquest  may,  pro- 
bably, be  made  during  the  present  war.  That,  therefore,  it 
would  be  advisable  to  restrain  the  southern  States  from  making 
any  settlements  or  conquests  in  these  territories.  That  the 
Council  of  Madrid  consider  the  United  States,  as  having  no 
claim  to  those  territories,  either  as  not  having  had  possession 
of  them,  before  the  present  war,  or  not  having  any  foundation 
for  a  claim  in  the  right  of  the  sovereignty  of  Great  Britain, 
whose  dominion  they  have  abjured.* 

*  See  Pitkin's  History  of  the  United  States,  ii.  p.  92. 

15 


234  Increase  of  Immigration.  1779. 

These  extraordinary  claims  of  his  Catholic  Majesty  were  in 
no  respect  admitted  during  this  year,  either  by  Mr.  Jay  or 
Congress,  and  in  October  a  full  statement  of  the  views  of  the 
United  States,  as  to  their  territorial  rights,  was  drawn  up, 
probably  by  Mr.  Madison,  and  sent  to  the  Ambassador  at 
Madrid. f  Meantime,  as  Virginia  considered  the  use  of  the 
Great  Western  river  very  necessary  to  her  children,  Governor 
Jefferson  had  ordered  a  fort  to  be  constructed  upon  the  Mis- 
sissippi below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  This  was  done  in  the 
spring  of  the  year  1780,  by  General  G.  R.  Clark,  who  was 
stationed  at  the  Falls  ;  and  was  named  by  him  after  the  wri- 
ter of  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  This  fort,  for  some 
purposes,  may  have  been  well  placed,  but  it  was  a  great  mis- 
take to  erect  it,  without  notice,  in  the  country  of  the  Chicka- 
saws,  who  had  thus  far  been  true  friends  to  the  American 
cause.  They  regarded  this  unauthorized  intrusion  upon  their 
lands  as  the  first  step  in  a  career  of  conquest,  and  as  such  re- 
sented it ;  while  the  settlers  of  Kentucky  looked  upon  the 
measure  with  but  little  favor,  as  it  tended  to  diminish  the 
available  force  in  their  stations,  which  were  still  exposed  to 
the  ceaseless  hostility  of  the  Shawanese  and  Wyandots. 
The  inhabitants  of  these  stations,  meanwhile,  were  increas- 
ing with  wonderful  rapidity  under  the  inducements  presented 
by  the  land  laws.  Emigrants  crowded  over  the  mountains  as 
soon  as  spring  opened.  Three  hundred  large  family  boats 
arrived  early  in  the  year  at  the  Falls  ;  and  on  Beargrass 
creek  was  a  population  containing  six  hundred  serviceable 
men.*  Nor  did  the  swarming  stop  with  the  old  settlements  ; 
in  the  southwest  part  of  the  State  the  hunter  Maulding,  and 
his  four  sons,  built  their  outpost  upon  the  Red  river  which 
empties  into  the  Cumberland ;  f  while,  sometime  in  the 
spring  of  this  same  year,  Dr.  Walker,  and  Colonel  Henderson, 
the  first  visitor  and  first  colonist  of  Kentucky,  tried  to  run  the 
line  which  should  divide  Virginia  from  Carolina,  (or,  as  things 
are  now  named,  Kentucky  from  Tennessee,)  westward  as  far 
as  the  Mississippi ;  an  attempt  in  which  they  failed. ;£  Nor 
was  it  to  western  lands  and  territorial  boundaries  alone  that 

f  Pitkin,  ii.  512,  91.    Life  of  John  Jay./i.  108,  &c. 

*  Butler,  second  edition,  99. 

t  Morehead,  p.  83. 

I  Marshall,  i.  113.    Holmes'  Annals,  ii.  304,  note  3d. 


1780.  Provision  for  Education.  235 

Virginia  directed  her  attention  at  this  time  ;  in  May  we  find 
her  Legislature  saying  that,  "  Whereas,  it  is  represented  to 
this  General  Assembly  that  there  are  certain  lands  within  the 
county  of  Kentucky,  formerly  belonging  to  British  subjects, 
not  yet  sold  under  the  law  of  escheats-  and  forfeitures,  which 
might  at  a  future  day  be  a  valuable  fund  for  the  maintenance 
and  education  of  youth,  and  it  being  the  interest  of  this  Com- 
monwealth always  to  promote  and  encourage  every  design  which 
may  tend  to  the  improvement  of  the  mind  and  the  diffusion  of  use- 
ful knowledge  even  among  its  remote  citizens,  whose  situation,  in  a 
barbarous  neiglworhood  and  a  savage  intercourse,  might  otherwise 
render  unfriendly  to  science :  be  it  therefor  enacted,  that  eight 
thousand  acres  of  land,  within  the  said  county  of  Kentucky, 
late  the  property  of  those  British  subjects,  (Robert  McKenzie, 
Henry  Collins,  and  Alexander  McKee,)  should  be  vested  in 
trustees,  '  as  a  free  donation  from  this  Commonwealth,  for  the 
purpose  of  a  public  school,  or  seminary  of  learning,  to  be 
erected  within  the  said  county,  as  soon  as  its  circumstances 
and  the  state  of  its  funds  will  permit.'  " 

Thus  was  early  laid  the  foundation  of  the  first  western 
Seminary  of  Literature,  just  five  years  after  the  forts  of 
Boonesborough  and  Harrodsburg  rose  amidst  the  woods. 
Thus  was  the  foundation  laid  for  the  establishment  of  Tran- 
sylvania University  at  Lexington. 

In  the  summer  of  1780,  just  before  the  return  of  Boone  to 
the  West,  the  most  formidable  invasion  of  Kentucky  took 
place  of  which  her  annals  contain  any  notice.  A  body  of  six 
hundred  men,  Canadians  and  Indians,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Byrd,  a  British  officer,  writh  two  field-pieces,  marched  up  the 
valley  of  Licking.  It  first  appeared,  on  the  22d  of  June,  be- 
fore Ruddle's  station,  on  the  south  fork  of  that  river,  and  re- 
quired instant  surrender.  The  demand  could  not- be  resisted, 
as  the  Kentucky  stockades  were  powerless  against  cannon. 
Martin's  station  on  the  same  stream  was  next  taken  : — and 
then,  from  some  unexplained  cause,  the  whole  body  of  in- 
vaders— whose  number  was  double  that  of  all  the  fighting 
men  east  of  the  Kentucky  river — turned  right  about  face  and 
hurried  out  of  the  country  with  all  speed.  The  only  reasona- 
ble explanation  of  the  matter  is,  that  the  British  commander, 
horror-stricken  and  terrified  at  the  excesses  and  cruelties  of 
his  savage  allies,  dared  not  go  forward  in  the  task — by  no 


236  Clark's  Invasion  of  the  Indian  Country.  1780. 

means  a  hopeless  one — of  depopulating  the  woods  of  Ken- 
tucky.* 

This  incursion  by  Byrd  and  his  red  friends,  little  as  it  had 
effected,  was  enough  to  cause  Clark,  who  had  just  returned 
from  his  labors  on  Fort  Jefferson,  and  who  found  at  the  Falls 
ja  letter  from  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  recommending  an 
attack  upon  the  Indian  villages  north  of  the  Ohio,  to  take 
immediate  steps  for  the  chastisement  of  the  savages,  and 
especially  for  the  destruction  of  the  store  which  furnished 
goods  to  the  natives.  This  was  situated  where  the  post  de- 
stroyed by  the  French  in  1752  had  been,  and  was  known  in 
later  days  as  Loramie's  store.  When,  however,  in  accordance 
with  his  determination,  Clark,  in  July,  went  to  Harrodsburg 
to  enlist  recruits,  he  found  the  whole  population  crazy  about 
land  entries,  Mr.  May,  the  Surveyor,  having  opened  his  office 
but  two  months  previous.  The  General  proposed  to  him  to 
shut  up  for  a  time  while  the  Indians  were  attended  to  ;  the 
Surveyor  in  reply  expressed  a  perfect  willingness  to  do  so  in 
case  General  Clark  would  order  it,  but  said  that  otherwise  he 
had  no  authority  to  take  such  a  step.  The  order  was  accord- 
ingly given,  accompanied  by  a  full  statement  of  the  reasons 
for  the.  proceeding.  The  result  proved,  as  usual,  Clark's 
sagacity ;  volunteers  flocked  to  his  standard,  and  soon,  with  a 
thousand  men,  he  was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Licking.  Silently 
and  swiftly  from  that  point  he  proceeded  to  attack  the  town, 
known  as  Chillicothe,  on  the  Little  Miami,  and  then  the 
Pickaway  towns  on  Mad  river.  In  both  attacks  he  succeeded ; 
destroying  the  towns,  burning  the  crops,  and  thus  broke  down 
the  influence  of  the  British  in  that  quarter.  This  expedition, 
the  first  efficient  one  ever  undertaken  against  the  Miami  In- 
dians, for  a  time  relieved  Kentucky  from  the  attack  of  any 
body  of  Indians  sufficiently  numerous  to  produce  serious 
alarm. f  During  this  period  of  comparative  quiet,  those  mea- 
sures which  led  to  the  cession  of  the  western  lands  to  the 
United  States  began  to  assume  a  definite  form. 

Upon  the  25th  of  June,  1778,  when  the  articles  of  con- 
federation were  under  discussion  in  Congress,  the  objections 

*  Butler,  100.    Marshall,  i.  106, 107.    Life  of  Boone  in  Sparky,  101. 

f  For  a  particular  account  of  this  expedition,  see'  Stipp's  Miscellany,  63  to  70.— Butler 
1,17. — Marshall  i.  109. — American  Pioneer,  i.  346. — Boone's  Life,  102. 


1778.  Controversy  about  Lands.  237 

of  New  Jersey  to  the  proposed  plan  of  union  were  brought 
forward,  and  among  them  was  this  : 

It  was  ever  the  confident  expectation  of  this  State,  that  the 
benefits  derived  from  a  successful  contest  were  to  be  general 
and  proportionate ;  and  that  the  property  of  the  common 
enemy,  falling  in  consequence  of  a  prosperous  issue  of  the 
war,  would  belong  to  the  United  States,  and  be  appropriated 
to  their  use.  We  are  therefore  greatly  disappointed  in  find- 
ing no  provision  made  in  the  confederation  for  empowering 
the  Congress  to  dispose  of  such  property,  but  especially  the 
vacant  and  impatented  lands,  commonly  called  the  crown 
lands,  for  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  war,  and  for  such 
other  public  and  general  purposes.  The  jurisdiction  ought  in 
every  instance  to  belong  to  the  respective  states,  within  the 
charter  or  determined  limits  of  which  such  lands  may  be 
seated  ;  but  reason  and  justice  must  decide,  that  the  property 
which  existed  in  the  Crown  of  Great  Britain,  previous  to  the 
present  revolution,  ought  now  to  belong  to  the  Congress,  in 
trust  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  the  United  States.  They  have 
fought  and  bled  for  it  in  proportion  to  their  respective  abili- 
ties ;  and  therefore  the  reward  ought  not  to  be  predilec- 
tionally  distributed.  Shall  such  States  as  are  shut  out  by 
situation  from  availing  themselves  of  the  least  advantage 
from'  this  quarter,  be  left  to  sink  under  an  enormous  debt, 
whilst  others  are  enabled,  in  a  short  period,  to  replace  all 
their  expenditures  from  the  hard  earnings  of  the  whole  con- 
federacy.* 

Nor  was  New  Jersey  alone  in  her  views.     In   January, 

1779,  the  Council  and    Assembly  of  Delaware,  while   they 
authorized  their  Delegates  to  ratify  the  Articles  of  Confedera- 
tion, also  passed  certain  resolutions,  and  one  of  them  was  in 
these  words : 

Resolved  also,  That  this  state  consider  themselves  justly  en-- 
titled to  a  right,  in  common  with  the  members  of  the  Union, 
to  that  extensive  tract  of  country  which  lies  to  the  westward 
of  the  frontiers  of  the  United  States,  the  property  of  which 
was  not  vested  in,  or  granted  to,  individuals  at  the  commence- 
ment of  the  present  war.  That  the  same  hath  been,  or  may 
be,  gained  from  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  or  the  native  In- 
dians, by  the  blood  and  treasure  of  all,  and  ought  therefore 
to  be  a  common  estate,  to  be  granted  out  on  terms  beneficial 
to  the  United  States.f 

But  this  protest,  however  positive,  was  not  enough  for 
Maryland,  the  representatives  of  which,  in  Congress,  present- 

*  See  Secret  Journal,  i.  p.  377. 
f  See  Secret  Journal,  i.  p.  429. 


238  Controversy  about  Lands.  1780. 

ed  upon  the  21st  of  May,  1779,  their  instructions  relative  to 
confirming  the  much-talked-of  bond  that  was  to  make  the 
colonies  one.  From  those  instructions  we  select  the  follow- 
ing passages : 

Virginia,  by  selling  on  the  roost  moderate  terms  a  small 
portion  of  the  lands  in  question,  would  draw  into  her  trea- 
sury vast  sums  of  money ;  and,  in  proportion  to  the  sums 
arising  from  such  sales,  would  be  enabled  to  lessen  her  taxes. 
Lands  comparatively  cheap,  and  taxes  comparatively  low, 
with  the  lands  and  taxes  of  an  adjacent  State,  would  quickly 
drain  the  State  thus  disadvantageously  circumstanced  of  its 
most  useful  inhabitants;  its  wealth  and  its  consequence  in 
the  scale  of  the  confederated  States  would  sink  of  course.  A 
claim  so  injurious  to  more  than  one-half,  if  not  the  whole  of 
the  United  States,  ought  to  be  supported  by  the  clearest  evi- 
dence of  the  right.  Yet  what  evidences  of  that  right  have 
been  produced  ?  What  arguments  alleged  in  support  either 
of  the  evidence  or  the  right  ?  None  that  we  have  heard  of 
deserving  a  serious  refutation.  *  .  *  * 

We  are  convinced,  policy  and  justice  require,  that  a  coun- 
try unsettled  at  the  commencement  of  this  war,  claimed  by 
the  British  crown,  and  ceded  to  it  by  the  treaty  of  Paris,  if 
wrested  from  the  common  enemy  by  the  blood  and  treasure 
of  the  thirteen  States,  should  be  considered  as  a  common  pro- 
perty, subject  to  be  parceled  out  by  Congress,  into  free,  con- 
venient, and  independent  governments,  in  such  manner,  and 
at  such  times  as  the  wisdom  of  that  assembly  shall  hereafter 
direct. 

Thus  convinced,  we  should  betray  the  trust  reposed  in  us 
by  our  constituents,  were  we  to  authorize  you  to  ratify  on 
their  behalf  the  confederation,  unless  it  be  further  explained. 
We  have  coolly  and  dispassionately  considered  the  subject ; 
we  have  weighed  probable  inconveniences  and  hardships 
against  the  sacrifice  of  just  and  essential  rights  ;  and  do  in- 
struct you  not  to  agree  to  the  confederation,  unless  an  article, 
or  articles  be  added  thereto  in  conformity  with  our  declara- 
tion. Should  we  succeed  in  obtaining  such  article  or  articles, 
then  you  are  hereby  fully  empowered  to  accede  to  the  con- 
federation.* 

These  difficulties  towards  perfecting  the  Union  were  in- 
creased by  the  passage  of  the  laws  in  Virginia,  for  disposing 
of  the  public  lands ;  this,  as  we  have  stated,  was  done  in 
May,  1779.  Apprehensive  of  the  consequences,  Congress, 
upon  the  30th  of  October,  in  that  year,  resolved  that  Virginia 
be  recommended  to  reconsider  her  Act  opening  a  land  office, 

*See  Secret  Journals,  i.  p.  435. 


1780.  Controversy  about  Lands. 

and  that  she,  and  all  other  States  claiming  wild  lands,  be  re- 
quested to  grant  no  warrants  during  the  continuance  of  the 
war.  The  troubles  which  thus  threatened  to  arise  from  the 
claims  of  Virginia,  New  York,  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut, 
to  the  lands  which  other  colonies  regarded  as  common  proper- 
ty, caused  New  York,  on  the  19th  of  February,  1780,  to  pass 
an  act  which  gave  to  the  Delegates  of  that  State  power  to 
cede  the  western  lands  claimed  by  her  for  the  benefit  of  the 
United  States.  This  law  was  laid  before  Congress  on  the  7th 
of  March,  1780,  but  no  step  seems  to  have  been  taken  until 
September  6th,  1780,  when  a  resolution  passed  that  body 
pressing  upon  the  States  claiming  western  lands  the  wisdom 
of  giving  up  their  claims  in  favor  of  the  whole  country ;  and 
to  aid  this  recommendation,  upon  the  10th  of  October,  was 
passed  the  following  resolution — which  formed  the  basis  of 
all  afler  action,  and  was  the  first  of  those  legislative  meas- 
ures which  have  thus  far  resulted  in  the  creation  of  the  States 
of  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Michigan* — 

No.  9.  Resolved, — That  the  unappropriated  lands  that  may 
be  ceded  or  relinquished  to  the  United  States,  by  any  particu- 
lar State,  pursuant  to  the  recommendation  of  Congress  of 
the  6th  day  of  September  last,  shall  be  disposed  of  for  the 
common  benefit  of  the  United  States,  and  be  settled  and 
formed  into  distinct  republican  States,  which  shall  become 
members  of  the  Federal  Union,  and  have  the  same  rights  of 
sovereignty,  freedom  and  independence,  as  the  other  States; 
that  each  State  which  shall  be  so  formed  shall  contain  a  suit- 
able extent  of  territory,  not  less  than  100  nor  more  than  160 
miles  square,  or  as  near  thereto  as  circumstances  will  admit : 
that  the  necessary  and  reasonable  expenses  which  any  par- 
ticular State  shall  have  incurred  since  the  commencement  of 
the  present  war,  in  subduing  any  British  posts,  or  in  maintain- 
ing forts  or  garrisons  within  and  for  the  defence,  or  in  acqui- 
ring any  part  of  the  territory  that  may  be  ceded  or  relinquished 
to  the  United  States,  shall  be  reimbursed. 

That  the  said  lands  shall  be  granted  or  settled  at  such  times, 
and  under  such  regulations,  as  shall  hereafter  be  agreed  on  by 
the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  or  in  any  nine  or 
more  of  them.f 

Such  were  the  steps  taken  in  relation  to  the  great  western 
wilderness  during  the  year  of  which  we  are  treating. 

[Kentucky  was  divided  into  three  counties,  by  the  Legisla- 

*01d  Journals,  iii.  384  385,  516,  535,  582.— Land  Laws,  338. 
tSee  Land  Laws,  p.  338. 


240  Projected  Attack  on  Detroit.  1780. 

ture  of  Virginia,  in  November,  and  a  civil  and  military  organi- 
zation provided  in  each.  These  were  Jefferson,  Fayette,  and 
Lincoln.  John  Todd,  an  estimable  man,  was  made  Colonel, 
and  Daniel  Boone,  Lieut.  Colonel  of  Fayette  county;  John 
Floyd  was  appointed  Colonel,  and  William  Pope,  Lieut.  Co- 
lonel of  Jefferson  county ;  Benjamin  Logan  was  Colonel,  and 
Stephen  Trigg,  Lieut.  Colonel  of  Lincoln  county.  The  three 
regiments  were  formed  into  a  brigade,  and  placed  under  the 
command  of  Gen.  G.  R.  Clark. 

Every  county  had  a  court  of  qualified  civil  and  criminal 
jurisdiction;  but  there  was  no  court  competent  to  try  capital 
offences  nearer  than  Richmond,  Virginia.*] 

In  December  of  that  year,  the  plan  of  conquering  Detroit 
was  renewed  again.  In  1779  that  conquest  might  have  been 
effected  by  Clark  had  he  been  supported  by  any  spirit;  in  Janua- 
ry 1780,  the  project  was  discussed  between  Washington  and 
Brodhead,  and  given  up  or  deferred,  as  too  great  for  the  means 
of  the  Continental  establishment ;  in  the  following  October  so 
weak  was  that  establishment  that  Fort  Pitt  itself  was  threatened 
by  the  savages  and  British,  while  its  garrison,  destitute  of  bread, 
although  there  was  an  abundance  in  the  country,  were  half  dis- 
posed to  mutiny.  Under  these  circumstances,  Congress  being 
powerless  for  action,  Virginia  proposed  to  carry  out  the  origi- 
nal plan  of  her  western  General,  and  extend  her  operations 
to  the  Lakes;  we  find,  in  consequence,  that  an  application 
was  made  by  Jefferson  to  the  Commander-in  chief  for  aid,  and 
that  on  the  29th  of  December,  an  order  was  given  by  him  on 
Brodhead  for  artillery,  tools,  stores  and  men.f  How  far  the 
preparations  for  this  enterprise  were  carried,  and  [why  they 
were  abandoned,  we  have  not  been  able  to  discover;  but  upon 
the  25th  of  April,  1781,  Washington  wrote  to  General  Clark, 
warning  him  that  Connolly,  who  had  just  been  exchanged, 
was  expected  to  go  from  Canada  to  Venango,  (Franklin, 
mouth  of  French  creelO  with  a  force  of  refugees,  and  thence 
to  Fort  Pitt,  with  blank  commissions  for  some  hundreds  of  dis- 
satisfied men  believed  to  be  in  that  vicinity .J  From  this  it 
would  seem  probable  that  the  Detroit  expedition  was  not 
abandoned  at  that  time. 

^Marshall,  i.  p.  111.— Butler,  114. 

fSparks'  Washington,  vi.  433;  yii.  270,  343. 

J  Sparks'  Washington,  viii.  25.— This  letter  is  not  in  the  Index  to  Mr.  Sparks'  work. 


1780.  Condition  of  St.  Louis.  241 

It  was  in  May,  1780,  that  an  Act  was  passed  for  establishing 
the  town  of  Louisville.  We  have  mentioned  the  survey  of 
the  lands  at  the  Falls  by  Bullitt,  in  1773,  on  account  of  John 
Connolly,  and  also  the  advertisement  of  that  gentleman  and 
John  Campbell,  dated  April  3,  1774.  Connolly,  however,  as 
a  tory,  had  forfeited  his  title,  and  in  the  present  year,  Virginia 
proceeded  to  dispose  of  his  share  in  the  one  thousand  acres 
at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio.  But  as  Campbell,  the  apparent 
joint  owner,  was  in  captivity  in  1780,  final  action  was  delayed 
until  his  return.  This  having  taken  place,  successive  acts  in 
May  and  October,  '83,  and  '84,  were  passed  protecting  and 
securing  his  interests  while  the  share  of  his  refugee  partn  er 
was  disposed  of.* 

[We  now  return  to  the  condition  of  St.  Louis.  The  troubles 
which  followed  the  attempt  of  Spain  to  take  possession  of 
Lower  Louisiana,  left  the  upper  settlements  for  some  years  in 
the  hands  of  the  French,  in  whose  possession  it  remained  until 
1770.  According  to  the  archives,  M.  St.  Ange  continued  to 
officiate  as  commandant  until  that  year. 

On  the  29th  of  November,  1770,  Piernas,  the  Spanish  Com- 
mandant, arrived  at  St.  Louis,  but  there  is  no  official  docu- 
ment or  record  to  show  that  he  exercised  the  functions  of  his 
office  until  February,  1771.  Of  his  administration  we  give 
the  language  of  Wilson  Primm,  Esq.,  in  his  oration  at  the 
"Celebration  of  the  Anniversary"  in  1847. 

The  inhabitants  were  soon  reconciled  to  the  change  of  do- 
minion, for  Piernas  tempered  all  his  official  acts  with  a  spirit 
of  mildness,  which  characterized  the  course  of  nearly  all  his 
successors.  Such  measures,  were,  indeed,  imperatively  re- 
quired towards  men  who  had  come  with  ill  humor  under  the 
Spanish  power,  and  who  would  not,  otherwise,  have  hesitated 
to  follow  the  example  before  set,  by  their  brethren  at  New 
Orleans. 

The  policy  thus  pursued,  brought  about  the  strongest  at- 
tachment to  Spain;  and  when,  in  1800,  the  retrocession  to 
France  took  place,  the  people  manifested  the  deepest  regret 
and  dissatisfaction. 

The  mildness  of  the  form  of  government,  the  liberal  spirit 
with  which  grants  of  valuable  lands  were  made,  in  connection 
with  the  advantages  which  the  trade  of  the  country  presented, 
soon  attracted  immigration  from  the  Canadas,  and  Lower 
Louisiana.  Settlements  were  formed  along  the  Missouri  and 

*Collection  of  Acts,  &c.,  relative  to  Louisville,  1837,  pp.  3-6. 


242  Condition  of  St.  Louis.  1780. 

Mississippi  rivers ;  and  as  early  as  1767,  Vide  Poc/ic,  after- 
wards called  Carondclct,  in  honor  of  the  Baron  de  Caronde- 
let,  was  founded  by  Delor  de  Tregette.  In  1776,  Fiorisant, 
afterwards  called  St.  Ferdinand,  in  honor  of  the  King  of 
Spain,  was  founded  by  Beaurosier  Dunegant;  and  in  1769, 
Les  Petite  Cotes,  now  St.  C/iarles,  was  established  by  Blan- 
chette  Chasseur ;  and  numerous  other  small  settlements  sprang 
up,  on  the  borders  of  the  two  rivers  before  named,  and  in  the 
interior  of  the  country. 

Piernas  was  succeeded  in  his  office  of  Lieutenant  Governor, 
by  Don  Francisco  Cruzat,  in  1775,  and  he  in  his  turn  was  sup- 
planted by  Don  Fernando  de  Leyba,  in  the  year  1778. 

At  this  time  a  material  change  had  taken  place  in  the  po- 
litical relations  which  had  previously  existed  between  the 
European  powers  which  claimed  the  northern  portion  of  the 
American  continent. 

The  provinces  had  declared  their  independence  of  England, 
had  published  to  the  world,  in  language  which  even  an  un- 
willing memory  could  not  forsret,  the  principles  of  self-govern- 
ment and  of  untrammelled  freedom  which  belong  to  man 
wherever  born,  and  wherever  might  be  his  home.  England 
had  called  them  traitors,  and  had  treated  them  as  rebels ;  she 
had  not  hesitated,  in  her  proud  resentment,  to  use  the  most  un- 
usual and  barbarous  means  to  enforce  a  blind  and  servile 
obedience  to  her  power.  But  the  American  people  remained 
unappalled  in  the  direful  conflict  that  ensued.  Trusting  in 
the  justice  and  holiness  of  their  cause,  they  eventually  remain- 
ed unconquered,  because  they  WILLED  to  be  free. 

At  the  same  time,  in  France,  the  faint  glimmerings  of  man's 
rights  to  freedom  from  vassalage,  began  to  be  perceived,  and 
the  elements  were  at  work,  which,  at  a  later  period,  led  to  the 
horrors  of  the  Revolution,  but  eventually  enabled  the  French 
people  to  establish,  through  a  baptism  of  blood,  a  limited  and 
constitutional  monarchy. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  such  a  commotion  in  the  po- 
litical world  would  be  unfelt  or  unnoticed  upon  the  western 
shores  of  the  Mississippi.  On  the  contrary,  the  feelings  of 
aversion  to  England  which  had  prompted  the  people  of  St. 
Louis  to  escape  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  eastern  shore,  still 
lingered  in  their  hearts ;  and  although  Spain  had  exercised 
the  most  paternal  rule  over  them,  still  they  could  not  view 
unmoved,  the  conflict  which  was  raging  almost  within  their 
hearing,  between  the  spirit  of  tyranny  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  spirit  of  freedom  on  the  other. 

The  history  of  the  invasion  of  St.  Louis  by  the  British  and 
Indians  in  1780,  is  involved  in  perplexity,  owing  to  the  state- 
ments made,  and  repeated  by  respectable  authorities,  concern- 
ing the  proffered  'aid  of  Gen.  G.  R.  Clark  from  the  Illinois 


1780.  Clark's  Assistance  to  St.  Louis.  243 

country,  and  the  denial  by  others  equally  entitled  to  credit. 
The  Editor  to  this  edition,  has  spared  no  pains  to  decide  this 
question,  and  has  been  obliged  to  leave  it  in  some  doubt, 
though  he  is  satisfied  there  is  some  truth  in  the  statement. 
To  give  the  reader  a  full  view  of  the  subject,  he  will  give  the 
somewhat  contradictory  statement  of  different  authors,  and 
the  result  of  his  own  reflections. 

W.  Primm,  Esq.,  an  intelligent  citizen  of  the  place,  and 
who  has  had  access  to  every  existing  record,  civil  and  eccle- 
siastical, gives  the  following  :* 

In  February,  1779,  Col.  George  Rogers  Clark,  under  au- 
thority of  Virginia,  after  having  struck  many  severe  blows 
against  the  British  power  on  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  rivers, 
was  in  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Louis,  raising  men  from 
amongst  the  French  inhabitants  of  Cahokia  and  Kaskaskia, 
for  the  purpose  of  capturing  St.  Vincent's,  now  called  Vin- 
cennes,  and  which  was  then  in  possession  of  the  English  under 
Governor  Hamilton. 

Understanding  from  some  source,  that  an  attack  was  med- 
itated upon  St.  Louis,  by  a  large  force  under  British  influence, 
that,  too,  at  a  time  when  Spain  \vas  contending  with  England 
for  the  possession  of  the  Floridas,  Clark,  with  that  chivalrous 
spirit  which  has  earned  for  him  one  of  the  brightest  pages  in 
American  history,  at  once  offered  to  the  Lieutenant  Governor 
Leyba,  all  the  assistance  in  his  power  to  repel  the  contem- 
plated attack.  The  offer  of  assistance  was  rejected,  on  the 
ground  that  no  danger  was  really  apprehended. 

In  my  former  sketch  of  the  history  of  St.  Louis,  I  had  placed 
the  time  of  this  offer  by  Clark  in  1780.*  Satisfied  that' it  was 
made  anterior  to  that  year,  and  whilst  he  was  raising  troops 
for  the  re-capture  of  Vincennes,  I  am  not,  however,  permitted 
to  withdraw  the  statement  that  such  an  offer  was  made.  The 
testimony  of  witnesses  then  living,  upon  whose  authority  it 
was  then  made,  leaves  in  my  raind  no  room  to  doubt  the  cor- 
rectness of  \he  fact.  In  this,  too,  I  am  borne  out  by  the  au- 
thority of  Stoddard  in  his  Historical  Sketches  of  Louisiana. 

The  territory  on  which  St.  Louis  stood,  that  on  which  sev- 
eral other  towns  had  been  located,  and  the  surrounding  country, 
were  claimed  by  the  Illinois  Indians,  but  they  had  acquiesced 
in  the  intrusion  of  the  whites,  and  had  never  molested  them. 
But  when  the  rumor  of  an  attack  upon  the  town  began  to 
spread  abroad,  the  people  became  alarmed  for  their  safety. 

The  town  was  almost  destitute  of  works  of  defence,  but  the 
inhabitants  amounting  to  a  little  more  than  a  hundred  men> 
immediately  proceeded  to  enclose  it  with  a  species  of  wall, 

*  Celebration,  February,  1847. 


244  Attack  made  on  St.  Louis.  1780. 

formed  of  the  trunks  of  small  trees,  planted  in  the  ground, 
the  interstices  being  filled  up  with  earth.  The  wall  was  some 
five  or  six  feet  high.  It  started  from  the  half  moon,  a  kind  of 
fort  in  that  form,  situated  on  the  river,  near  the  present  Float- 
ing Dock,  and  ran  from  thence  a  little  above  the  brow  of  the 
hill,  in  a  semi-circle,  until  it  reached  the  Mississippi,  some- 
what above  the  bridge,  now  on  Second  street.  Three  gates 
were  formed  in  it,  one  near  the  bridge,  and  two  others  on 
the  hill,  at  the  points  where  the  roads  from  the  north-western 
and  south-western  parts  of  the  common  fields  came  in.  At 
each  of  these  gates  was  placed  a  heavy  piece  of  ordnance, 
kept  continually  charged,  and  in  good  order.  Having  com- 
pleted this  work,  and  hearing  no  more  of  the  Indians,  it  was 
supposed  that  the  attack  haJ  been  abandoned.  Winter 
passed  away,  and  spring  came;  still,  nothing  was  heard  of 
the  Indians.  The  inhabitants  were  led  to  believe  that  their 
apprehensions  were  groundless,  from  the  representations  of 
the  commandant  Leyba,  who  did  everything  in  his  power  to 
dissipate  their  anxiety,  assuring  them  that  there  was  no  dan- 
ger, and  that  the  rumor  of  the  proposed  attack  was  false.  The 
month  of  May  came,  the  labors  of  planting  were  over,  and 
the  peaceful  and  happy  villagers  gave  themselves  up  to  such 
pursuits  and  pleasures  as  suited  their  taste. 

A  few  days  before  the  attack,  an  old  man  named  Quenelle, 
being  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  saw  another  Frenchman 
by  the  name  <if  Ducharme,  who  had  formerly  absconded  from 
St.  Louis,  who  told  him  of  the  projected  attack.  The  Govern- 
or called  him  "an  old  dotard,"  and  ordered  him  to  prison. 

In  the  meantime,  numerous  bands  of  the  Indians  living  on 
the  lakes  and  the  Mississippi — the  Ojibeways,  Menomenies, 
Winnebagoes,  Sioux,  Sacs,  &c.,  together  with  a  large  number 
of  Canadians,  amounting,  in  all,  to  upwards  of  fourteen  hun- 
dred— had  assembled  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Mississippi, 
a  little  above  St.  Louis,  awaiting  the  26th  of  May,  the  day 
fixed  for  the  attack.  The  25th  of  May  was  the  feast  of  Corpus 
C/iristi,  a  day  highly  venerated  by  the  inhabitants,  who  were 
all  Catholics.  Had  the  assault  taken  place  then,  it  would 
have  been  fatal  to  them;  for,  after  divine  service,  all,  men, 
women  and  children,  had  flocked  to  the  prairie  to  gather 
strawberries,  which  were  that  season* very  abundant  and  fine. 
The  town,  being  left  perfectly  unguarded,  could  have  been 
taken  with  ease,  and  the  unsuspecting  inhabitants,  who  were 
roaming  about  in  search  of  fruit,  could  have  been  massacred 
without  resistance.  Fortunately,  however,  a  few  only  of  the 
enemy  had  crossed  the  river,  and  ambushed  themselves  in  the 
prairie.  The  villagers  frequently  came  so  near  them,  in  the 
course  of  the  day,  that  the  Indians,  from  their  places  of  conceal- 


1780.  Attack  made  on  St.  Louis.  245 

ment,  could  have  reached  them  with  their  hands.  But  they 
knew  not  how  many  of  the  whites  were  still  remaining  in  the 
town,  and  in  the  absence  of  their  coadjutors,  feared  to  attack, 
lest  their  preconcerted  plan  might  be  defeated. 

On  the  26th,  the  body  of  the  Indians  crossed,  and  marched 
directly  towards  the  fields,  expecting1  to  find  the  greater  part 
of  the  villagers  there ;  but  in  this  they  were  disappointed,  a 
few  only  having  gone  out  to  view  their  crops.  These  perceiv- 
ed the  approach  of  the  savage  foe,  and  immediately  com- 
menced a  retreat  towards  the  town,  the  most  of  them  taking 
the  road  that  led  to  the  upper  gate,  nearly  through  the  mass 
of  Indians,  and  followed  by  a  shower  of  bullets.  The  firing 
alarmed  those  who  were  in  town,  and  the  cry,  "To  arms  !  to 
arms !"  was  heard  in  every  direction.  They  rushed  towards 
the  works,  and  threw  open  the  gates  io  their  brethren.  The 
Indians  advanced  slowly,  but  steadily,  towards  the  town,  and 
the  inhabitants,  though  almost  deprived  of  hope,  by  the  vast 
superiority  in  numbers  of  the  assailants,  determined  to  defend 
themselves  to  the  last. 

In  expectation  of  an  attack,  Silvio  Francisco  Cartabona,  a 
governmental  officer,  had  gone  to  Ste.  Genevieve  for  a  com- 
pany of  militia,  to  aid  in  defending  the  town,  in  case  of  neces- 
sity ;  and  had,  at  the  beginning  of  the  month,  returned  with 
sixty  men,  who  were  quartered  on  the  citizens.  As  soon  as 
the  attack  commenced,  however,  neither  Cartabona  nor  his 
men  could  be  seen.  Either  through  fear  or  treachery,  the 
greater  part  concealed  themselves  in  a  garret,  and  there  re- 
mained until  the  Indians  had  retired.  The  assailed,  being  de- 
prived of  a  considerable  force  by  this  shameful  defection,  were 
still  resolute  and  determined.  About  fifteen  men  were  posted 
at  each  gate  ;  the  rest  were  scattered  along  the  line  of  defence, 
in  the  most  advantageous  manner. 

When  within  proper  distance,  the  Indians  began  an  irregu- 
lar fire,  which  was  answered  with  showers  of  grape  shot  from 
the  artillery.  The  firing,  for  a  while,  was  warm;  but  the  In- 
dians perceiving  that  all  their  efforts  would  be  ineffectual,  on 
account  of  the  entrenchments,  and  deterred  by  the  cannon,  to 
which  they  were  unaccustomed,  from  making  a  nearer  ap- 
proach, suffered  their  zeal  to  abate,  and  deliberately  retired. 
At  this  stage  of  affairs,  the  Lieutenant  Governor  made  his  ap- 
pearance. The  first  intimation  that  he  received  of  what  was 
going  on,  was  by  the  discharge  of  artillery,  on  the  part  of  the 
inhabitants.  He  immediately  ordered  several  pieces  of  can- 
non, which  were  posted  in  front  of  the  government  house,  to 
be  spiked  and  filled  with  sand,  and  went,  or  rather  icas  rotted 
in  a  whcclbarroiv,  to  the  scene  of  action.  In  a  very  perempto- 
ry tone,  he  commanded  the  inhabitants  to  cease  firing,  and 
return  to  their  houses.  Those  posted  at  the  lower  gate,  did 
not  hear  the  order,  and  consequently  kept  their  stations.  The 


246  Massacre  near  St.  Louis.  1780. 

commandant  perceived  this,  and  ordered  a  cannon  to  be  fired 
at  them.  They  had  barely  time  to  throw  themselves  on  the 
ground,  when  the  volley  passed  over  them,  and  struck  the 
wall,  tearing  a  great  part  of  it  down.  These  proceedings,  as 
well  as  the  whole  tenor  of  his  conduct,  after  the  first  rumor  of 
an  attack,  gave  rise  to  Suspicions,  very  unfavorable  to  the 
Lieutenant  Governor.  It  was  freely  said,  that  he  was  the 
cause  of  the  attack,  that  he  was  connected  with  the  British, 
and  that  he  had  been  bribed  into  a  dereliction  of  duty,  which, 
had  not  Providence  averted,  would  have  doomed  them  to  de- 
struction. Under  the  pretext  of  proving  to  them  that  there 
was  no  danger  of  an  attack,  he  had,  a  few  days  before  it  oc- 
curred, sold  to  the  traders  all  the  ammunition  belonging  to 
the  government;  and  they  would  have  been  left  perfectly  des- 
titute and  defenceless,  had  they  not  found,  in  a  private  house, 
eight  barrels  of  powder,  belonging  to  a  trader,  which  they 
seized  in  the  name  of  the  king,  upon  the  first  alarm.  These 
circumstances  gave  birth  to  a  strong  aversion  to  the  Comman- 
dant, which  evinces  itself,  even  at  this  day,  in  execrations  of 
his  ch  aracter,  whenever  his  name  is  mentioned  to  those  who 
have  known  him.  Representations  of  his  conduct,  together 
with  a  detailed  account  of  the  attack,  were  sent  to  New  Or- 
leans by  a  special  messenger,  and  the  result  was,  that  the 
Governor  General  reappointed  Francisco  Cruzat  to  the  office 
of  Lieutenant  Governor. 

As  soon  as  it  was  ascertained  that  the  Indians  had  retired 
from  the  neighborhood,  the  inhabitants  proceeded  to  gather 
and  bury  the  dead,  that  lay  scattered  in  all  parts  of  the  prai- 
rie. Seven  were  at  first  found,  and  buried  in  one  grave.  Ten 
or  twelve  others,  in  the  course  of  a  fortnight,  were  discovered 
in  the  long  grass  that  bordered  the  marshes.  The  acts  of  the 
Indians  were  accompanied  by  their  characteristic  ferocity. 
Some  of  their  victims  were  horribly  mangled.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  one  individual,  the  whites  who  accompanied  the 
Indians,  did  not  take  part  in  the  butcheries  that  were  commit- 
ted. A  young  man,  named  Calve,  was  found  dead,  his  skull 
split  open,  and  a  tomahawk,  on  the  blade  of  which  was  writ- 
ten the  word,  "Calve,"  sticking  in  his  brain.  He  was  sup- 
posed to  have  fallen  by  the  hand  of  his  uncle.  Had  those 
who  discovered  the  Indians  in  the  prairie,  fled  to  the  lower 
gate,  they  would  have  escaped ;  but  the  greater  part  of  them 
took  the  road  that  led  to  the  upper  gate,  through  the  very 
ranks  of  the  enemy,  and  were  thus  exposed  to  the  whole  of 
their  fire.  About  twenty  persons,  it  is  computed,  met  their 
death  in  endeavoring  to  get  within  the  entrenchments.  None 
of  those  within  them  were  injured,  and  none  of  the  Indians 
were  killed ;  at  least,  none  of  them  were  found.  Their  ob- 
ject was  not  plunder,  for  they  did  not  attempt,  in  their  retreat, 
to  take  with  them  any  of  the  cattle  or  horses  that  were  in  the 


1780.  Traitorous  Conduct  of  Leyba.  247 

prairie,  and  which  they  might  have  taken ;  nor  did  they  at- 
tack any  of  the  neighboring  towns,  where  the  danger  would 
have  been  less,  and  the  prospect  of  success  greater.  The 
only  object  they  had  in  view,  was  the  destruction  of  St. 
Louis ;  and  this  would  seem  to  favor  the  idea  that  they  were 
instigated  by  the  English,  and  gives  good  ground,  when  con- 
nected with  other  circumstances,  to  believe  that  Leyba  was 
their  aider  and  abettor. 

Thus  ended  an  attack,  which,  properly  conducted,  might 
have  been  destructive  to  the  infant  town,  and  which,  from 
the  number  of  the  enemy,  and  the  danger  incurred,  was 
calculated  to  impress  itself  deeply  on  the  minds  of  those 
who  witnessed  it.  It  forms  an  era  in  the  history  of  the 
place ;  and  the  year  in  which  it  occurred,  has  ever  since 
been  designated  by  the  inhabitants  as  the  year  of  the  blow — 
"L'annee  du  Coup" 

Leyba,  aware  that  representations  of  his  course  had  been 
specially  forwarded  to  the  Governor  General  at  New  Or- 
leans, and  fearful  of  the  consequences,  and  unable  to  bear 
up  under  the  load  of  scorn  and  contempt  which  the  inhabi- 
tants heaped  upon  him,  died  a  short  time  after  the  attack, 
suspected  by  many  of  having  hastened  his  end  by  poison. 

Upon  his  death,  Cartabona  performed  the  functions  of 
government  until  the  following  year,  when  Cruzat  returned 
to  St.  Louis,  and  assumed  the  command  as  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor a  second  time. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  Leyba,  like  another  Arnold, 
was  seduced  into  defection  from  his  duty,  and  that  it  was  only 
the  unflinching  daring  of  the  people  of  St.  Louis,  that  saved 
this  infant  outpost  from  utter  destruction. 

The  population  of  St.  Louis  at  the  period  of  this  attack 
was  about  eight  or  nine  hundred,  of  all  ages  and  classes. 
Hutchins*  says  (1"71)  "At  Ste.  Genevieve  there  were  two 
hundred  and  eight  whites  and  eighty  negroes,  capable  of 
bearing  arms ;  and  at  St.  Louis,  four  hundred  and  fifteen 
whites  and  forty  blacks.  He  further  states  there  were  one 
hundred  and  twenty  houses  in  St.  Louis,  some  of  which  were 
of  stone,  large  and  commodious."  The  whole  white  popula- 
tion he  makes  eight  hundred,  and  of  negroes,  one  hundred 
and  fifty. 

Stoddard,in  his  "Sketches  of  Louisiana,"  (p.  79)  says  : 

"  The  commandant  of  Michilimackinac  in  1780,  assembled 
about  fifteen  hundred  Indians,  and  one  hundred  and  forty 
English,  and  attempted  the  reduction  of  St.  Louis,  the  capital 

*!Iistorical  and  Topographical  Description  of  Louisiana. 


248  Sketches  of  Major  Stoddard.  1780. 

of  Upper  Louisiana.  During  the  short  time  they  were  be- 
fore that  town,  sixty  of  the  inhabitants  were  killed,  and  thirty 
taken  prisoners.  Fortunately,  General  Clark  was  on  the  op- 
posite side  of  the  Mississippi  with  a  considerable  force.  On 
his  appearance  at  St.  Louis  with  a  strong  detachment,  the 
Indians  were  amazed.  They  had  no  disposition  to  quarrel 
with  any  other  than  Louisianians,  and  charged  the  English  with 
deception.  In  fine,  as  the  jealousy  of  the  Indians  was  ex- 
cited, the  English  trembled  for  their  safety,  and  therefore 
secretly  abandoned  their  auxiliaries,  and  made  the  best  of 
their  way  into  Canada.  The  Indians  then  returned  to  their 
homes  in  peace. 

This  expedition,  as  appears,  was  not  sanctioned  by  the  Eng- 
lish court,  and  the  private  property  of  the  commandant  was 
seized  to  pay  the  expenses  of  it — most  likely  because  it  proved 
unfortunate." 

Major  Amos  Stoddard,  author  of  the  "  Sketches,  Historical 
and  Descriptive,  of  Louisiana,''1  was  an  officer  of  the  United 
States,  and  constituted  the  agent  of  France  to  receive  Upper 
Louisiana  from  the  Spanish  authorities  and  make  the  transfer 
to  the  United  States.  He  was  an  accomplished  scholar  in 
science  and  general  literature,  read  French,  and  was  in  the 
country  in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties  from  March, 
1804  to  1809.  A  part  of  the  time  his  head  quarters  were  in 
St.  Louis.  He  was  personally  acquainted  and  intimate  with 
the  more  intelligent  inhabitants  of  the  place,  had  access  to 
public  archives,  which  he  carefully  examiued,  and  made  ex- 
tensive excursions  throughout  the  country.  Respectable  men 
in  most  of  the  districts,  and  especially  at  St.  Louis,  furnished 
him  with  such  local  information  as  they  possessed.  And  in 
carefully  comparing  his  statements  in  general  with  the  pub- 
lished authorities  and  other  documents  from  whence  he 
derived  many  facts  in  his  Sketches,  we  find  him  accurate. 
Yet,  in  thi^  statement  of  the  attack  he  is  certainly  inaccurate, 
though,  doubtless,  he  wrote  as  he  was  informed  from  the  re- 
collections of  the  people.  The  number  of  British  officers  and 
troops  is  much  overrated.  And,  certainly,  General  Clark  at 
the  time  of  the  invasion  was  not  "onthe  opposite  side  of  the 
Mississippi,"  nor  did  he  make  "his  appearance  at  St.  Louis 
with  a  strong  detachment,"  for  at  that  eventful  crisis,  he  was 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  establishing  Fort  Jefferson.  From 
thence  he  proceeded  by  land  to  Harrodsburg  in  Kentucky,  in 
the  month  of  June  :  was  at  the  Falls  (Louisville)  the  14th  of 


1780.  Document  of  Mr.  Nicollet.  249 

July,  and  by  the  2nd  of  August  had  an  army  of  one  thousand 
men  raised  to  march  against  the  Indians  in  Ohio.  Besides, 
Colonel  John  Todd,  was  "County  Lieutenant,"  or  command- 
ant at  Kaskaskia,  in  May,  1780. 

As  subsequent  historians  have  followed  mainly  the  state- 
ment of  Major  Stoddard,  we  have  no  occasion  to  examine 
their  testimony. 

Mr.  Nicollet,  in  a  documentary  report  of  an  exploration  of 
the  Upper  Mississippi,  published  by  the  United  States'  Senate, 
February,  1841,  containing  a  "Sketch  of  the  Early  History  of 
St.  Louis,"  and  who  examined  the  papers  of  the  late  Col.  Au- 
guste  Chouteau,  denies  the  offer  or  the  interference  of  Gen. 
Clark,  alleging  that,  "with  his  men,  he  then  occupied  the  impor- 
tant post  of  Kaskaskia,  which  is  more  than  fifty-six  miles  S. 
E.  of  St. Louis;  and  that,  consequently,  this  gallant  officer  could 
not  have  had  time,  even  if  it  had  fell  within  the  line  of  his 
duty,  to  aid  in  an  affair  that  concerned  the  Spaniards  and  the 
British,  which  was  planned  as  a  surprise,  and  lasted  but  a  few 
hours." 

Mr.  Nicollet  was  mistaken  in  the  date,  or  else  a  typographi- 
cal error  crept  into  the  printed  copy,  for  it  was  not  the  6th, 
but  the  26th,  of  May  the  assault  was  made.  This  is  evident 
from  the  records  of  the  church,  concerning  the  burial  of  the 
slain,  and  is  sustained  by  Mr.  Primm  in  the  document  already 
given.  He  was  also  mistaken  in  supposing  General  Clark  to 
have  been  at  Kaskaskia  at  that  time.  Judge  Martin*  says  : 

«'  In  the  fall,  [1780]  the  British  commanding  officer  at  Mich- 
illimackinac,  with  about  one  hundred  and  forty  men  from 
his  garrison,  and  near  fourteen  hundred  Indians,  attacked  the 
Spanish  post  at  St.  Louis ;  but  Col.  Clark,  who  was  still  at 
Kaskaskia,  came  to  its  relief.  The  Indians,  who  came  from 
Michiliirnackinac,  having  no  idea  of  fighting  any  but  Span- 
iards, refused  to  act  against  Americans,  and  complained  of 
being  deceived.  Clark  released  about  fifty  prisoners  that  had 
been  made,  and  the  enemy  made  the  best  of  his  way  home." 

Judge  Marlin  refers  to  Stoddard.  Judge  Hall  has  given  a 
graphic  description  of  the  assault,  the  substance  of  which  he 
had  from  the  Address  of  W.  Primm,  Esq.,  before  the  St.  Louis 
Lyceum,  in  1831,  and  subsequently  published  in  the  Illinois 
Magazine,  of  which  Judge  Hall  was  Editor.  He  says  nothing 
about  the  interference  of  General  Clark.f 

*  History  of  Louisiana,  vol.  ii.,  p.  53. 
t  Sketches  of  the  West,  vol.  1 :  171, 172. 

16 


250  The  Explanation.  1780. 

Amidst  this  conflicting  testimony,  the  reader  naturally  in- 
quires, what  is  the  truth  ? 

We  subjoin  the  following  facts  and  suggestions  : 

There  was  constant  intercourse  between  the  inhabitants  of 
St.  Louis  and  those  of  Cahokia  and  Kaskaskia,  and  each 
party  felt  interested  in  the  welfare  of  the  other. 

In  the  spring  of  1779,  when  Clark  was  at  Cahokia  and 
Kaskaskia,  St.  Louis  was  threatened  by  a  British  and  Indian 
force  from  the  North.  This  the  gallant  General  learned  from 
the  Indians  of  Illinois,  who  were  friendly,  and  he  communi- 
cated the  intelligence  to  the  inhabitants,  and,  through  them, 
to  Governor  Leyba,  by  the  medium  of  his  French  associates  of 
Illinois.  It  was  then  he  proffered  aid,  should  the  town  be  at- 
tacked. When  the  attack  was  made,  a  year  after,  he  had 
left  the  Illinois  country,  and  was  at  the  Chickasaw  Bluffs, 
establishing  Fort  Jefferson,  to  which  point  he  went  early  in 
1780,  by  the  Mississippi  river. 

This  proffered  aid,  in  case  of  an  invasion,  made  in  1779, 
was  not  without  its  effect.  It  produced  a  friendly  feeling  in 
St.  Louis,  and  the  contiguous  settlements,  to  the  Americans, 
\vhich  was  subsequently  manifested  in  the  encouragement 
given  by  the  commandants  to  emigration  across  the  Missis- 
sippi. We  conceive  the  statement  of  Mr.  Primm,  heretofore 
given,  to  be  the  correct  one. 

There  is  one  fact  that  must  remain  unexplained.  Taking 
the  lowest  statement  of  the  invading  force,  and,  with  an  im- 
becile commander,  as  Leyba  unquestionably  was,  they  could 
have  destroyed  St.  Louis,  and  massacred  all  its  inhabitants. 
It  appears,  from  all  accounts,  the  Indians,  after  killing  and 
scalping  about  twenty  persons,  who  were  out  of  the  town  in 
the  fields,  and  making  an  attack  on  the  gates,  suddenly  re- 
tired, refusing  to  co-operate  any  longer  with  their  British  al- 
lies. 

Tradition  says,  they  were  instigated  to  make  this  attack  by 
a  renegade  French  trader,  in  revenue  for  some  injury  he  had 
received  at  St.  Louis,  and  that  finding  persons  they  knew,  and 
with  whom  they  had  formerly  associated,  and  whom  they 
recognized  as  friends,  they  withdrew  of  their  own  accord. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  we  regard  their  relinquishment  of  the  at- 
tack as  a  merciful  interposition  of  Providence. 


1780.  Proposition  Made  by  Virginia.  251 

"In  the  autumn  of  1780,  La  Balme,  a  native  of  France, 
made  an  attempt  to  carry  an  expedition  from  Kaskaskia 
against  Detroit.  With  twenty  or  thirty  men,  he  marched 
from  Kaskaskia  to  Post  Ymcennes>  where  he  was  joined  by  a 
small  reinforcement.  He  then  moved  up  the  Wabash,  and 
reached  the  British  trading  post,  Ke-ki-ong-a,  at  the  head  of 
the  Maumee.  After  plundering  the  traders,  and  some  of  the 
Indians,  he  marched  from  the  post,  and  encamped  near  the 
river  Aboite.  A  party  of  the  Miami  Indians  attacked  the 
encampment  in  the  night.  La  Balme  and  several  of  his  fol- 
lowers were  slain,  and  the  expedition  was  defeated."  *] 

We  now  enter  on  the  Annals  of  1781. 

Virginia,  in  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  Con- 
gress already  noticed,  upon  the  2d  of  January  of  this  year, 
agreed  to  yield  her  western  lands  to  the  United  States,  upon 
certain  conditions ;  among  which  were  these  :  1st,  no  person 
holding  ground  under  a  purchase  from  the  natives  to  him  or 
his  grantors,  individually,  and  no  one  claiming  under  a  grant 
or  charter  from  the  British  crown,  inconsistent  with  the  char- 
ter or  customs  of  Virginia,  was  to  be  regarded  as  having  a 
valid  title ;  and  2d,  the  United  States  were  to  guarantee  to 
Virginia  all  the  Territory  south-east  of  the  Ohio  to  the  Atlan- 
tic, as  far  as  the  bounds  of  Carolina.  These  conditions  Con- 
gress would  not  accede  to,  and  the  Act  of  Cession,  on  the 
part  of  the  Old  Dominion,  failed,  nor  was  any  thing  farther 
done  until  1783.f 

Early  in  the  same  month  in  which  Virginia  made  her  first 
Act  of  Cession,  a  Spanish  captain,  with  sixty-five  men,  left 
St.  Louis,  for  the  purpose  of  attacking  some  one  of  the  Brit- 
ish posts  of  the  north-west.  Whether  this  attempt  originated 
in  a  desire  to  revenge  the  English  and  Indian  siege  of  St. 
Louis,  in  the  previous  year,  or  whether  it  was  a  mere  pre- 
tence to  cover  the  claims  about  that  time  set  up  by  Spain  to 
the  western  country,  in  opposition  to  the  colonies,  which  she 
claimed  to  be  aiding,  it  is  perhaps  impossible  to  say.  But 
these  facts — that  the  point  aimed  at,  St.  Joseph's,  was  far  in 
the  interior,  and  that  this  crusade  was  afterwards  looked  to 
by  the  court  of  Spain  as  giving  a  ground  of  territorial  right — 
make  it  probable  that  the  enterprise  was  rather  a  legal  one 
against  the  Americans,  than  a  military  one  against  the  Eng- 

*  Dillon's  Indiana,  vol.  1,  p.  190. 
|  Old  Journals,  ir.  265  to  267. 


252  Birth  of  Mary  Hcckewelder.  1781. 

lish :  and  this  conclusion  is  made  stronger  by  the  fact,  that 
the  Spaniards,  having  taken  the  utterly  unimportant  post  of 
St.  Joseph,  and  having  claimed  the  country  as  belonging  to  the 
King  of  Spain,  by  right  of  conquest,  turned  back  to  the  quiet 
west  bank  of  the  Mississippi  again,  and  left  the  Long  Knives 
to  prosecute  the  capture  of  Detroit,  as  they  best  could.* 

In  the  spring  of  this  year,  an  army  of  eight  hundred  men, 
under  command  of  Colonel  Brodhead,  marched  from  Wheel- 
ing, the  place  of  rendezvous,  to  destroy  some  Indian  settle- 
ments at  Coshocton,  near  the  forks  of  the  Muskingum  river. 
This  army  reached  the  principal  village,  on  the  east  side  of 
the  river,  and  took  a  number  of  prisoners,  of  which  sixteen 
were  killed  with  the  tomahawk,  and  scalped.  Their  march 
further,  was  arrested  by  the  river,  which  was  unusually  high, 
and  the  villages  on  the  west  side  escaped  destruction,  and  the 
army  retired. f  > 

Upon  the  16th  of  April  in  this  year,  was  born  at  Salem, 
upon  the  Muskingum  river,  Mary  Heckewelder,  daughter  of 
the  widely-known  Moravian  missionary — the  earliest  born  of 
white  American  children,  who  first  saw  the  light  north  of  the 
Ohio ;  and  in  her  language,  rather  than  our  own,  we  now 
give  some  incidents  relative  to  the  Christian  Delawares  and 
their  teachers. 

Soon  after  my  birth,  times  becoming  very  troublesome,  the 
settlements  were  oiten  in  danger  from  war  parties  ;  and  finally, 
in  the  beginning  of  September,  of  the  same  year,  we  were  all 
made  prisoners.  First,  four  of  the  missionaries  were  seized 
by  a  party  of  Huron  warriors,  and  declared  prisoners  of  war; 
they  were  then  led  into  the  camp  of  the  Delawares,  where 
the  death-song  was  sung  over  them.  Soon  after  they  had 
secured  them,  a  number  of  warriors  marched  off  for  Salem 
and  Sho2nbrun.  About  thirty  savages  arrived  at  the  former 
place  in  the  dusk  of  the  evening,  and  broke  open  the  mission 
house.  Here  they  took  my  mother  and  myself  prisoners,  and 
having  led  her  into  the  street,  and  placed  guards  over  her,  they 
plundered  the  house  of  every  thing  they  could  take  with  them 
and  destroyed  what  was  left.  Then,  g^oing  to  take  my  mother 
along  with  them,  the  savages  were  prevailed  upon,  through 
the  intercession  of  the  Indian  females,  to  let  her  remain  at 
Salem  till  the  next  morning — the  night  being  dark  and  rainy, 
and  almost  impossible  for  her  to  travel  so  far — they,  at  last, 

*  Diplomatic  Correspondence,  iii.  339;  viii.  150.— Secret  Jownals,  iv.  64,  74. 
t  Dillon'8  Indiana,  i.  190. 


1781.  Sufferings  of  the  Moravians.  253 

consented  on  condition  that  she  should  be  brought  into  the 
camp  the  next  morning,  which  was  accordingly  done,  and  she 
was  safely  conducted  by  our  Indians  to  Gnadenhutten. 

After  experiencing  the  cruel  treatment  of  the  savages  for 
some  time,  they  were  set  at  liberty  again  ;  but  were  obliged 
to  leave  their  flourishing  settlements,  and  forced  to  march 
through  a  dreary  wilderness  to  Upper  Sandusky.  We  went 
by  land  through  Goseachguenk  to  the  Walholding,  and  then 
partly  by  water  and  partly  along  the  banks  of  the  river,  to 
Sandusky  Creek.  All  the  way  I  was  carried  by  an  Indian 
woman,  carefully  wrapt  in  a  blanket,  on  her  back.  Our 
journey  was  exceedingly  tedious  and  dangerous  ;  some  of  the 
canoes  sunk,  and  those  that  were  in  them  lost  all  their  provi- 
sions and  everything  they  had  saved.  Those  that  went  by 
land  drove  the  cattle,  a  pretty  large  herd.  The  savages  now 
drove  us  along,  the  missionaries  with  their  families  usually  in 
their  midst,  surrounded  by  their  Indian  converts.  The  roads 
were  exceedingly  bad,  leading  through  a  continuation  of 
swamps. 

Having  arrived  at  Upper  Sandusky,  they  built  small  huts 
of  logs  and  bark  to  screen  them  from  the  cold,  having  neither 
beds  nor  blankets,  and  being  reduced  to  the  greatest  poverty 
and  want ;  for  the  savages  had  by  degrees  stolen  almost  every 
thing,  both  from  the  missionaries  and  Indians,  on  the  journey. 
We  lived  here  extremely  poor,  often-times  very  little  or  noth- 
ing to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  hunger  ;  and  the  poorest  of  the 
Indians  were  obliged  to  live  upon  their  dead  cattle,  which 
died  for  want  of  pasture.* 

To  this  account,  by  one  who  is,  from  her  age  at  the  time, 
but  a  second-hand  witness,  we  may  add  the  following  particu- 
lars. We  have  already  mentioned  the  rise  of  the  Christian- 
Indian  towns  upon  the  Muskingum.  During  the  wars  between 
the  north-west  savages  and  the  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia 
frontier-men,  the  quiet  converts  of  Post,  Zeisberger,  and 
Heckewelder,  had  any  other  than  a  pleasant  position. 
The  Wyandots  thought  they  betrayed  the  red  men's  in- 
terests to  their  religious  white  kinsfolk  ;  the  pale-faced  In- 
dian-haters of  the  Kenawha,  doubted  as  little  that  the 
"  praying"  Delawares  played  them  false,  and  favored  the 
fierce  warriors  of  the  lakes. f  Little  by  little  these  suspicions 
and  jealousies  assumed  form,  and  the  missionaries  having 
actually  been  guilty  of  the  crime  of  interpreting  to  the  Dela- 

*  American  Pioneer,  ii.  224. 

*  la  October,  1777,  a  party  of  Americans  crossed  the  Ohio  to  attack  the  Morayian 
towns. — Heckewelder's  Narrative,  165. 


254  The  Missionaries  on  Trial.  1781. 

ware  chiefs,  certain  letters  received  from  Pittsburgh,  measures 
were  taken  by  the  English,  as  early,  it  seems,  as  1779,  to  re- 
move them  from  the  American  borders,  and  thus  prevent  their 
interference.  No  result  followed  at  that  time  from  the  steps 
alluded  to  ;  but  in  1780  or. '81,  the  Iroquois  were  asked  at  a 
council,  held  at  Niagara,  to  remove  the  Muskingum  Chris- 
tians, as  the  settlements  were  in  the  country  claimed  by  the 
Five  Nations.  The  New  York  savages  were  perfectly  will- 
ing the  thing  should  be  done,  but  were  not  willing  to  do  it 
themselves,  so  they  sent  to  the  Ottawas  and  Chippeways*  a 
message  to  the  effect  that  they  might  have  the  Moravian  con- 
gregations to  make  soup  of.  The  Ottawas,  in  their  turn,  de- 
clined the  treat,  and  sent  the  message  to  the  Hurons,  or,  as 
they  are  most  commonly  called,  the  Wyandots.  These, 
together  with  Captain  Pipe,  the  war  chief  of  the  Delawares, 
who  was  the  enemy  of  the  missionaries  because  they  taught 
peace,  carried  the  \vish  of  the  English  into  execution,  in  the 
manner  narrated  by  the  daughter  of  the  Moravian  leader. 
At  Detroit,  whither  four  of  the  Europeans  were  taken  in  Oc- 
tober, Heckewelder  and  his  co-laborers  were  tried;  but  as 
even  Captain  Pipe  could  find  no  other  charge  against  them 
than  that  of  interpreting  the  American  letters  above  referred 
to,  they  were  discharged  and  returned  to  their  families  at 
Sandusky,  toward  the  close  of  November. f 

While  the  English  and  their  red  allies  were  thus  persecut- 
ing the  poor  Moravians  and  their  disciples  on  the  one  hand, 
the  Americans  were  preparing  to  do  the  same  thing,  only,  as 
the  event  proved,  in  a  much  more  effectual  style.  In  the 
spring  of  1781,  Colonel  Brodhead  led  a  body  of  troops  against 
some  of  the  hostile  Delawares,  upon  the  Muskingum.  This, 
a  portion  of  his  followers  thought,  would  be  an  excellent  op- 
portunity to  destroy  the  Moravian  towns,  and  it  was  with  dif- 
ficulty he  could  withhold  them.  He  sent  word  to  Heckewelder, 
and  tried  to  prevent  any  attack  upon  the  members  of  his 
flock.  In  this  attempt  he  appears  to  have  succeeded ;  but  he 
did  not,  perhaps  could  not,  prevent  the  slaughter  of  the  troops 
taken  from  the  hostile  Delawares.  First,  sixteen  were  killed, 
and  then  nearly  twenty.  A  chief,  who  came  under  assurances 

*  The  Ojibeways  or  Odjibways,  as  it  is  lately  written  in  conformity  with  the  true  sound 
and  old  writing. — Schoolcraft's  Algic  Researches. — American  State  Papers,  v.  707.  718. 

t  See  a  full  account  in  Ilecke welder's  Narrative,  230 — 299. 


1781.  An  Ambuscade.  255 

of  safety  to  Brodhead's  camp,  was  also  murdered  by  a  noted 
partisan,  named  Wetzel.*  From  that  time,  the  Virginians 
rested,  until  autumn,  when  the  frontier-men,  led  by  Colonel 
David  Williamson,  marched  out  expressly  against  the  towns 
of  the  Christian  Delawares ;  but  they  found  that  the  Hurons 
had  preceded  them,  and  the  huts  and  fields  of  the  friends  of 
peace  were  deserted. f 

The  particular  cause  of  this  attempt,  on  the  part  of  the 
Americans,  was  the  series  of  attacks  made  during  t^iis  year  by 
small  bands  of  Indians,  along  the  whole  range  of  stations, 
from  Laurel  Hill  to  Green  river.  The  details  of  these  incur- 
sions may  be  found  in  Withers'  Border  Warfare,  225,  and 
Marshall's  Kentucky,  I.  115.  Among  these  details,  the  mass 
of  which  we,  of  necessity,  omit,  is  the  following,  which  seems 
worthy  of  especial  notice.  Squire  BooneV  station,  near 
Shelbyville,  being  very  much  exposed,  those  within  it  deter- 
mined to  seek  a  place  of  greater  security :  while  on  their  way 
to  the  Beargrass  settlements,  they  were  attacked  by  the  In- 
dians. Colonel  Floyd,  hearing  of  this,  hastened  with  twenty- 
five  men  against  the  enemy,  but  fell  into  an  ambuscade  of 
two  hundred  savages,  and  lost  half  his  men.  Among  those  in 
his  party  was  Captain  Samuel  Wells,  with  whom  Floyd  had 
been  for  some  time  at  feud.  This  gentleman,  as  he  retreated, 
saw  his  superior  officer,  but  personal  foe,  on  foot,  nearly  ex- 
hausted, and  hard  pressed  by  the  invaders,  on  the  point  of 
falling  a  sacrifice  to  their  fury;  instantly  dismounting,  he 
forced  Colonel  Floyd  to  take  his  place  in  the  saddle,  and 
being  himself  fresh,  ran  by  the  side  of  the  horse,  supporting 
the  fainting  rider,  and  saved  the  lives  of  both.  It  will  readily 
be  believed  their  enmity  closed  with  that  day.J 

Colonel  Wells  removed  to  Missouri  in  1817,  settled  in  St. 
Charles  county,  where  he  died,  beloved  and  respected  by  his 
neighbors. 

In  addition  to  the  incursions  by  the  northern  Indians,  this 

*  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  214. — Doddridge,  291,  (the  date  is  in  this  account  1780,  but 
we  presume  wrongly.) — Border  Warfare,  219  ;  Withers  follows  Doddridge,  but  both  draw 
frem  Heckewelder,  who  says  1781. — For  a  full  account  of  Lewis  Wetzel,  the  very  embodi- 
ment of  the  most  reckless  class  of  frontier-men,  gee  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  i.  121, 
161, 169, 177. 

f  Border  Warfare,  229.    Doddridge,  262. 

J  Butler,  2d  edition,  119. — Marshall,  i.  115. — Marshall,  says  this  took  place  in  April, 
Butler  in  September,  and  refers  to  Colonel  F's.  MS.  letters. 


256  Officers  Appointed  in  Kentucky.  1781. 

year  witnessed  the  rising  of  the  Chickasaws  against  Fort  Jef- 
ferson, which,  as  we  have  said,  had  been  unwisely  built  in 
their  country  without  leave  asked.  The  attack  was  made 
under  the  direction  of  Colbert,  a  Scotchman,  who  had  ac- 
quired great  influence  with  the  tribe,  and  whose  descendants 
have  since  been  among  the  influential  chiefs.  The  garrison 
were  few  in  number,  sickly,  and  half-starved;  but  some 
among  them  were  fool-hardy  and  wicked  enough  to  fire  at 
Colbert,  wtyen  under  a  flag  of  truce,  which  provoked  the  sav- 
ages beyond  all  control,  and  had  not  Clark  arrived  with  rein- 
forcements, the  Chickasaws  would  probably  have  had  all  the 
scalps  of  the  intruders.  As  it  was,  the  fort  was  relieved,  but 
was  soon  after  abandoned,  as  being  too  far  from  the  settle- 
ments, and  of  very  little  use  at  any  rate.* 

Meantime  the  internal  organization  of  Kentucky  was  pro- 
ceeding rapidly.  Floyd,  Logan,  and  Todd  were  made  county 
Lieutenants  of  Jefferson,  Lincoln,  and  Fayette,  with  the  rank 
of  Colonel ;  while  William  Pope,  Stephen  Trigg,  and  Daniel 
Boone,  were  made  Lieutenant  Colonels,  to  act  for  the  others 
in  case  of  need.  Clark  was  made  Brigadier  General,  and 
placed  at  the  head  of  military  affairs,  his  head  quarters  being 
at  the  Falls,  between  which  point  and  the  Licking  he  kept  a 
row  galley  going,  to  intercept  parties  of  Indians,  though  to 
very  little  purpose.  George  May,  who  had  been  surveyor  for 
the  whole  county  of  Kentucky,  after  the  division,  had  Jefferson 
assigned  him ;  while  Thomas  Marshall  was  appointed  to  the 
same  post  in  Fayette,  and  James  Thompson  in  Lincoln.  Of  the 
three,  however,  only  the  last  opened  his  office  during  the  year, 
and  great  was  the  discontent  of  those  waiting  to  enter  the 
fertile  lands  of  the  two  counties  which  were  thus  kept  out  of 
their  reach;  a  discontent  ten-fold  the  greater  in  consequence 
of  the  laws  of  Virginia  in  relation  to  her  depreciated  curren- 
cy, the  effect  of  which  was  to  make  land  cost  in  specie  only 
half  a  cent  an  acre. 

[Towards  the  autumn  of  1781,  marauding  parties  of  In- 
dians again  visited  the  frontiers  of  Kentucky.  Boonesborough 
being  now  an  interior  station  remained  unmolested.  The 
people  at  a  station  in  the  vicinity  of  Shelbyville  became 
alarmed  at  Indian  signs  and  attempted  to  remove  to  Fort  Nel- 

*Butler,  2d  edition,  119. 


1781.  Attack  on  the  McAfee  Station.  257 

son.  They  were  attacked  by  a  large  body  of  Indians,  defeated 
and  dispersed. 

Amongst  the  resolute  and  active  men  among  the  pioneers 
of  Kentucky  were  the  McAffees,  three  brothers,  Samuel, 
James  and  Robert  McAffee,  who  made  a  station  in  the  vicinity 
of  Harrodsburgh.  They  were  vigorous,  athletic  men,  of 
honorable  principles,  and  members  of  the  Presbyterian  church. 
Like  the  other  pioneers,  they  were  frequently  brought  into 
deadly  conflict  with  the  Indians. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  May,  1781,  that  Samuel  McAffee 
and  another  man  were  fired  on  by  Indians  and  the  man  fell. 
McAffee  turned  and  ran  towards  the  fort,  but  in  a  few  yards 
met  another  Indian  in  the  path.  Each  attempted  to  fire  at 
the  same  instant,  but  the  Indian's  gun  missed  fire,  while 
McAffee  shot  him  through  the  heart.  The  two  other  brothers, 
hearing  the  guns,  came  to  the  rescue,  but  had  a  most  peri- 
lous escape  to  the  fort. 

In  a  few  moments  the  fort  was  assailed  by  a  large  party, 
and  while  the  men  used  their  rifles,  the  women  cast  the 
bullets,  and  provided  refreshments.  The  firing  was  heard  at 
other  stations,  and  Major  McGary  and  forty  men  were  soon 
on  the  trail  of  the  Indians,  whom  they  overtook  and  routed.* 

One  other  event  will  close  the  western  annals  of  1781}  and 
no  more  important  event  has  yet  been  chronicled  :  it  was  the 
large  emigration  of  young  unmarried  women,  into  a  region 
abounding  in  young  unmarried  men ;  its  natural  result  was 
the  rapid  increase  of  population.] 

*Marsball'8  Kentucky,  i.  11 T. 


y 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THRILLING  INCIDENTS. 

Massacre  of  the  Moravian  Indians— Capture  and  burning  of  Glonel  Crawford — Defeat  of 
Colonel  Laughery—  Attack  on  Bryant's  Station— Battle  of  the  Blue  Licks — Expedition 
against  the  Indians  in  Ohio  by  General  Clark— Peace  with  Great  Britain— Instructions 
to  Ind;an  Commissioners — Difficulties  abjut  carrying  out  certain  conditions  of  .the 
treaty. 

[  We  have  already  noticed  the  establishment  of  Fort  Jeffer- 
son, on  the  Mississippi,  a  few  miles  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Ohio,  by  General  Clark.  The  country  was  claimed  by 
the  Chickasaw  Indians,  and  they  remonstrated  at  this  intrusion 
on  their  territory.  The  remonstrance  being  disregarded,  they 
prepared  to  repel  the  invaders  by  force.  Early  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1781,  when  the  garrison  was  reduced  to  about  thirty 
men,  many  of  whom  were  invalids,  the  Indians  attacked  the 
fort  with  a  large  force.  These  Chickasaws  were  led  by  Col- 
bert, a  half  breed  chief,  whose  father  was  a  Scotch  trader. 
The  siege  was  pressed  with  vigor  six  days,  and  several  assaults 
made  by  the  invaders,  who  were  driven  back  by  the  artillery, 
loaded  with  grape  and  musket  balls.  The  garrison  was  re- 
lieved by. the  timely  appearance  of  General  G.  R.  Clark,  with 
a'  reinforcement  and  a  supply  of  provisions.  Shortly  after- 
wards, the  Governor  of  Virginia  ordered  it  to  be  dismantled 
and  abandoned.  The  order  being  executed,  the  Chickasaws 
were  at  peace.* 

This  year  the  crops  of  wheat,  corn,  and  provisions  of  all 
kinds  were  abundant  in  the  West,  and  the  autumn  brought 
great  numbers  of  emigrants  to  Kentucky. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  sufferings  of  the  Moravians 
on  the  Muskingum,  in  1781.  These'  people  were  religiously 
opposed  to  war  in  every  form,  and  taught  their  Indian  con- 
verts this  lesson.  Hence  the  savage  Indians  despised  and 
persecuted  them,  and  were  notorious  for  charging  the  depre- 
dations committed  by  themselves,  on  the  "praying  Indians," 
as  the  Moravian  converts  were  called. 

As  early  as  1769,  the  praying  Indians  upon  the  Delaware 
river  had  removed  westward,  and  commenced  three  settle- 

ucky,  i.  112;  Butler,  119;  Monette,  ii.  122. 


1781.  The  Moravian  Indians.  259 

ments  upon  the  Muskingum  river,  which  were  called  Gnaden- 
hutten,  Sehoenbrun,  and  Salem.  They  were  situated  in  the 
south  part  of  Tuscarawas  county.  The  Missionaries,  through 
whose  benevolent  labors  they  were  converted,  were  David 
Zeisberger,  Michael  Jung,  Christian  Frederic  Post,  (already 
mentioned,  page  105,)  and  John  Heckewelder.  Here  they 
intended  to  live  in  peace,  and  extend  their  truly  Christian 
labors  to  the  tribes  of  the  north-west. 

The  converted  Indians  had  adopted  civilized  habits,  were 
able  to  read,  and  had  cleared  and  cultivated  farms  in  common 
fields.  They  had  several  hundred  acres  of  corn  on  the  rich 
bottom  lands  of  the  river — had  two  hundred  cattle,  and  four 
hundred  hogs.  These  Indians  were  chiefly  Delawares,  and 
as  a  portion  of  the  uncivilized  Delaware  nation  were  un- 
friendly to  the  United  States,  the  frontier  people  entertained 
strong  prejudices  against  the  jM'lTftjtg  Delawares. 

Many  persons  thought,  or  pretended  to  think,  that,  although 
these  Christian  Indians  had  renounced  war  and  theft,  they 
gave  information  to  the  savage  tribes.  They  treated  all 
Indians  that  passed  through  their  towns  with  Christian  hospi- 
tality, and,  therefore,  were  accused  of  furnishing  supplies  to 
war  parties. 

Nor  did  they  fare  any  better  from  the  other  side.  The 
Wyandots  were  mortal  enemies  to  the  United  States,  and  at 
war  with  them,  and  they  accused  the  Moravian  Indians  of 
being  in  communication  with  the  Americans,  and  even  with 
the  military  of  the  United  States. 

The  British  officers,  at  Detroit,  in  the  year  1781,  made  ap- 
plication to  the  Six  Nations,  to  have  the  praying  Indians  re- 
moved, and  the  subject  was  considered  in  a  council  at  Niaga- 
ra, where  the  Iroquois,  in  their  figurative  language,  authorized 
the  Ottawas  and  Ojibeways  to  kill  them.  "  We  herewith 
make  you  a  present  of  the  Christian  Indians,  to  make  soup  \X 
of,"  was  the  form  of  address  ;  to  which  both  the  Ojibeways 
and  Ottawas  returned  for  answer,  "  We  have  no  cause  for 
doing  this." 

The  same  year,  the  Wyandots,  led  by  a  noted  chief,  called 
the  Half-King,  arrived  at  the  Moravian  towns,  with  two  hun 
dred  warriors,  on  their  way  to  the  settlements  in  Western  Vir- 
ginia, and  threatened  these  peaceable  Indians  with  destruction. 


260  Colonel  Williamson's   Volunteers.  1781. 

The  fact  has  long  since  been  established  beyond  all  dispute, 
that  these  praying  Indians  lived  according  to  their  profession 
— that  they  did  all  they  could  to  prevail  on  the  Ohio  Indians 
to  live  in  peace,  and  that  when  they  knew  of  any  hostile 
parties  intending  an  attack  on  the  settlements,  they  sent  run- 
ners and  gave  them  timely  warning. 

Those  renegadoes,  Girty,  McKee  and  Elliott,  who  held 
commissions  in  the  British  service,  did  what  they  could  to  ex- 
cite hostilities  against  them.  The  Half-King  and  Captain  Pipe 
were  their  enemies.  Finally,  British  officers  employed  the 
Wyandots  to  remove  them  and  their  teachers  from  their  own 
towns  and  country,  to  San  dusky.  Their  corn  was  left  in  the 
field  and  their  cattle  in  the  woods. 

During  the  following  winter,  their  missionaries  were  sepa- 
rated from  them,  and  sent  as  prisoners  to  Detroit.  Not  only 
the  missionaries,  but  the  people,  were  treated  with  great 
severity.  The  British  finally  released  them,  and  suffered 
them  to  return. 

In  the  autumn  of  1781,  Colonel  David  Williamson  raised  a 
corps  of  volunteers  in  Western  Pensylvania,  and  marched  to 
the  Moravian  towns,  with  the  design  of  removing  the  inhabi- 
tants to  Pittsburgh,  but  he  had  been  anticipated  by  the  Wyan- 
dots and  British. 

A  few  persons  were  still  at  the  towns,  whom  he  took  pri- 
soners, and  removed  them  to  Pittsburgh. 

It  is  supposed  that  Colonel  Williamson  thought  that  the  re- 
moval of  the  praying  Indians  to  Sandusky  was  proof  enough 
of  their  treachery.  During  the  winter,  several  persons  and 
families  were  killed  along  the  Ohio  river,  probably  by  Wyan- 
dots, and  these  massacres  were  laid  to  the  Christian  Dela- 
wares.  {Unfortunately,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  men, 
women r^nd  children,  returned  to  their  towns  in  February,  of 
which  fact  Colonel  Williamson  learned,  and  early  in  March, 
with  an  irregular  force  collected  from  the  regions  of  the  Ohio 
and  Monongahela  rivers,  of  about  sne  hundred  men,  without 
authority  from  any  civil  or  military  power,  he  made  a  rapid 
march  to  the  Muskingum,  where  the  party  arrived  on  the  7th 
of  March, 

Their  professed  object  was  to  capture  and  remove  the 
Christian  Delawares,  and  destroy  their  houses  and  fields.  A 


ive  it  tot 
re  given  \ 


17S2.  Massacre  of  the  Moravian  Indians.  261 

number  of  the  people  were  at  work  in  their  corn  fields,  when 
this  hostile  force  appeared,  who  ran  to  the  village  of  Gnaden- 
hutten.  Several  men  and  one  woman  were  killed.  They  were 
told  it  was  the  intention  to  take  them  to  Pittsburgh,  where  they 
would  be  protected,  and  were  directed  to  enter  two  houses 
and  remain  for  the  night. 

The  commander  of  the  party  then  proposed  to  leave 
his  men  to  decide  by  vote  their  fate,  and  orders  were 
that  those  who  were  for  sparing  their  lives  should  step  out  in 
front.      Of  some  ninety  men  present,  only  seventeen  or  eigh- 
teen voted  to  spare  their  lives  !     This  sentence  was  then  an-    ^ 
nounced  to  the  people.      They  spent  the  night  in  prayer  and  &j 
in  singing  hymns.    In  the'morning  the  terrible  slaughter  com-<^ 
menced.      No  resistance  was  made.      Guns,  tomahawks,  and 
hatchets  were  used.      Two  only  escaped;    one,  a  young  man 
about  seventeen  years  of  age,  wounded,  bleeding  and  scalped, 
crept  into  the  bushes  and  lived ;  another  crawled  under  the 
floor,  where  he  lay  until  the  blood  <of  his  murdered  relations 
poured  in  streams  upon  him.       /7l/yLC    t^O  ^ 

The  buildings  were  set  oh  fire,  and  the  bodies  partially  con- 
sumed. Colonel  Williamsom  and  his  men  returned  to  receive 
the  execrations  of  their  countrymen.  Both  the  civil  and  mil- 
itary authorities  of  the  State  and  nation  reprobated  the  dire- 
ful deed ! 

Forty  men,  twenty-two  women,  and  thirty-two  children 
were  thus  destroyed  !  jf 

It  would  seem,  from  all  the  testimony  in  the  case,  that  Wil- 
liamson was  inclined  to  mercy.  Such  was  his  plea  in  justifi- 
cation of  the  part  he  acted,  but  he  was  the  commander,  and 
ought  to  have  known  his  duty.  /'The  only  palliation  that  can 
be  offered,  is  the  infatuation  under  which  they  labored,  that 
these  Indians  were  concerned  in  the  murder  of  the  frontier 
families.*! 

It  was  in  March  of  1782,  that  this  great  murder  was  com- 
mitted. And  as  the  tiger,  having  once  tasted  blood,  longs  for 
blood,  so  it  was  with  the  frontier-men ;  and  another  expedi- 


*For  further  details  the  reader  is  referred  to  HecFe  welder's  Narrative,  pp.  313-328 
Brown's  History  of  Missions;  History  of   Missions  by  Smith  and  Choules ;  American  Pi-; 
oneer,   vol.  ii.  pp.  425-432;  Monette's  Valley  of  the  Mis-issippi,  vol.  ii.  pp.   129-131; 
Doddridge,   pp.   248,  255  ;    Withers'  Border  Warfare,  pp.  232-239 ;    and  var'ous  public 
documents. —  [Ed. 


262  Crawford   Taken.  1782. 

tion  was  at  once  organized,  to  make  a  dash  at  the  towns  of 
the  Moravian  Delawares  and  Wyandots,  upon  the  Sandusky. 
No  Indian  was  to  be  spared;  friend  or  foe,  every  red  man 
was  to  die.  The  commander  of  the  expedition  was  Colonel 
William  Crawford,  Washington's  old  agent  in  the  West.'  He 
cR^ioiriWSPPf8^go7n3Ut  found  it  could  not  be  avoided.  *  The 
troops,  numbering  nearly  five  hundred  men,  marched,  in  June, 
to  the  Sandusky  uninterrupted.  There  they  found  the  towns 
deserted,  and  the  savages  on  the  alert.  A  battle  ensued,  and 
the  whites  were  forced  to  retreat.  In  their  retreat,  many  left 
the  main  body,  and  nearly  all  who  did  so  perished.  Of 
Crawford's  own  fate,  we  have  the  following  account  by  Dr. 
Knight,  his  companion  : 

Monday  morning,  the  tenth  of  June,  we  were  paraded  to 
march  to  Sandusky,  about  chirty-three  miles  distant ;  they  had 
eleven  prisoners  of  us-1,  and  four  scalps,  the  Indians  being  sev- 
enteen in  number. 

Colonel  Crawford  was  very  desirous  to  see  a  certain  Simon 
Girty,  who  lived  with  the  Indians,  and  was  on  this  account 
permitted  to  go  to  town  the  same  night,  with  two  warriors  to 
guard  him,  having  orders  at  the  same  time  to  pass  by  the 
place  where  the  Colonel  had  turned  out  his  horse,  that  they 
might,  if  possible,  find  him.  The  rest  of  us  were  taken  as 
far  as  the  old  town,  which  was  within  eight  miles  of  the  new. 

Tuesday  morning,  the  eleventh,  Colonel  Crawford  was 
brought  out  to' us  on  purpose  to  be  marched  in  with  the  other 
prisoners.  I  asked  the  Colonel  if  he  had  seen  Mr.  Girty  ? 
He  told  me  he  had,  and  that  Girty  had  promised  to  do  every 
thing  in  his  power  for  him,  but  that  the  Indians  were  very 
much  enraged  against  the  prisoners;  particularly  Captain 
Pipe,  one  of  the  chiefs ;  he  likewise  told  me  that  Girty  had 
informed  him  that  his  son-in-law,  Colonel  Harrison,  and  his 
nephew,  William  Crawford,  were  made  prisoners  by  the  Shaw- 
anese,  but  had  been  pardoned.  This  Captain  Pipe  had  come 
from  the  town  about  an  hour  before  Colonel  Crawford,  and 
had  painted  all  the  prisoners'  faces  black.  As  he  was  paint- 
ing me  he  told  me  I  should  go  to  the  Shawanese  towns  and 
see  my  friends.  When  the  Colonel  arrived,  he  .painted  him 
black  also,  told  him  he  was  glad  to  see  him,  and  that  he 
would  have  him  shaved  when  he  came  to  see  his  friends  at 
the  Wyandot  to\vn.  When  we  marched,  the  Colonel  and  I 
were  kept  back  between  Pipe  and  Wyngenirn,  the  two  Dela- 
ware chiefs  ;  the  other  nine  prisoners  were  sent  forward  with 
another  party  of  Indians.  As  we  went  along  we  saw  four 
of  the  prisoners  lying  by  the  path,  tomahawked  and  scalped  ; 
some  of  them  were  at  the  distance  of  half  a  mile  from  each 


1782.  Crawford's  Death.  2G3 

other.  When  we  arrived  within  half  a  mile  of  the  place 
where  the  Colonel  was  executed,  we  overtook  the  five  prison- 
ers that  remained  alive ;  the  Indians  had  caused  them  to  sit 
down  on  the  ground,  as  they  did  also  the  Colonel  and  me, 
at  some  distance  from  them.  I  was  there  given  in  charge  to 
an  Indian  fellow  to  be  taken  to  the  Shawanese  towns. 

In  the  place  where  we  were  now  made  to  sit  down,  there 
was  a  number  of  squaws  and  boys,  who  fell  on  the  five  pris- 
oners .and  tomahawked  them.  There  was  a  certain  John 
McKinly  amongst  the  prisoners,  formerly  an  officer  in  the  13th 
Virginia  regiment,  whose  head  an  old  squaw  cut  off,  and  the 
Indians  kicked  it  about  upon  the  ground.  The  young  Indian 
fellows  came  often  where  the  Colonel  and  I  were,  and  dashed 
the  scalps  in  our  faces.  We  were  then  conducted  along  to- 
ward the  place  where  the  Colonel  was  afterwards  executed ; 
when  we  came  within  about  half  a  mile  of  it,  Simon  Girty 
met  us,  with  several  Indians  on  horseback  ;  he  spoke  to  the 
Colonel,  but  as  I  was  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  be- 
hind, could  not  hear  what  passed  between  them. 

Almost  every  Indian  we  met,  struck  us  either  with  sticks 
or  their  fists.  Girty  waited  till  I  was  brought  up,  and  asked, 
was  that  the  Doctor?  I  told  him  yes,  and  went  towards 
him,  reaching  out  my  hand,  but  he  bid  me  begone,  and  called 
me  a  damned  rascal,  upon  which  the  fellows  who  had  me  in 
charge  pulled  me  along.  Girty  rode  up  after  me  and  told  me 
I  was  to  go  to  the  Shawanese  towns. 

When  we  went  to  the  fire  the  Colonel  was  stripped  naked, 
ordered  to  sit  down  by  the  fire,  and  then  they  beat  him  with 
sticks  and  their  fists.  Presently  after  I  was  treated  in  the 
same  manner.  They  then  tied  a  rope  to  the  foot  of  a  post 
about  fifteen  feet  high,  bound  the  Colonel's  hands  behind  his 
back  and  fastened  the  rope  to  the  ligature  between  his  wrists. 
The  rope  was  long  enough  for  him  to  sit  down  or  walk  round 
the  post  once  or  twice,  and  return  the  same  way.  The  Colo- 
nel then  called  to  Girty,  and  asked  if  they  intended  to  burn 
him?  Girty  answered,  yes.  The  Colonel  said  he  would*  take 
it  all  patiently.  Upon  this,  Captain  Pipe,  a  Delaware  chief, 
made  a  speech  to  the  indians,  viz  :  about  thirty  or  forty  men, 
sixty  or  seventy  squaws  and  boys. 

When  the  speech  was  finished  they  all  yelled  a  hideous  and 
hearty  assent  to  what  had  been  said.  The  Indian  men  then 
took  up  their  guns,  and  shot  powder  into  the  Colonel's  body, 
from  his  feet  as  far  up  as  his  neck.  I  think  that  not  less  than 
seventy  loads  were  discharged  upon  his  naked  body.  They 
then  crowded  about  him,  and  to  the  best  of  my  observation, 
cut  off  his  ears ;  when  the  throng  had  dispersed  a  little,  I 
saw  the  blood  running  from  both  sides  of  his  head  in  con- 
sequence thereof. 

The  fire  was  about  six  or  seven  yards  from  the  post  to  which 


264  Crawford's  Death.  1782. 

the  Colonel  was  tied;  it  was  made  of  small  hickory  poles, 
burnt  quite  through  in  the  middle,  each  end  of  the  poles  re- 
maining about  six  feet  in  length.  Three  or  four  Indians  by 
turns  would  take  up,  individually,  one  of  these  burning  pieces 
of  wood  and  apply  it  to  his  naked  body,  already  burnt  black 
with  the  powder.  These  tormentors  presented  themselves  on 
every  side  of  him  with  the  burning  faggots  and  poles.  Some 
of  the  squaws  took  broad  boards,  upon  which  they  would 
carry  a  quantity  of  burning  coals  and  hot  embers  and  throw 
on  him,  so  that  in  a  short  time  he  had  nothing  but  coals  of 
fire  and  hot  ashes  to  walk  upon. 

In  the  midst  of  these  extreme  tortures,  he  called  to  Simon 
Girty  and  begged  of  him  to  shoot  him  ;  but  Girty  making  no 
answer,  he  called  to  him  again.  Girty,  then,  by  way  of  de- 
rision, told  the  Colonel  he  had  no  gun,  at  the  same  time  turn- 
ing about  to  an  Indian  who  was  behind  him,  laughed  heartily, 
and  by  all  his  gestures  seemed  delighted  at  the  horrid  scene. 
Girty  then  came  up  to  me  and  bade  me  prepare  for  death. 
He  said,  however,  I  was  not  to  die  at  that  place,  but  to  be 
burnt  at  the  Shawanese  towns.  He  swore  by  G — d  I  need  not 
expect  to  escape  death,  but  should  suffer  it  in  all  its  enormities. 
He  then  observed  that  some  prisoners  had  given  him  to 
understand,  that  if  our  people  had  him  they  would  not  hurt 
him ;  for  his  part,  he  said,  he  did  not  believe  it,  but  desired  to 
know  my  opinion  of  the  matter,  but  being  at  the  time  in  great 
anguish  and  distress  for  the  torments  the  Colonel  was  suffer- 
ing before  my  eyes,  as  well  as  the  expectation  of  undergoing 
the  same  fate  in  two  days,  I  made  little  or  no  answer.  He 
expressed  a  great  deal  of  ill-will  for  Colonel  Gibson,  and  said 
he  was  one  of  his  greatest  enemies,  and  more  to  the  same 
purpose,  to  all  which  I  paid  very  little  attention. 

Colonel  Crawford,  at  this  period  of  his  suffering,  besought 
the  Almighty  to  have  mercy  on  his  soul,  spoke  very  low,  and 
bore  his  torments  with  the  most  manly  fortitude.  He  con- 
tinued in  all  the  extremities  of  pain  for  an  hour  and  three 
quarters  or  two  hours  longer,  as  near  as  I  can  judge,  when  at 
last,  being  almost  exhausted,  he  lay  down  on  his  belly ;  they 
then  scalped  him,  and  repeatedly  threw  the  scalp  in  rny  face, 
telling  me,  "that  was  my  great  captain."  An  old  squaxv 
(whose  appearance  every  way  answered  the  ideas  people  en- 
tertain of  the  Devil,)  got  a  board,  took  a  parcel  of  coals  and 
ashes  and  laid  them  on  his  back  and  .head,  after  he  had  been 
scalped;  he  then  raised  himself  upon  his  feet  and  began  to 
walk  round  the  post ;  they  next  put  a  burning  stick  to  him  as 
usual,  but  he  seemed  more  insensible  of  pain  than  before. 

The  Indian  fellow  who  had  me  in  charge,  now  took  me 
away  to  Captain  Pipe's  house,  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile 
from  the  place  of  the  Colonel's  execution.  I  was  bound  all 
night,  and  thus  prevented  from  seeing  the  last  of  the  horrid 


1782.  Treatment  of  the  Moravians  by  the  British.  265 

spectacle.  Next  morning1,  being  June  12th,  the  Indian  untied 
me,  painted  me  black,  and  we  set  off  for  the  Shawanese  town, 
which  he  told  me  was  somewhat  less  than  forty  miles  distant 
from  that  place.  We  soon  came  to  the  spot  where  the  Colonel 
had  been  burnt,  as  it  was  partly  in  our  way ;  I  saw  his  bones 
lying  amongst  the  remains  of  the  fire,  almost  burnt  to  ashes ; 
I  suppose  after  he  was  dead  they  laid  his  body  on  the 
fire.  The  Indian  told  me  that  was  my  big  Captain,  and  gav<e 
the  scalp  halloo. 

In  strange,  but  pleasant  contrast  to  the  treatment  of  the 
Christian  Indians  upon  the  Muskingum,  we  have  to  record 
next,  the  conduct  of  the  British  toward  their  religious  leaders 
during  this  same  spring.  Girty,  who  early  in  the  season  had 
led  a  band  of  Wyandots  against  the  American  frontiers,  had 
left  orders  to  have  Heckewelder  and  his  comrades  driven  like 
beasts  from  Sandusky,  where  they  had  wintered,  to  Detroit ; 
specially  enjoining  brutality  toward  them.  But  his  agents,  or 
rather  those  of  the  English  commandant  in  the  West,  together 
with  the  traders  who  were  called  upon  to  aid  in  their  removal, 
distinguished  themselves  by  kindness  and  consideration,  aid- 
ing the  missionaries  on  their  march,  defending  the  captives 
from  the  outrageous  brutality  of  Girty,  who  overtook  them  at 
Lower  Sandusky,  and  who  swore  he  would  have  their  lives, 
and  at  length  re-uniting  them  to  their  surviving  disciples,  at  a 
settlement  upon  the  river  Huron.* 

It  was  in  March  that  Williamson's  campaign  took  place, 
and  during  the  same  month  the  Moravians  were  taken  to 
Michigan.  It  was  in  that  month,  also,f  that  an  event  took 
place  in  Kentucky,  near  the  present  town  of  Mt.  Sterling,  in 
Montgomery  county,  which  has  been  dwelt  upon  with  more 
interest,  by  her  historians,  than  almost  any  other  of  equal  un- 
importance ;  we  refer  to  Estill's  defeat  by  a  party  of  Wyan- 
dots. The  interest  of  this  skirmish  arose  from  the  equality  of 
numbers  on  the  two  sides;  the  supposed  cowardice  of  Miller, 
Estill's  lieutenant,  who  was  sent  to  outflank  the  savages  ;  and 
the  consequent  death  of  the  leader,  a  brave  and  popular  man. 
Its  effect  upon  the  settlers  was  merely  to  excite  a  deeper  hos- 
tility toward  the  Indian  races. 

*  Heckewelder 's  Narrative,  308,  329-349. 

f  Marshall  (i.  126)  says  May;  we  follow  Chief  Justice  Kobortson,  quoted  hy  Butler  (124 
note)  who  says  March  22.  See  also  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  L  3.  This  is  a  detailed 
account. 

17 


266  Defeat  of  Colonel  Laughery.  1782. 

Nor  did  the  red  men,  on  their  part,  show  any  signs  of  losing 
their  animosity.  Elliot,  McKee  and  Girty  urged  them  on, 
with  a  fury  that  is  not  easy  to  account  for. 

Again  the  woods  teemed  with  savages,  and  no  one  was 
safe  from  attack  beyond  the  walls  of  a  station.  The  influence 
of  the  British,  and  the  constant  pressure  of  the  Long  Knives 
upon  the  red-men,  had  produced  a  union  of  the  various  tribes 
of  the  north-west,  who  seemed  to  be  gathering  again  to  strike, 
a  fatal  blow  at  the  frontier  settlements,  and  had  they  been  led 
by  a  Philip,  a  Pontiac,  or  a  Tecumthe,  it  is  impossible  to  esti- 
mate the  injury  they  might  have  inflicted. 

[  It  was  the  same  spring,  that  the  calamitous  defeat  of  Col- 
onel Archibald  Laughery  occurred.  This  gentleman  had  been 
requested,  by  Colonel  Clark,  to  raise  one  hundred  volunteers 
in  the  county  of  Westmoreland,  Pa.,  to  aid  him  against  the 
Ohio  Indians.  The  company  was  raised  principally  at  his 
own  expense,  and  he  also  provided  the  outfit  and  munitions 
for  the  expedition.  In  this  he  was  aided  by  the  late  Robert 
Orr,  by  birth  an  Irishman,  but  who  manifested  a  deep  and 
generous  interest  in  his  adopted  country.  Mr.  Orr  was  one  of 
the  officers,  and  next  in  command  under  Colonel  Laugh- 
ery. 

There  were  one  hundred  and  seven  men  in  the  expedition, 
who  proceeded  in  boats  down  the  Ohio,  to  meet  General 
Clark,  at  the  Falls.  At  the  mouth  of  a  creek  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  Indiana,  that  bears  the  name  of  the  com- 
mander, the  boats  were  attacked  by  the  Indians.  Of  the 
whole  detachment,  not  one  escaped.  Colonel  Laughery 
was  killed,  and  most  of  his  officers.  Captain  Orr,  who  com- 
manded a  company,  had  his  arm  broken  with  a  ball.  The 
wounded,  who  were  unable  to  travel,  were  dispatched  with 
the  tomahawk,  and  the  few  who  escaped  with  their  lives, 
were  driven  through  the  wilderness  to  Sandusky.  Captain 
Orr  was  taken  to  Detroit,  where  he  lay  in  the  hospital  for 
several  months,  and,  with  the  remnant  who  lived,  was  ex- 
changed, in  the  spring  of  1783.  On  the  13th  of  July,  while 
Mr.  Orr  was  in  captivity,  Hannahstown,  in  Westmoreland 
county,  where  his  wife  and  children  resided,  was  attacked  and 
burnt  by  the  Indians,  and  his  house  and  all  his  property  de- 
stroyed. Captain  Orr,  subsequently,  was  one  of  the  associate 
Judges  of  the  county,  maintained  a  highly  respectable  char- 


1782.  Attack  on  Bryant's  Station.  267 

acter,  and   died   in    1833,  in   the    eighty-ninth   year   of  his 
age.*] 

June  and  July  passed,  however,  and  August  was  half  gone, 
and  still  the  anticipated  storm  had  not  burst  upon  the  pioneers 
in  its  full  force,  when,  upon  the  night  of  the  14th  of  the  latter 
month,  the  main  body  of  the  Indians,  five  or  six  hundred  in 
number,  gathered,  silent  as  the  shadows,  round  Bryant's  sta- 
tion, a  post  on  the  bank  of  the  Elkhorn,  about  five  miles  from 
Lexington.  The  garrison  of  this  post  had  heard,  on  the  even- 
ing of  the  14th,  of  the  defeat  of  a  party  of  whites  not  far  dis- 
tant, and  during  that  night  were  busy  in  preparations  to 
march,  with  day-break,  to  the  assistance  of  their  neighbors. 
All  night  long  their  preparations  continued,  and  what  little 
sound  the  savages  made  as  they  approached,  was  unheard 
amid  the  comparative  tumult  within.  Day  stole  through  the 
forest;  the  woodsmen  rose  from  their  brief  slumbers,  took 
their  arms,  and  were  on  the  point  of  opening  their  gates  to 
march,  when  the  crack  of  rifles,  mingled  with  yells  and  howls, 
told  them,  in  an  instant,  how  narrowly  they  had  escaped  cap- 
tivity or  death.  Rushing  to  tjie  loop-holes  and  crannies,  they 
saw  about  a  hundred  red-men,  firing  and  gesticulating  in  full 
view  of  the  fort.  The  young  bloods,  full  of  rage  at  Estill's 
sad  defeat,  wished  instantly  to  rush  forth  upon  the  attackers, 
but  there  was  something  in  the  manner  of  the  Indians  so  pe- 
culiar, that  the  older  heads  at  once  suspected  a  trick,  and 
looked  anxiously  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  fort,  where  they 
judged  the  main  body  of  the  enemy  were  probably  concealed. 
Nor  were  they  deceived.  The  savages  were  led  by  Simon 
Girty.  This  white  savage  had  proposed,  by  an  attack  upon 
one  side  of  the  station  with  a  small  part  of  his  force,  to  draw 
out  the  garrison,  and  then  intended,  with  the  main  body,  to 
fall  upon  the  other  side,  and  secure  the  fort;  but  his  plan  was 
defeated  by  the  over-acting  of  his  red  allies,  and  the  sagacity 
of  his  opponents. t  These  opponents,  however,  had  still  a  sad 
difficulty  to  encounter;  the  fort  was  not  supplied  with  water, 
and  the  spring  was  at  some  distance,  and  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  thicket  in  which  it  was  supposed  the  main 
force  of  the  Indians  lay  concealed.  The  danger  of  going  or 
sending  for  water  was  plain,  the  absolute  necessity  of  having 

*  Day's  Historical  Collections  of  Pennsylvania,  p.  97 ; — MS.  Letters  of  Robert  Orr,  Esq., 
of  Pittsburgh.— ED. 


268  Attack  on  Bryant's  Station.  1782. 

it  was  equally  so ;  and  how  it  could  be  procured,  was  a  ques- 
tion which  made  many  a  head  shake,  many  a  heart  sink.  At 
length  a  plan,  equally  sagacious  and  bold,  was  hit  upon,  and 
carried  into  execution  by  as  great  an  exertion  of  womanly 
presence  of  mind  as  can,  perhaps,  be  found  on  record.  If  the 
savages  were,  as  was  supposed,  concealed  near  the  spring,  it 
was  believed  they  would  not  show  themselves  until  they  had 
reason  to  believe  their  trick  had  succeeded,  and  the  garrison 
had  left  the  fort  on  the  other  side.  It  was,  therefore,  proposed 
to  all  the  females  to  go  with  their  buckets  to  the  spring,  fill 
them,  and  return  to  the  fort,  before  any  sally  was  made 
against  the'attacking  party.  The  danger  to  which  they  must 
be  exposed  was  not  to  be  concealed,  but  it  was  urged  upon 
them  that  this  must  be  done,  or  all  perish ;  and  that  if  they 
were  steady,  the  Indians  would  not  molest  them;  and  to  the 
honor  of  their  sex  be  it  said,  they  went  forth  in  a  body,  and 
directly  under  five  hundred  rifles,  filled  their  buckets,  and  re- 
turned in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  suggest  to  the  quick-sighted 
savages  that  their  presence  in  the  thicket  was  suspected. 
This  done,  a  small  number  of  the  garrison  were  sent  forth 
against  the  attackers,  with  orders  to  multiply  their  numbers 
to  the  ear  by  constant  firing,  while  the  main  body  of  the 
whites  took  their  places  to  repel  the  anticipated  rush  of  those 
in  concealment.  The  plan  succeeded  perfectly.  The  whole 
body  of  Indians  rushed  from  their  ambuscade  as  they  heard 
the  firing  upon  the  opposite  side  of  the  fort,  and  were  received 
by  a  fair,  well-directed  discharge  of  all  the  rifles  left  within 
the  station.  Astonished  and  horror-stricken,  the  assailants 
turned  to  the  forest  again  as  quickly  as  they  had  left  it,  having 
lost  many  of  their  number. 

In  the  morning,  as  soon  as  the  presence  of  the  Indians  was 
ascertained,  and  before  their  numbers  were  suspected,  two 
messengers  had  broken  through  their  line,  bearing  to  Lexing- 
ton tidings  of  the  seige  of  Bryant's  station,  and  asking  suc- 
cors. These  succors  came  about  two  in  the  afternoon  ;  sixteen 
men  being  mounted,  and  thirty  or  more  on  foot.  The  savages 
expected  their  arrival,  and  prepared  to  destroy  them,  but  the 
horsemen,  by  rapid  riding,  and  enveloped  in  dust,  reached  the 
fort  unharmed,  and  of  the  footmen,  after  an  hour's  hard  fight- 
ing, only  two  were  killed  and  four  wounded.  The  Indian's 
•courage  rarely  supports  him  through  long-continued  exertion  ; 


1782.  Attack  on  Bryant's  Station..  269 

and  Girty  found  his  men  so  far  disheartened  by  their  failures — 
that  of  the  morning  in  the  attempt  to  take  the  fort,  and  that 
in  the  afternoon  to  destroy  the  troops  from'  Lexington — that 
before  night  they  talked  of  abandoning  the  seige.  This 
their  leader  was  very  unwilling  to  do  :  and  thinking  he 
might  scare  the  garrison  into  surrender,  he  managed  to  get 
within  speaking  distance,  and  there,  from  behind  a  large 
stump,  commenced  a  parley.  He  told  the  white  men  who  he 
was ;  assured  them  of  his  great  desire  that  they  should  not 
suffer;  and  informing  them  that  he  looked  hourly  for  rein- 
forcements with  cannon,  against  which  they  could  not  hope 
to  hold  out,  begged  them  to  surrender  at  once  ;  if  they  did  so, 
no  one  should  be  hurt,  but  if  they  waited  till  the  cannon  came 
up,  he  feared  they  would  all  fall  victims.  The  garrison  look- 
ed at  one  another  withjuncertainty  and  fear ;  against  cannon 
they  could  do  nothing,  and  cannon  had  been  used  in  1780. 
Seeing  ihe  effect  of  Girty's  speech,  and  disbelieving  every 
word  of  it,  a  young  man,  named  Reynolds,  took  it  upon  him- 
self to  answer  the  renegade.  "  You  need  not  be  so  particu- 
lar," he  cried,  k'  to  tell  us  your  name ;  we  know  your  name, 
and  you  too.  I've  had  a  villanous,  untrustworthy  cur-dog, 
this  long  while,  named  Simon  Girty,  in  compliment  to  you  ; 
he's  so  like  you — -just  as  ugly  and  just  as  wicked.  As  to  the 
cannon,  let  them  come  on ;  the  country's  roused,  and  the 
scalps  of  your  red  cut-throats,  and  your  own  too,  will  be  dry- 
ing on  our  cabins  in  twenty-four  hours.  And  if  by  any 
chance,  you  or  your  allies  do  get  into  the  fort,  we've  a  big 
store  of  rods  laid  in  on  purpose  to  scourge  you  out  again." 

The  method  taken  by  Reynolds  was  much  more  effectual 
than  any  argument  with  his  comrades  would  have  been,  and 
Girty  had  to  return  to  the  Indian  council-fire  unsuccessful. 
But  he  and  the  chiefs  well  knew  that  though  their  reinforce- 
ments and  cannon  were  all  imaginary,  the  expected  aid  of  the 
whites  was  not.  Boone,  Todd,  and  Logan  would  soon  be 
upon  them ;  the  ablest  and  boldest  of  the  pioneers  would  cut 
them  off  from  a  retreat  to  the  Ohio,  and  their  destruction 
would  be  insured.  On  the  other  hand,  if  they  now  began  to 
retire,  and  were  pursued,  as  they  surely  would  be,  they  could 
choose  their  own  ground,  and  always  fight  with  their  way  home 
clear  behind  them.  All  night  they  lay  still,  their  fires  burning, 

but  when  day  broke,  the  whole  body  of  savages  was  gone. 

•>  •>, 

llt.i,      ,    I_       .    !Ml,aj./vJIJ        J»      |U      ''.;<.Jii       !>  .'Jit      i     -J:     :•     .-    ••'.:t,f.,ff 


270  Battle  of  the  Blue  Licks.  1782. 

By  noon  of  the  ISth  of  August,  about  one  hundred  and 
eighty  men  had  gathered  at  Bryant's  station ;  among  them 
were  Boone  and  his  son.  After  counting  the  fires,  and  notic- 
ing other  signs,  they  determined  on  immediate  pursuit,  with- 
out waiting  for  the  arrival  of  Colonel  Logan  and  his  party  ; 
accordingly,  on  the  18th,  the  whole  body  set  forward  under  the 
command  of  Colonel  John  Todd.  The  trail  of  the  savages 
was  as  plain  as  could  be  wished ;  indeed,  to  Boone  and  the 
more  reflecting,  it  was  clear  that  the  retiring  army  had  taken 
pains  to  make  it  so,  and  our  sagacious  woodsmen  at  once 
concluded  that  a  surprise  at  some  point  was  intended,  and 
that  point  Boone  was  confident  was  the  Lower  Blue  Licks, 
where  the  nature  of  the  ground  eminently  favored  such  a  plan. 
With  great  caution  the  little  army  proceeded  until,  upon  the 
following  day,  they  reached  the  Licking  river,  at  the  point  de- 
signated by  Boone  as  the  one  where  an  attack  might  be  ex- 
pected ;  and  as  they  came  in  sight  of  the  opposite  bankj  they 
discovered  upon  its  bare  ridge  a  few  Indians,  who  gazed  at 
them  a  moment  and  then  passed  into  the  ravine  beyond.  The 
hills  about  the  Blue  Licks  are  even  now  almost  wholly  with- 
out wood,  and  the  scattered  cedars  which  at  present  lend 
them  some  green,  did  not  exist  in  1782.  As  you  ascend  the 
ridge  of  the  hill  above  the  spring,  you  at  last  reach  a  point 
where  two  ravines,  thickly  wooded,  run  down  from  the  bare 
ground  to  the  right  and  left,  affording  a  place  of  concealment 
for  a  very  large  body  of  men,  who  could  thence  attack  on 
front  and  flank  and  rear,  any  who  were  pursuing  the  main 
trace  along  the  higher  ground  :  in  these  ravines,  Boone,  who 
was  looked  to  by  the  commanders  for  counsel,  said  that  the 
Indians  were  probably  hidden.  He  proposed,  therefore,  that 
they  should  send  a  part  of  their  men  to  cross  the  Licking  far- 
ther up,  and  fall  upon  the  Indians  in  the  rear,  while  the  re- 
maining troops  attacked  them  in  front.  While  Boone's  plan 
was  under  discussion  by  the  officers  of  the  pursuing  party, 
Major  Hugh  McGary,  according  to  the  common  account, 
"  broke  from  the  council,  and  called  upon  the  troops  who 
were  not  cowards  to  follow  him,  and  thus  collecting  a  band, 
went  without  order,  and  against  orders,  into  the  action,  and 
in  consequence  of  this  act  a  general  pursuit  of  officers  and 
men  took  place,  more  to  save  the  desperate  men  that  follow- 
ed McGary,  than  from  a  hope  of  a  successful  fight  with  the 


1782.  Battle  of  the  Blue  Licks.  271 

Indians."  [The  late  Col.  Benj.  Cooper,  of  Missouri,  who  was 
in  the  action,  makes  this  statement.  Col.  Boone,  in  a  letter 
to  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  dated  August  30th,  1782,  gives 
the  following  particulars.]  "  We  formed  our  columns  into 
one  single  line,  and  marched  up  in  their  front  within  about 
forty  yards  before  there  was  a  gun  fired.  Colonel  Trigg  com- 
manded on  the  right,  myself  on  the  left,  Major  McGary  in  the 
centre,  and  Major  Harlan  the  advance  party  in  the  front. 
From  the  manner  in  which  we  had  formed,  it  fell  to  my  lot  to 
bring  on  the  attack.  This  was  done  with  a  very  heavy  fire 
on  both  sides,  and  extended  back  of  the  line  to  Col.  Trigg, 
where  the  enemy  was  so  strong  that  they  rushed  up  and  broke 
the  right  wing  at  the  first  fire.  Thus  the  enemy  got  in  our 
rear,  and  we  were  compelled  to  retreat,  with  the  loss  of 
seventy-seven  of  our  men  and  twelve  wounded."  Nor  is  the 
impression  of  this  passage  altered  by  the.  statement  of  the 
same  keen  pioneer,  as  given  in  his  account  of  his  adventures. 
There  he  says  :  "  The  savages  observing  us,  gave  way,  and 
we,  being  ignorant  of  their  numbers,  passed  the  river.  When 
the  enemy  saw  our  proceedings,  having  greatly  the  advantage 
of  us  in  situation,  they  formed  the  line  of  battle,  from  one 
bend  of  Licking  to  the  other,  about  a  mile  from  the  Blue  Licks. 
An  exceeding  fierce  battle  immediately  began,  for  about  fif- 
teen minutes,  when  we,  being  overpowered  by  numbers,  were 
obliged  to  retreat,  with  the  loss  of  sixty-seven  men,  seven  of 
whom  were  taken  prisoners."  Governor  Morehead,  however, 
has  derived  from  the  accounts  of  eye-witnesses,  received 
through  R.  WicklifFe,  some  particulars,  which,  if  correct,  will 
reconcile  most  of  the  common  story  with  Boone's  statement, 
and  these  we  give  in  the  words  of  his  address ;  leaving  our 
readers  to  judge,  first,  as  to  the  probability  that  Boone  would 
entirely  omit  all  reference  to  the  conduct  of  McGary ;  and, 
second,  as  to  the  likelihood  of  McGary  and  his  followers  paus- 
ing when  once  under  way.  It  is  also  to  be  noticed  that  Col- 
Cooper,  Marshal  and  Stipp,  say  nothing  of  the  pause  alluded 
to. 

Scarcely  had  Boone  submitted  his  opinions,  when  Major 
McGary  "raised  the  war-whoop,"  and  spurring  his  horse  into 
the  river,  called  vehemently  upon  all  who  were  not  cowards 
to  follow  him,  and  he  would  show  them  the  enemy.  Presently 
the  army  was  in  motion.  The  greater  part  suffered  them- 
selves to  be  led  by  McGary — the  remainder,  perhaps  a  third 


272  Battle  of  the  Blue  Licks.  1782. 

of  the  whole  number,  lingered  a  while  with  Todd  and  Boone 
in  council.  All  at  length  passed  over,  and  at  Boone's  sugges- 
tion, the  commanding  officer  ordered  another  halt.  The  pio- 
neer then  proposed,  a  second  time,  that  the  army  should 
remain  where  it  was,  until  an  opportunity  was  afforded  to  re- 
connoitre the  suspected  region.  So  reasonable  a  proposal 
was  acceded  to,  and  two  bold  but  experienced  men  were 
selected,  to  proceed  from  the  Lick  along  the  Buffalo  to  a  point 
half  a  mile  beyond  the  ravines,  where  the  road  branched  off 
in  different  directions.  They  were  instructed  to  examine  the 
country  with  the  utmost  care  on  each  side  of  the  road,  espe- 
cially the  spot  where  it  passed  between  the  ravines,  and  upon 
the  first  appearance  of  the  enemy  to  repair  in  haste  to  the 
army.  The  spies  discharged  the  dangerous  and  responsible 
task.  They  crossed  over  the  ridge — proceeded  to  the  place 
designated  beyond  it,  and  returned  in  safety,  without  having 
made  any  discovery.  No  trace  of  the  enemy  was  to  be  seen. 
The  little  army  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  two  men  now 
marched  forward — Colonel  Trigg  was  in  command  of  the 
right  wing,  Boone  of  the  left,  McGary  in  the  centre,  and 
Major  Harlan  with  the  party  in  front.* 

[After  this  disastrous  defeat,  the  sorest  calamity  that  ever 
befel  Kentucky,  those  who  escaped,  on  foot,  plunged  into  the 
thickets,  and  made  their  way  to  Bryant's  station,  thirty-six 
miles  distant,  and  the  nearest  place  of  shelter. 

Colonel  Logan,  and  his  party,  was  met  by  the  fugitives, 
within  six  miles  of  the  station,  to  which  he  returned  until  the 
most  had  arrived.  Of  the  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  per- 
sons who  went  out  to  the  battle,  about  one-third  were  killed, 
twelve  wounded,  and  seven  carried  off  prisoners,  who  were 
put  to  the  torture  when  they  reached  the  Indian  towns.] 

In  this  short,  but  severe  action,  Todd,  Trigg,  Harlan,  and 
Boone's  son,  all  fell.  It  was  a  sad  day  for  Kentucky.  The 
feelings  and  fears  of  the  Fayette  county  settlers  may  be 
guessed  from  the  following  extract  from  Boone's  letter  to  Vir- 
ginia :  when  he  felt  anxiety,  what  must  they  have  suffered  ! 

By  the  signs,  we  thought  the  Indians  had  exceeded  four 
hundred;  while  the  whole  of  the  militia  of  this  county  does 
not  amount  to  more  than  one  hundred  and  thirty.  From  these 
facts,  your  Excellency  may  form  an  idea  of  our  situation.  I 
know  that  your  own  circumstances  are  critical,  but  are  we  to 
be  wholly  forgotten?  I  hope  not.  I  trust  about  five  hundred 
men  may  be  sent  to  our  assistance  immediately.  If  these 
shall  be  stationed  as  our  county  lieutenants  shall  deem  ne- 

*  Morehead's  Address,  p.  99. 


1782.  Treaty  of  Peace.  273 

cessary,  it  may  be  the  means  of  saving  our  part  of  the  coun- 
try ;  but  if  they  are  placed  under  the  direction  of  General 
Clark,  they  will  be  of  little  or  no  service  to  our  settlement. 
The  Falls  lie  one  hundred  miles  west  of  us,  and  the  Indians 
north-east;  while  our  men  are  frequently  called  to  protect 
them.  I  have  encouraged  the  people  in  this  county  all  that 
I  could,  but  I  can  no  longer  justify  them  or  myself  to  risk  our 
lives  here  under  such  extraordinary  hazards.  The  inhabitants 
of  this  county  are  very  much  alarmed  at  the  thoughts  of  the 
Indians  bringing  another  campaign  into  our  country  this  fall. 
If  this  should  be  the  case,  it  will  break  up  these  settlements. 
I  hope,  therefore,  your  Excellency  will  take  the  matter  into 
your  consideration,  and  send  us  some  relief  as  quick  as  possi- 
ble.* 

Clark,  of  course,  soon  learned  how  severe  a  blow  had  been 
struck  by  the  northern  savages,  and  determined,  as  soon  as 
possible,  again  to  lead  an  expedition  into  the  Miami  valleys. 
It  was  the  last  of  September,  however,  before  a  thousand  men 
could  be  gathered  at  the  mouth  of  the  Licking,  whence  they 
marched  northward.  But  their  coming,  though  expeditious 
and  secret,  was  discovered  by  the  natives,  and  the  towns  on  the 
Miamies  and  Mad  River  abandoned  to  their  fate.  The  crops 
were  again  destroyed,  the  towns  burned,  the  British  store, 
(Loramie's)  with  its  goods  annihilated,  and  a  few  prisoners 
taken,  but  no  engagement  of  any  consequence  took  place.f 
Such,  however,  appears  to  have  been  the  impression  made 
by  Clark  upon  the  Shawanese,  that  no  large  body  of  Indians, 
thenceforward,  invaded  the  territory  south  of  the  Ohio, 

In  November,  after  the  return  of  the  Kentucky  troops, 
Messrs.  May  and  Marshall  opened  their  land  offices,  and  the 
scramble  for  choice  locations  began  again,  and  in  a  way 
which  laid  the  foundation  for  infinite  litigation  and  heart- 
burning. 

[The  defeat  of  the  British  army  at  Yorktown,  Virginia,  and 
the  capture  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  prepared  the  way  for  prelimi- 
naries of  peace  with  Great  Britain,  and  put  a  check  upon 
their  Indian  allies.] 

Upon  the  30th  of  November,  1782,  provisional  articles  of 
peace  had  been  arranged  at  Paris,  between  the  Commissioners 
of  England  and  her  unconquerable  colonies.  Upon  the  20th 

*See  Morehead's  Address,  p.  173. 

•f  Clark's  lettrr  in  Butler,  2d  edition,  536;  also  in  Almon's  Remembrancer,  for  1783, 
part  ii.  p.  93. 


274  Land  Speculation  Stronger  than  Law.  1783- 

of  the  January  following,  hostilities  ceased ;  on  the  19th  of 
April — the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of  Lexington — peace 
was  proclaimed  to  the  army  of  the  United  States,  and  on  the 
3d  of  the  next  .September,  the  definite  treaty  which  ended  our 
revolutionary  struggle  was  concluded.  Of  that  treaty  we 
give  so  much  as  relates  to  the  boundaries  of  the  West. 

"The  line  on  the  north  was  to  pass  along  the  middle  of 
Lake  Ontario,  to  the  Niagara  river ;  thence  along  the  middle 
of  said  communication  into  Lake  Erie,  through  the  middle  of 
said  lake,  until  it  arrives  at  the  water  communication  between 
that  lake  and  Lake  Superior;  thence  through  Lake  Superior, 
northward  to  the  isles  Royal  and  Philipeaux,  to  the  Long 
Lake ;  thence  through  the  middle  of  the  said  Long  Lake,  and 
the  water  communication  between  it  and  the  Lake  of  the 
•  Woods,  to  the  said  Lake  of  the  Woods ;  thence  through  the 
said  lake,  to  the  most  north-western  point  thereof;  and,  from 
thence,  on  a  due  west  course,  to  the  river  Mississippi ;  thence, 
by  a  line  to  be  drawn  along  the  middle  of  the  said  river  Mis- 
sissippi, until  it  shall  intersect  the  northernmost  part  of  the 
thirty-first  degree  of  north  latitude.  South  by  a  line  to  be 
drawn  due  east  from  the  determination  of  the  line  last  men- 
tioned, in  the  latitude  of  thirty-one  degrees  north  of  the  equa~ 
tor,  to  the  middle  of  the  river  Apalachicola  or  Chatahouche ; 
thence  along  the  middle  thereof,  to  its  junction  with  the  Flint 
river ;  thence  straight  to  the  head  of  St.  Mary's  river ;  and 
thence,  down  along  the  middle  of  St.  Mary's  river,  to  the  At- 
lantic Ocean." 

But  the  cessation  of  hostilities  with  England,  was  not, 
necessarily,  the  cessation  of  warfare  with  the  native  tribes ; 
and  while  all  hoped  that  the  horrors  of  the  border  contests  in 
the  West,  were  at  an  end,  none  competent  to  judge,  failed  to 
see  the  probability  of  a  continued  and  violent  struggle.  Vir- 
ginia, at  an  early  period,  (in  October,  1779,)  had,  by  law,  dis- 
couraged all  settlements  on  the  part  of  her  citizens,  northwest 
of  the  Ohio  ;*  but  the  spirit  of  land  speculation  was  stronger 
than  law,  and  the  prospect  of  peace  gave  new  energy  to  that 
spirit ;  and  how  to  throw  open  the  immense  region  beyond  the 
mountains,  without  driving  the  natives  to  desperation,  was  a 
problem  which  engaged  the  ablest  minds.  Washington,  upon 
the  7th  of  September,  1783,  writing  to  James  Duane,  in  Con- 

*  Revised  Statutes  of  Virginia,  by  B.  Watliins  Leigh,  ii.  378. 


1783.  Settlements  Restricted.  273 

gress,  enlarged  upon  the  difficulties  which  lay  before  that  body 
in  relation  to  public  lands.  He  pointed  out  the  necessity 
which  existed  for  making  the  settlements  compact ;  and  pro- 
posed that  it  should  be  made  even  felony  to  settle  or  survey 
lands  west  of  a  line  to  be  designated  by  Congress;  which  line, 
he  added,  might  extend  from  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  to 
Mad  river,  thence  to  Fort  Miami  on  the  Maumee,  and  thence 
northwarJ  so  as  to  include  Detroit ;  or,  perhaps,  from  the  Fort 
down  the  river  to  Lake  Erie.  He  noticed  the  propriety  of  ex- 
cluding the  Indian  Agents  from  all  share  in  the  trade  with  the 
red  men,  and  showed  the  wisdom  of  forbidding  all  purchases 
of  land  from  the  Indians,  except  by  the  sovereign  power, — Con- 
gress, or  the  State  Legislature,  as  the  case  might  be. — Unless 
some  such  stringent  measures  were  adopted,  he  prophecied  re- 
newed border  wars,  which  would  end  only  after  great  expendi- 
ture of  money  and  of  life.*  But  before  the  Congress  of  the 
Colonies  could  take  any  efficient  steps  to  secure  the  West,  it 
was  necessary  that  those  measures  of  cession  which  commen- 
ced in  1780-81,  should  be  completed.  New  York  had,  condi- 
tionally, given  up  her  claims  on  the  1st  of  March,  1781,f  and 
Congress  had  accepted  her  deed,  but  Virginia,  as  we  have 
said,  had  required  from  the  United  States,  a  guarantee  of  the 
territories  retained  by  her,  which  they  were  not  willing  to 
give,  and  no  acceptance  of  her  provision  to  cede  had  taken 
place.  Under  these  circumstances,  Congress,  upon  the  18th 
of  April,  again  pressed  the  necessity  of  cessions,  and,  upon 
the  13th  of  September,  six  days  after  Washington's  letter 
above  referred  tQ,  stated  the  terms  upon  which  they  would  re- 
ceive the  proposals  of  the  Ancient  Dominion.  J  To  these  terms 
the  Virginians  acceded,  and,  upon  the  20th  of  December,  au- 
thorized their  delegates  to  make  a  deed  to  the  United  States 
of  all  their  right  in  the  territory  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio, — 
Upon  condition,  that  the  territory  so  ceded  shall  be  laid  out 
and  formed  into  States,  containing  a  suitable  extent  of  terri- 
tory, not  less  than  one  hundred,  nor  more  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  square,  or  as  near  thereto  as  circumstances  will 
admit  :  and  that  the  States  so  formed  shall  be  distinct  repub- 
lican States,  and  admitted  members  of  the  Federal  Union, 
having  the  same  rights  of  sovereignty,  freedom,  and  indepen- 
dence, as  the  other  States. 

*  Sparks'  Washington,  viii.  477.      f  Land  Laws,  95.      J  Old  Journal',  iv.  189-267. 


276  Terms  of  Cession  ly  Virginia.  1778. 

That  the  reasonable  and  necessary  expenses  incurred  by 
this  State  in  subduing  any  British  posts,  or  in  maintaining 
forts  and  garrisons  within,  and  for  the  cjefence,  or  in  acquiring 
any  part  of  the  territory  so  ceded  or  relinquished,  shall  be 
fully  reimbursed  by  the  U.  States;  and  that  one  Commissioner 
shall  be  appointed  by  Congress,  one  by  this  Commonwealth, 
and  another  by  those  two  Commissioners,  who,  or  a  majority 
of  them,  shall  be  authorized  and  empowered  to  adjust  and 
liquidate  the  account  of  the  necessary  and  reasonable  expen- 
ses incurred  by  this  State,  which  they  shall  judge  to  be  com- 
prised within  the  intent  and  meaning  of  the  act  of  Con- 
gress of  the  tenth  of  October,  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  eighty,  respecting  such  expenses.  That  the  French  and 
Canadian  inhabitants,  and  other  settlers  of  the  Kaskaskies,  St. 
Vincents,  and  the  neighboring  villages,  who  have  professed 
themselves  citizens  of  Virginia,  shall  have  their  possessions 
and  titles  confirmed  to  them,  and  be  protected  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  their  rights  and  liberties.  That  a  quantity  not  ex- 
ceeding one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres  of  land,  promised 
by  this  State,  shall  be  allowed  and  granted  to  the  then  Colo- 
nel, now  General  George  Rogers  Clark,  and  to  the  officers  and 
soldiers  of  his  regiment,  who  marched  with  him  when  the 
posts  of  Kaskaskies,  and  St.  Vincents  were  reduced,  and  to 
the  officers  and  soldiers  that  have  since  been  incorporated  into 
the  said  regiment,  to  be  laid  off  in  one  tract,  the  length  of 
which  not  to  exceed  double  the  breadth,  in  such  place,  on  the 
northwest  side  of  the  Ohio,  as  a  majority  of  the  officers  shall 
choose,  and  to  be  afterwards  divided  among  the  said  officers 
and  soldiers  in  due  proportion,  according  to  the  laws  of  Vir- 
ginia. That  in  case  the  quantity  of  good  land  on  the  south- 
east side  of  the  Ohio,  upon  the  waters  of  the  Cumberland 
river,  and  between  the  Green  river  and  Tennessee  river,  which 
have  been  reserved  by  law  for  the  Virginia  troops  upon  conti- 
nental establishment,  should,  from  the  North  Carolina  line,  bear- 
ing in  further  upon  the  Cumberland  lands  than  was  expected, 
prove  insufficient  for  their  legal  bounties,  the  deficiency  should 
be  made  up  to  the  said  troops,  in  good  lands,  to  be  laid  off  be- 
tween the  rivers  Scioto  and  Little  Miami,  on  the  north-west 
side  of  the  river  Ohio,  in  such  proportions  as  have  been  enga- 
ged to  them  by  the  laws  of  Virginia.  That  all  the  lands  with- 
in the  territory  so  ceded  to  the  United  States,  and  not  reserved 
for,  or  appropriated  to,  any  of  the  before  mentioned  purposes, 
or  disposed  of  in  bounties  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the 
American  army,  shall  be  considered  a  common  fund  for  the 
use  and  benefit  of  such  of  the  United  States  as  have  become, 
or  shall  become,  members  of  the  confederation  or  federal  al- 
liance of  the  said  States,  Virginia  inclusive,  according  to  their 
usual  respective  proportions  in  the  general  charge  and  ex- 


1784.  Instructions  to  Indian   Commissioners.  277 

• 

penditure,  and  shall  be  faithfully  and  bonafide  disposed  offer 
that  purpose,  and  for  no  other  use  or  purpose  whatsoever.* 

And,  in  agreement  with  these  conditions,  a  deed  was  made 
March  1,  1784.  But  it  was  not  possible  to  wait  the  final  ac- 
tion of  Virginia,  before  taking  some  steps  to  soothe  the  In- 
dians, and  extinguish  their  title.  On  the  22d  of  September, 
therefore,  Congress  forbade  all  purchases  of,  or  settlements  on, 
Indian  lands,!  an(l  on  tne  l^th  of  October,  the  Commissioners 
to  treat  with  the  natives  were  instructed, 

1st.  To  require  the  delivery  of  all  prisoners  : 

2d.  To  inform  the  Indians  of  the  boundaries  between  the 
British  possessions  and  the  United  States  : 

3d.  To  dwell  upon  the  fact  that  the  red  men  had  not  been 
faithful  to  their  agreements  : 

4.  To  negotiate  for  all  the  land  east  of  the  line  proposed 
by  Washington,  namely,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami 
to  Mad  river,  thence  to  Fort  Miami  on  the  Maumee,  and  thence 
down  the  Maumee  to  the  Lake : 

5th.  To  hold,  if  possible,  one  convention  with  all  the  tribes: 

#  #  *  *  *  #  * 

7th.  To  learn  all  they  could  respecting  the  French  of  Kas- 
kaskia,  &c. 

8th.  To  confirm  no  grants  by  the  natives  to  individuals; 
and, 

9th,.  To  look  after  American  stragglers  beyond  the  Ohio,  to 
signify  the  displeasure  of  Congress  at  the  invasion  of  the  In- 
dian lands,  and  to  prevent  all  further  intrusions.  Upon  the 
19th  of  the  following  March,  the  4th  and  5th  of  these  instruc- 
tions were  entirely  changed,  at  the  suggestion  of  a  committee 
headed  by  Mr.  Jefferson  ;  the  western  boundary  line  being 
made  to  run  due  north  from  the  lowest  point  of  the  Falls  of 
the  Ohio,  to  the  northern  limits  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
Commissioners  being  told  to  treat  with  the  nations  at  various 
places  and  different  times.J 

Meanwhile  steps  had  been  taken  by  the  Americans  to  ob- 
tain possession  of  Detroit  and  the  other  western  posts,  but  in 
vain.  Upon  the  12th  of  July,  Washington  had  sent  Baron 

*  See  Land  Laws,  p.  98. 

|  Old  Journals,  iv.  275. 

I  Secret  Journals,  i.  225,  261,  264. 


278  Efforts  to  obtain  the   Western  Posts.  1784. 

Steuben  to  Canada  for  that  purpose,  with  orders,  if  he  found 
it  advisable,  to  embody  the  French  of  Michigan  into  a  militia 
and  place  the  fort  at  Detroit  in  their  hands.  But  when  the 
Baron  presented  himself  near  Quebec,  General  Haldimand, 
while  he  received  him  very  politely,  refused  the  necessary 
passports,  saying  that  he  had  received  no  orders  to  deliver  up 
the  posts  along  the  Lakes.  This  measure  failing,  one  Cassaty, 
a  native  of  Detroit,  was  sent  thither  in  August  to  learn  the 
feelings  of  the  people,  and  to  do  what  he  might  to  make  the 
American  side  popular.*  About  the  same  time,  Virginia, 
having  no  longer  any  occasion  for  a  western  army,  and  being 
sadly  pressed  for  money,  withdrew  her  commission  from 
George  Rogers  Clark,  with  thanks,  however,  "tor  his  very 
great  and  singular  services. "f 

[This  dismission  was  on  the  2d  July,  1783,  and  Benjamin 
Harrison,  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  wrote  to  General  Clark 
a  letter  from  which  we  give  the  following  extract. 

"The  conclusion  of  the  war,  and  the  distressed  situation  of 
the  State,  with  respect  to  its  finances,  call  on  us  to  adopt  the 
most  prudent  economy.  It  is  for  this  reason  alone,  I  have 
come  to  a  determination  to  give  over  all  thoughts  for  the 
present  of  carrying  on  offensive  war  against  the  Indians, 
which  you  will  easily  perceive  will  render  the  services  of  a 
general  officer  in  that  quarter  unnecessary,  and  will,  there- 
fore, consider  yourself  out  of  command.  But,  before  I  take 
leave  of  you,  I  feel  myself  called  upon,  in  the  most  forcible 
manner,  to  return  you  my  thanks,  and  those  of  my  Council, 
for  the  very  great  and  singular  services  you  have  rendered 
your  country,  in  wresting  so  great  and  valuable  a  territory 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  British  enemy,  repelling  the  attacks 
of  their  savage  allies,  and  carrying  on  successful  war  in  the 
heart  of  their  country.  This  tribute  of  praise  and  thanks,  so 
justly  due,  I  am  happy  to  communicate  to  you  as  the  united 
voice  of  the  executive."JJ 

Clark,  and  his  soldiers,  in  the  distribution  of  lands  were 
not  forgotten  either,  and,  in  October,  a  tract  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  acres  of  land  was  granted  them  north  of 
the  Ohio,  to  be  located  where  they  pleased  ;  they  chose  the 
region  opposite  the  Falls,  and  the  town  of  Clarksville  was 
then  founded.§ 

*  Secret  Journal,  i,  225.  261,  264. 

t  Sparks'  Washington,  viii.  463,  470. — Marshall  (i.  175,)  gives  the  letters   of  Steuben 
and  Halditnand. 

J  But'er,  2d  edition,  490.     Dillon's  Indiana,  i.  195. 
I  Revised  Statutes  of  Virginia,  by  G.  W.  Leigh,  ii.  405. 


1784.     Difficulties  between  Britain  and  the  United  States.       279 

While  these  various  steps,  bearing  upon  the  interest  of  the 
whole  West,  were  taken  by  Congress,  Washington  and  the  As- 
sembly of  Virginia,  Kentucky  herself  was  organizing  upon  a 
new  basis — Virginia  having  united  the  three  counties,  with  their 
separate  courts,  into  one  district,  having  a  court  of  common 
law  and  chancery  for  the  whole  territory  that  now  forms  the 
State,  and  to  this  district  icstored  the  for-a-time-discarded 
name,  Kentucky.  The  sessions  of  the  court  thus  organized 
resulted  in  the  foundation  of  Danville,  which  in  consequence 
for  a  season  became  the  centre  and  capital  of  the  District.* 

It  might  have  been  reasonably  hoped  that  peace  with  the 
mother  country  would  have  led  to  comparative  prosperity 
within  the  newly  formed  nation.  But  such  was  not  the  case. 
Congress  had  no  power  to  compel  the  States  to  fulfil  the  pro- 
visions of  the  treaty  which  had  been  concluded,  and  Britain 
was  not  willing  to  comply  on  he£  side  with  all  its  terms,  until 
evidence  was  given  by  the  other  party  that  no  infraction  of 
them  was  to  be  feared  from  the  rashness  of  democratic  lead- 
ers. Among  the  provisions  of  that  treaty  were  the  follow- 
ing:— 

ART.  4.  It  is  agreed  that  creditors  on  either  side  shall  meet 
with  no  lawful  impediment  to  the  recovery  of  the  full  value, 
in  sterling  money,  of  all  bona  fide  debts  heretofore  contracted. 

ART.  6.  It  is  agreed  that  the  Congress  shall  earnestly  re- 
commend it  to  the  Legislatures  of  the  respective  States,  to 
provide  for  the  restitution  of  all  estates,  rights,  and  proper- 
ties, which  have  been  confiscated,  belonging  to  real  British 
subjects,  and  also  of  the  estates,  rights,  and  properties  of  per- 
sons resident  in  districts  in  the  possession  of  his  Majesty's 
arms,  and  who  have  not  borne  arms  against  the  said  United 
States.  And  that  persons  of  any  other  description  shall  have 
free  liberty  to  go  to  any  part  or  parts  of  any  of  the  thirteen 
United  States,  and  therein  to  remain  twelve  months,  unmo- 
lested in  their  endeavors  to  obtain  the  restitution  of  such  of 
their  estates,  rights  and  properties,  as  may  have  been  confis- 
cated; and  that  Congress  shall  also  earnestly  recommend  to 
the  several  States  a  reconsideration  and  revision  of  all  acts  or 
laws  regarding  the  premises,  so  as  to  render  the  said  laws  or 
acts  perfectly  consistent,  not  only  with  justice  and  equity,  but 
with  that  spirit  of  conciliation  which,  on  the  return  of  the 
blessings  of  peace,  should  universally  prevail.  And  that  Con- 
gress shall  also  earnestly  recommend  to  the  several  States, 
that  the  estates,  rights  and  properties,  of  such  last  mentioned 

•Marshall,  p.  159. 


280  Provisions  of  Treaty  of  Peace.  1784. 

persons,  shall  be  restored  to  them,  they  refunding  to  any  per- 
sons who  may  now  be  in  possession,  the  bona  fide  price 
(where  any  has  been  given)  which  such  persons  may  have 
paid  on  purchasing  any  of  the  said  lands,  rights  or  properties, 
since  the  confiscation.  And  it  is  agreed  that  all  persons  who 
have  any  interest  in  confiscated  lands,  either  by  debts,  marriage 
settlements,  or  otherwise,  shall  meet  with  no  lawful  impedi- 
ment in  the  prosecution  of  their  just  rights. 

ART.  6.  That  there  shall  be  no  future  confiscations  made, 
nor  any  prosecutions  commenced  against  any  person  or  per- 
sons for,  or  by  reason  of,  the  part  which  he  or  they  may  have 
taken  in  the  present  war;  and  that  no  person  shall,  on  that 
account,  suffer  any  future  loss  or  damage,  either  in  his  person, 
liberty  or  property ;  and  that  those  who  may  be  in  confine- 
ment on  such  charges,  at  the  time  of  the  ratification  of  the 
treaty  in  America,  shall  be  immediately  set  at  liberty,  and  the 
prosecutions  so  commenced  be  discontinued. 

ART.  7.  There  shall  be  affirm  and  perpetual  peace  between 
his  Britannic  Majesty  and  the  said  States,  and  between  the 
subjects  of  the  one  and  the  citizens  of  the  other,  wherefore, 
all  hostilities,  both  by  sea  and  land,  shall  from  henceforth 
cease :  all  prisoners,  on  both  sides,  shall  be  set  at  liberty  ; 
and  his  Britannic  Majesty  shall,  with  all  convenient  speed, 
and  without  causing  any  destruction,  or  carrying  away 
any  negroes  or  other  property  of  the  American  inhabitants, 
withdraw  all  his  armies,  garrisons,  and  fleets,  from  the  said 
United  States,  and  from  every  post,  place,  and  harbor,  within 
the  same  ;  leaving  in  all  fortifications  the  American  artillery 
that  may  be  therein ;  and  shall  also  order  and  cause  all 
archives,  records,  deeds,  and  papers,  belonging  to  any  of  the 
said  States,  or  their  citizens,  which  in  the  course  of  the  war, 
may  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  his  officers,  to  be  forthwith 
restored  and  delivered  to  the  proper  States  and  persons  to 
whom  they  belong.* 

That  these  stipulations  were  wise  and  just,  none,  perhaps 
doubted ;  but  they  opened  a  door  for  disputes,  through  which 
troubles  enough  swarmed  in  ;  and  we  may  now,  with  as 
much  propriety  as  at  any  time,  say  the  little  that  our  limits 
will  allow  us  to  say,  in  reference  to  those  disagreements  be- 
tween England  and  America,  which,  for  so  long  a  time  kept 
alive  the  hopes  and  enmities  of  the  Indians,  contending,  as 
they  were,  for  their  native  lands  and  the  burial  places  of  their 
fathers.  The  origin  of  the  difficulty  was  an  alleged  infraction 
of  the  provisional  treaty,  signed  November  30th,  1782,  on  the 
part  of  the  British,  who  showed  an  intention  to  take  away 

*See  Land  Laws,  p.  11. 


1784.  Provisions  of  Treaty  of  Peace.  281 

with  them  from  New  York  certain  negroes  claimed  as  the 
"  propert)r  of  the  American  inhabitants,"  none  of  which,  by 
the  terms  both  of  that  and  the  definitive  treaty,  was  to  be  re- 
moved. Against  this  intention,  Washington  had  remonstrat- 
ed, and  Congress  resolved  in  vain :  in  reply  to  all  remon- 
strances, it  was  said  that  the  slaves  were  either  booty  taken 
in  war,  and  as  such,  by  the  laws  of  war,  belonged  to  the  cap- 
tors, and  could  not  come  within  the  meaning  of  the  treaty ; 
or,  were  freemen  and  could  not  be  enslaved.*  It  was  un- 
doubtedly true  in  regard  to  many  of  the  negroes,  that  they 
were  taken  in  war,  and  as  such,  (if  property  at  all,)  the  booty 
of  the  captors ;  but  it  was  equally  certain  that  another  por- 
tion of  them  consisted  of  runaways,  and  by  the  terms  of  the 
treaty,  as  the  Americans  all  thought,  should  have  been  restor- 
ed or  paid  for.  [This  case  was  argued  by  the  Hon.  John  Jay, 
and  its  facts  and  principles  clearly  set  forth.  Washington 
thought  the  British  unfair  and  dishonest  in  their  retention  of 
the  western  posts,  and  considered  the  non-payment  of  their 
debts,  by  the  Americans,  as  a  mere  pretext.!]  It  was 
in  April,  1783,  that  the  purposes  of  England,  in  relation 
to  the  negroes,  became  apparent ;  in  May,  the  Commander- 
in-chief  and  Congress  tried,  as  we  have  said,  ineffectually, 
to  bring  about  a  different  course  of  action.  Upon  the  third 
of  September,  the  definitive  treaty  was  signed  at  Paris  ;  on 
the  twenty-fifth  of  November,  the  British  left  New  York, 
carrying  the  negroes  claimed  by  the  Americans  with  them ; 
while  upon  the  fourth  of  the  following  January,  1784,  the 
treaty  was  ratified  by  the  United  States,  and  on  the  9th  of 
April  by  England.  Under  these  circumstances  Virginia  and 
several  other  States  saw  fit  to  decline  compliance  with  the 
article  respecting  the  recovery  of  debts ;  refused  to  repeal  the 
laws  previously  existing  against  British  creditors ;  and  upon 
the  twenty-second  of  next  June,  after  the  ratification  of  peace 
by  both  parties,  the  Old  Dominion  expressly  declined  to  fulfil 
the  treaty  in  its  completeness.  This  refusal,  or  neglect,  which 
was  equivalent  to  a  refusal,  on  the  part  of  the  States  to  abide 
strictly  by  the  treaty,  caused  England,  on  the  other  hand,  to 
retain  possession  of  the  western  posts,  and  threatened  to  in- 
volve the  two  countries  again  in  open  warfare. 

*  Marshall,  i,  173. 

t  Secret  Journals,  iv.  275.    Sparks'  Washington,  iv.  163.  179. 

18 


282  Provisions  of  Treaty  of  Peace.  1784. 

The  dispute,  therefore,  originated  in  a  difference  of  opinion 
between  the  parties  as  to  the  meaning  of  that  part  of  the 
seventh  article,  which  relates  to  the  '« carrying  away  ne- 
groes :"  this  was  followed  by  a  plain  infraction  of  the  fourth 
article  on  the  part  of  the  States  ;  and  that  by  an  equally  plain 
violation  of  the  provision  in  regard  to  evacuating  the  posts, 
(article  7)  on  the  side  of  Great  Britain. 

[The  posts,  or  forts,  were  situated  at  Oswego,  Niagara, 
Presque  Isle,  (Erie,)  Sandusky,  Detroit,  Michillimackinac,  and 
Prairie  du  Chein.] 

In  March,  1785,  John  Adams  was  sent  to  England  to  "  re- 
quire" the  withdrawal  of  his  Majesty's  armies  from  the  posts 
still  held  by  them.  This  requisition  he  made  on  the  8th  of 
the  following  December  ;  and  was  told  in  reply  that  when  the 
fourth  article  was  respected  by  the  States,  the  seventh  would 
be  by  England.  These  facts  having  been  laid  before  Con- 
gress, that  body,  in  March,  1787,  pressed  upon  the  States  the 
necessity  of  repealing  all  laws  violating  the  treaty  ;  but  Vir- 
ginia, in  substance,  refused  to  comply  with  the  requisition  re- 
specting British  creditors,  until  the  western  forts  were  evac- 
uated, and  the  slaves  that  had  been  taken,  returned  or  paid 
for.* 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  will  be  easily  surmised  that,  to 
the  request  of  Governor  Clinton  of  New  York,  relative  to  the 
abandonment  of  the  posts  within  that  state,  as  well  as  to  the 
demand  of  Congress  in  the  following  July,  for  the  possession 
of  all  the  strongholds  along  the  lakes,  General  Haldimand 
replied,  as  he  had  done  to  Baron  Steuben,  "  I  have  received 
no  orders  from  his  Majesty  to  deliver  them  up."f 

While  the  condition  of  the  western  frontier  remained  thus 
uncertain,  settlers  were  rapidly  gathering  about  the  inland 
forts.  In  the  spring  of  this  year,  Pittsburgh,  which  had  been 
long  settled,  and  once  before  surveyed,  was  regularly  laid  out 
under  the  direction  of  Tench  Francis,  agent  for  the  Messrs. 
Penn,  who,  as  adherents  to  England  in  the  revolutionary 
struggle,  had  forfeited  a  large  part  of  their  possessions  in 
America.  The  lots  were  soon  sold,  and  improvements  im- 
mediately began ;  though,  as  would  appear  from  the  follow- 
ing extract  from  Arthur  Lee's  Journal,  who  passed  through 

*  Secret  Journals,  iv.  185  to  287.— Pitkin,  ii.  192  to  200.— Marshall,  i.  167  to  188. 
t  Marshall,  i.  177,  ic. 


1784.  Settlements  in  Kentucky.  283 

Pittsburgh  on  his  way  to  the  Indian  council  at  Fort  Mclntosh, 
it  was  not,  late  in  its  first  year,  very  prepossessing  or  promis- 
ing in  its  appearance : 

"  Pittsburgh  is  inhabited  almost  entirely  by  Scots  and  Irish, 
who  live  in  paltry  log-houses,  and  are  as  dirty  as  if  in  the 
north  of  Ireland,  or  even  Scotland.  There  is  a  great  deal  of 
trade  carried  on ;  the  goods  being  brought,  at  the  vast  expense 
of  forty-five  shillings  per  hundred,  from  Philadelphia  and  Bal- 
timore. They  take,  in  the  shops,  money,  \vheat,  flour  and 
skins.  There  are  in  the  town  four  attorneys,  two  doctors,  and 
not  a  priest  of  any  persuasion,  nor  church,  nor  chapel.  The 
rivers  encroach  fast  on  the  town  ;  and  to  such  a  degree,  that, 
as  a  gentleman  told  me,  the  Allegheny  had,  within  thirty 
years  of  his  memory,  carried  away  one  hundred  yards.  The 
place,  I  believe,  will  never  be  very  considerable."* 

The  detention  of  the  western  fortresses,  however,  though 
of  little  momen$  to  Pennsylvania,  \vas  a  very  serious  evil  to 
the  more  distant  settlers  of  Kentucky.  The  northern  savages 
again  prepared  their  scalping  knives,  and  the  traders  from 
Canada,  if  not  the  agents  of  the  British  government,  urged 
them  to  harrass  the  frontiers. 

[During  this  year  of  comparative  peace  and  quiet,  new  set- 
tlements were  made  in  Kentucky,  and  a  large  increase  added 
to  the  population.  Simon  Kenton  returned  to  the  improve- 
ment he  made  in  1775,  where  Washington  now  stands  in  Ma- 
son county,  which  soon  became  the  nucleus  of  an  extensive 
settlement.  Here  a  block  house  was  erected. 

At  the  Lower  Blue  Licks,  the  Messrs.  Tanner  had  a  small 
settlement  the  preceding  year.  Limestone  (now  Maysville) 
became  the  place  of  landing  for  immigrants,  and  the  route  by 
the  Blue  Licks  to  Bryant's  station  and  Lexington  a  thorough- 
fare. An  immense  accession  to  the  population  was  made  by 
immigration  in  autumn,  and  consequently  settlements  were 
much  extended  the  ensuing  winter  and  spring. f 

The  population  of  all  the  settlements  up  to  1783,  exceeded 
twelve  thousand  persons,  and  this  number  was  augmented  by 
the  arrivals  of  the  succeeding  summer,  to  more  than  twenty 
thousand. 

*Amerlcan  Pioneer,  i.  304. 
t  Marshall,!.  188, 195. 


284  Virginia  Military  Lands  Surveyed.  1784. 

Merchandize,  from  Philadelphia,  was  transported  in  wag- 
ons across  the  mountains  to  Pittsburgh,  and  from  thence,  on 
keel-boats  and  flats,  floated  down  the  Ohio  to  Limestone  and 
Louisville.  A  dry  goods  store  was  opened  at  Louisville,  by 
Daniel  Brodhead,  and  the  next  year,  another  store  was 
opened,  in  Lexington,  by  Colonel  James  Wilkinson.  In  1784, 
Louisville  contained  sixty -three  houses,  finished;  thirty-seven 
partly  finished  ;  twenty-two,  raised,  but  not  covered ;  and 
more  than  one  hundred  log  cabins.* 

.In  the  autumn  of  1784,  Colonel  Benjamin  Logan,  appre- 
hending the  Cherokees  meditated  an  invasion  of  Kentucky, 
made  a  call  for  a  convention  of  the  citizens  at  Danville,  to 
take  measures  for  the  defence  of  the  country.] 

At  this  meeting  the  whole  subject  of  the  position  and  dan- 
ger of  Kentucky  was  examined  and  discussed,  and  it  was 
agreed  that  a  convention  should  meet  in  December,  to  adopt 
some  measures  for  the  security  of  the  settlements  in  the  wil- 
derness. Upon  the  27th  of  that  month  it  met,  nor  was  it  long 
before  the  idea  became  prominent  that  Kentucky  must  ask  to 
be  severed  from  Virginia,  and  left  to  her  own  guidance  and 
control.  But  as  no  such  conception  was  general,  when  the 
delegates  /to  this  first  convention  were  chosen,  they  deemed  it 
best  to  appoint  a  second,  to  meet  during  the  next  May,  at 
which  was  specially  to  be  considered  the  topic  most  inter- 
esting to  those  who  were  called  on  to  think  and  vote — a 
complete  separation  from  the  parent  state — political  indepen- 
dence, f 

It  was  during  1784,  also,  that  the  military  claimants  of 
land,  under  the  laws  of  Virginia,  began  their  locations.  All 
the  territory  between  the  Green  and  Cumberland  rivers,  ex- 
cepting that  granted  to  Henderson  &  Co.,  was  to  be  appro- 
priated to  soldiers  of  the  parent  state ;  and  when  that  was 
exhausted,  the  lands  north  of  the  Ohio,  between  the  Scioto 
and  Little  Miami  rivers.  In  1783,  the  Continental  Line  had 
chosen  Colonel  Richard  C.  Anderson  principal  surveyor  on 
their  behalf,  and  on  the  17th  of  December  in  that  year,  con- 
cluded with  him  a  contract,  under  which,  upon  the  20th  of 
the  following  July,  he  opened  his  office  near  Louisville ;  and 

*Monette,  ii,  143.    Letters  of  an  American  Planter,  from  1770  to  1786,  vol.  iii.  p.  422. 
Marshall,  i.  181. 
f  Marshall,!.  190  to  195. 


1784.  Virginia  Land  Claims   Surveyed.  285 

entries  at  once  began.     The  first  entry  north  of  the  Ohio, 
however,  was  not  made  until  August  1,  1787.* 

Two  subjects,  which  in  order  of  time  belong  to  this  year, 
we  defer,  the  one  to  1787,  the  other  to  1785 ;  the  former  is  the 
measure  adopted  by  Congress  for  the  government  of  the  new 
territory ;  the  latter,  the  first  treaty  with  the  Indians  relative 
to  the  West. 

*  McDonald's  Sketches,  22  to  24.  He  gives  the  contract  Also  letter  of  W.  M.  Ander- 
«on.  (American  Pioneer,  i.  438.)  The  number  of  soldiers  in  the  "Virginia  Continental 
JLine  proved  to  be  1124.  (American  State  Papers,  xviii.  535.) 


CHAPTER  X. 

WESTERN  PROGRESS. 

Cession  of  the  North-western  Territory  by  Virginia — Treaties  with  the  Indians — Procla- 
mation of  Congress  against  settlers  on  Indian  Lands — Ordinance  for  Surveying  the 
Public  Lands — Convention  in  Kentucky — Negotiation  with  the  Shawanese — Council  at 
the  Mouth  of  the'  Great  Miami — Negotiations  with  Spain — Great  Dissatisfaction  in 
the  "West — Company  formed  to  settle  Ohio. 

[One  of  the  most  important  events  to  the  North-western 
States  that  occurred  in  1784,  was  the  cession  by  Virginia  to 
the  United  States,  of  all  claims  to  the  country  to  the  northwest 
of  the  Ohio  river.  The  names  of  the  Commissioners,  and  an 
outline  of  the  conditions  of  the  cession,  we  copy  from  Dillon's 
"  Historical  Notes"  on  Indiana,  volume  first,  page  197. 

On  the  first  day  of  March,  1784,  Thomas  Jefferson,  Samuel 
Hardy,  Arthur  Lee,  and  James  Monroe,  delegates  in  Congress 
on  the  part  of  Virginia,  executed  a  deed  of  cession,  by  which 
they  transferred  to  the  United  States,  on  certain  conditions, 
all  right,  title,  and  claim  of  Virginia  to  the  country  northwest 
of  the  river  Ohio.  The  deed  of  cession  contained  the  follow- 
ing conditions,  viz  :  "  That  the  territory  so  ceded  shall  be  laid 
out  and  formed  into  states,  containing  a  suitable  extent  of  ter- 
ritory, not  less  than  one  hundred,  nor  more  than  one  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  square  ;  or  as  near  thereto  as  circumstances 
will  admit :  and  that  the  states  so  formed  shall  be  distinct 
republican  states,  and  admitted  members  of  the  federal  union  ; 
having  the  same  rights  of  sovereignty,  freedom,  and  indepen- 
dence, as  the  other  states.  That  the  necessary  and  reasona- 
ble expenses  incurred  by  Virginia,  in  subduing  any  British 
posts,  or  in  maintaining  forts  and  garrisons  within,  and  for  the 
defence,  or  in  acquiring  any  part  of,  the  territory  so  ceded  or 
relinquished,  shall  be  fully  reimbursed  by  the  United  States. 
That  the  French  and  Canadian  inhabitants,  and  other  settlers 
of  the  Kaskaskias,  Post  Vincennes,  and  the  neighboring  villa- 
ges, who  have  professed  themselves  citizens  of  Virginia,  shall 
have  their  possessions  and  titles  confirmed  to  them,  and  be 
protected  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  rights  and  liberties.  That 
a  quantity  not  exceeding  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  acres 
of  land,  promised  by  Virginia,  shall  be  allowed  and  granted 
to  the  then  Colonel,  now  General  George  Rogers  Clark,  and 
to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  his  regiment,  who  marched  with 
him  when  the  posts  of  Kaskaskia  and  Vincennes  were  reduc- 
ed, and  to  the  officers  and  soldiers  that  have  been  since 


1784.  Cession  of  Virginia.  287 

incorporated  in  the  said  regiment,  to  be  laid  off  in  one  tract, 
the  length  of  which  not  to  exceed  double  the  breadth,  in  such 
place  on  the  northwest  side  of  the  Ohio,  as  a  majority  of  the 
officers  shall  choose,  and  to  be  afterwards  divided  among  the 
officers  and  soldiers  in  due  proportion,  according  to  the  laws 
of  Virginia.  That  in  case  the  quantity  of  good  lands  on  the 
southeast  side  of  the  Ohio,  upon  the  waters  of  Cumberland 
river,  and  between  the  Green  river  and  Tennessee  river, 
which  have  been  reserved  by  law  for  the  Virginia  troops  upon 
continental  establishment,  should,  from  the  North  Carolina  line 
bearing  in  further  upon  the  Cumberland  lands  than  was  ex- 
pected, prove  insufficient  for  their  legal  bounties,  the  defi- 
ciency shall  be  made  up  to  the  said  troops,  in  good  lands  to  be 
laid  off  between  the  rivers  Scioto  and  Little  Miami,  on  the 
northwest  side  of  the  river  Ohio,  in  such  proportions  as  have 
been  engaged  to  them  by  the  laws  of  Virginia.  That  all  the 
lands  within  the  territory  so  ceded  to  the  United  States, 
and  not  reserved  for,  or  appropriated  to  any  of  the  before- 
mentioned  purposes,  or  disposed  of  in  bounties  to  the  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  American  army,  shall  be  considered  as  a 
common  fund  for  the  use  and  benefit  of  such  of  the  United 
States  as  have  become,  or  shall  become,  members  of  the  con- 
federation or  federal  alliance  of  the  said  states,  Virginia  in- 
clusive, according  to  their  usual  respective  proportion  in  the 
general  charge  and  expenditure,  and  shall  be  faithfully  and 
bona  fide  disposed  of  for  that  purpose,  and  for  no  other  use  or 
purpose  whatsoever."] 

In  speaking  of  Pittsburgh,  we  referred  to  the  passage  of 
Arthur  Lee  through  that  place  late  in  1784,  to  attend  a  council 
with  the  Indians  at  Fort  Mclntosh.  Upon  the  22d  of  the  pre- 
vious October,  this  gentleman,  in  connection  with  Richard 
Butler  and  Oliver  Wolcott,  had  met  the  hostile  tribes  of  the 
Iroquois,*  at  Fort  Stanwix,  and  had  there  concluded  a  treaty 
of  peace,  among  the  articles  of  which  was  the  following  : 

ART.  3.  A  line  shall  be  drawn,  beginning  at  the  mouth  of  a 
creek,  about  four  miles  east  of  Niagara,  called  Oyonwayea, 
or  Johnson's  Landing  Place,  upon  the  lake,  named  by  the  In- 
dians Oswego,  and  by  us  Ontario  ;  from  thence  southerly,  in 
a  direction  always  four  miles  east  of  the  carrying  path,  be- 
tween Lake  Erie  and  Ontario,  to  the  mouth  of  Tehoseroron, 
or  Buffalo  Creek,  or  Lake  Erie  ;  thence  south,  to  the  north 
boundary  of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  ;  thence  west,  to  the 
end  of  the  said  north  boundary  ;  thence  south,  along  the  west 
boundary  of  the  said  State,  to  the  river  Ohio  ;  the  said  line, 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Oyonwayea  to  the  Ohio,  shall  be 
the  western  boundary  of  the  lands  of  the  Six  Nations;  so  that 

*  See  Land  Laws,  p.  132. 


288  Provisions  of  the  Treaty  of  Fort  Mclntosh.  1785. 

the  Six  Nations  shall,  and  do,  yield  to  the  United  States,  all 
claims  to  the  country  west  of  the  said  boundary;  and  then 
they  shall  be  secured  in  the  peaceful  possession  ot  the  lands 
they  inhabit,  east  and  north  of  the  same,  reserving  only  six 
miles  square,  round  the  Fort  of  Oswego,  to  the  United  States, 
for  the  support  of  the  same. 

[The  "hostile  tribes"  referred  to  were  the  Mohawks,  Onon- 
dagas,  Cayugas,  and  Senacas,  who  had  joined  the  British ; 
while  the  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras  were  on  the  American 
side.] 

The  old  indefinite  claim  of  the  great  northern  confederacy 
to  the  West,  being  thus  extinguished,  Mr.  Lee,  together  with 
Richard  Butler  and  George  Rogers  Clark,  proceeded  to  treat 
with  the  Western  Indians  themselves  at  Fort  Mclntosh,  upon 
the  21st  of  January,  1785.  The  nations  represented  were  the 
Wyandots,  Delawares,  Chippeways,  and  Ottowas  ;  and  among 
the  representatives,  it  is  said,  was  the  celebrated  war  chief  of 
the  Delawares,  Buckongahelas:  the  most  important  provi- 
sions of  the  treaty  agreed  upon,  were  the  seven  following: — 

ART.  3.  The  boundary  line  between  the  United  States  and 
the  Wyandot  and  Delaware  nations,  shall  begin  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Cayahoga,  and  run  thence,  up  the  said  river,  to  the 
portage  between  that  and  the  Tuscarawas  branch  of  the  Mus- 
kingum  ;  then,  down  the  said  branch,  to  the  forks  at  the  cross- 
ing place  above  Fort  Lawrence,  [Laurens;]  then  vvestwardly, 
to  the  portage  of  the  Big  Miami,  which  runs  into  the  Ohio,  at 
the  mouth  of  which  branch  the  fort  stood  which  was  taken  by 
the  French  in  one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty-two  ;  then, 
along  the  said  portage,  to  the  Great  Miami  or  Ome  river,  and 
down  the  south-east  side  of  the  same  to  its  mouth ;  thence, 
along  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Erie,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Cay- 
ahoga, where  it  began. 

ART.  4.  The  United  States  allot  all  the  lands  contained 
within  the  said  lines  to  the  Wyandot  and  Delaware  nations, 
to  live  and  to  hunt  on,  and  to  such  of  the  Ottowa  nation  as 
now  live  thereon  ;  saving  and  reserving,  for  the  establishment 
of  trading  posts,  six  miles  square  at  the  mouth  of  Miami  or 
Ome  river,  and  the  same  at  the  portage  on  that  branch  of  the 
Big  Miami  which  runs  into  the  Ohio,  and  the  same  on  the 
Lake  of  Sandusky,  where  the  fort  formerly  stood,  and  also 
two  miles  square  on  each  side  of  the  lower  rapids  of Sandusky 
river;  which  posts,  and  the  lands  annexed  to  them,  shall  be  to 
the  use,  and  under  the  government  of  the  United  States. 

ART.  5.  If  any  citizen  of  the  United  States,  or  other  person, 
not  being  an  Indian,  shall  attempt  to  settle  on  any  of  the 


1785.  Settlements  Prohibited  North  of  the  Ohio.  289. 

lands  allotted  to  the  Wyandot  and  Delaware  nations,  in  this 
treaty,  except  on  the  lands  reserved  to  the  United  States  in 
the  preceding  article,  such  person  shall  forfeit  the  protection 
of  the  United  States,  and  the  Indians  may  punish  him  as  they 
please. 

ART.  6.  The  Indians  who  sign  this  treaty,  as  well  in  behalf 
of  all  their  tribes  as  of  themselves,  do  acknowledge  the  lands 
east,  south  and  west,  of  the  lines  described  in  the  third  article, 
so  far  as  the  said  Indians  formerly  claimed  the  same,  to  belong 
to  the  United  States;  and  none  of  their  tribes  shall  presume 
to  settle  upon  the  same,  or  any  part  of  it. 

ART.  7.  The  post  of  Detroit,  with  a  district  beginning  at 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Rosine,  on  the  west  side  of  Lake  Erie, 
and  running  west  six  miles  up  the  southern  bank  of  the  said 
river,  thence,  northerly,  and  always  six  miles  west  of  the  strait, 
till  it  strikes  the  Lake  St.  Clair,  shall  also  be  reserved  to  the 
sole  use  of  the  United  States. 

ART.  81  In  the  same  manner,  the  post  of  Michillimackinac, 
with  its  dependencies,  and  twelve  miles  square  about  the 
same,  shall  be  reserved  to  the  use  of  the  United  States. 

ART.  9.  If  any  Indian  or  Indians  shall  commit  a  robbery  or 
murder  on  any  citizen  of  the  United  States,  the  tribe  to  which 
such  offender  may  belong,  shall  be  bound  to  deliver  them  up 
at  the  nearest  post,  to  be  punished  according  to  the  ordinances 
of  the  United  States. 

[To  prevent  intrusion  on  the  Indian  lands,  and  consequently 
collision  with  the  aborigines,  the  Continental  Congress,  on  the 
15th  of  June,  1785,  sent  furth  the  folio  wing  ^proclamation, 
which  was  circulated  in  the  Western  country. 

"Whereas,  it  has  been  represented  to  the  United  States,  in 
Congress  assembled,  that  several  disorderly  persons  have  cross- 
ed the  Ohio  and  settled  upon  their  unappropriated  lands;  and, 
whereas,  it  is  their  intention,  as  soon  as  it  shall  be  surveyed, 
to  open  offices  for  the  sale  of  a  considerable  part  thereof,  in 
such  proportions  and  under  such  other  regulations  as  may  suit 
the  convenience  of  all  the  citizens  of  the  said  States  and  others 
who  may  wish  to  become  purchasers  of  the  same : — and  as 
such  conduct  tends  to  defeat  the  object  they  have  in  view  ;  is 
in  direct  opposition  to  the  ordinances  and  resolutions  of  Con- 
gress, and  highly  disvespectful  to  the  federaj  authority ;  they 
have,  therefore,  thought  fit,  and  do  hereby  issue  this,  their 
proclamation,  strictly  forbidding  all  such  unwarrantable  intru- 
sions, and  enjoining  all  those  who  have  settled  thereon  to  de- 
part with  their  families  and  effects,  without  loss  of  time,  as 
they  shall  answer  the  same  at  their  peril.*] 

*  Dillon's  Indiana,  i.  199. 


290  Ordinance  Relative  to   Western  Lands.  1785. 

Thus  were  the  first  steps  taken  for  securing  to  the  United 
States  the  Indian  titles  to  the  vast  realm  beyond  the  Ohio ; 
and  a  few  months  later  the  legislation  was  commenced  that 
was  to  determine  the  mode  of  its  disposal,  and  the  plan  of  its 
settlements. 

In  April  of  the  previous  year  Congress  had  adopted  certain 
resolutions  in  relation  to  the  number  and  size  of  the  States  to 
be  formed  from  the  Western  Territory,  and  sketched  the  great 
features  of  an  Ordinance  for  its  organization,  but  as  all  these 
things  were  afterwards  modified  in  1787,  we  have  deferred 
the  subject  of  that  organization  to  the  last  named  year.  But 
though  the  details  of  the  government  of  the  West  were  not 
as  yet  settled,  Congress,  upon  the  20th  of  May,  1785,*  passed 
an  ordinance  relative  to  surveys,  which  determined  a  plan  for 
the  division  of  the  ceded  lands,  and  the  main  principles  of 
which  still  remain  in  force.  This  was  not  done,  however,  un- 
til Massachusetts1,  as  well  as  New  York  and  Virginia,  had 
ceded  her  claims  to  the  Union-;  which  she  did  upon  the  19th 
of  April  in  this  3Tear,  the  Act  authorizing  the  cession  having 
been  passed  upon  the  13th  of  the  previous  November.f 

By  the  ordinance  above  referred  to,  the  territory  purchased 
of  the  Indians  was  to  be  divided  into  townships,  six  miles 
square,;};  by  north  and  south  lines,  crossed  at  right  angles  by 
others :  the  first  north  and  south  line  to  begin  on  the  Ohio,  at 
a  point  due  north  of  the  western  termination  of  the  southern 
boundary  of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  first  east  and  west  line  to 
begin  at  the  same  point,  and  extend  throughout  the  territory. 
The  ranges  of  townships  thus  formed  were  to  be  numbered 
from  the  Pennsylvania  line  westward ;  the  townships  them- 
selves from  the  Ohio  northward.  Each  township  was  to  be 
subdivided  into  thirty-six  parts  or  sections,  each,  of  course, 
one  mile  square.  When  seven  ranges  of  townships  had  been 
thus  surveyed,  the  Geographer  was  to  make  a  return  of  them 
to  the  Board  of  Treasury,  who  were  to  take  therefrom  one- 
seventh  part,  by  lot,  for  the  use  of  the  late  Continental  army ; 
and  so  of  every  seven  ranges  as  surveye.d  and  returned :  the 

*  There  was  an  ordinance  reported  May  28,  1784,  (Old  Journals,  iv.  416;)  a  second, 
April  26th,  1785,  (Old  Journals,  iv.  507  j)  that  of  May  20th  differed  in  several  respects. 

f  Old  Journals,  iv.  500  to  504.    Lands  Laws,  102. 

J  By  the  first  ordinance  these  were  to  have  been  ten  mile?,  and  by  the  second  seven  miles 
square. — See  Journals. 


1785.  Ordinance  Relative  to  Western  Lands.  291 

remaining  six-sevenths  were  to  be  drawn  for  by  the  several 
States,  in  the  proportion  of  the  last  requisition  made  on  them  ; 
and  they  were  to  make  public  sale  thereof  in  the  following 
manner:  range  1st,  township  1st,  was  to  be  sold  entire, town- 
ship 2d  in  sections,  and  so  on  alternately;  while  in  range  2d, 
township  1st  was  to  be  sold  in  sections,  and  township  2d  en- 
tire, retaining  throughout,  both  as  to  the  ranges  and  town- 
ships, the  principle  of  alternation.  The  price  was  to  be  at 
least  one  dollar  per  acre  in  specie,  "  loan  office  certificates  re- 
duced to  specie  value,"  or  "  certificates  of  liquidated  debts  of 
the  United  States."  Five  sections  in  each  township  were  to 
be  reserved,  four  for  the  United  States,  and  one  for  schools. 
All  sales  thus  made  by  the  States  were  to  be  returned  to  the 
Board  of  Treasury.  This  ordinance  also  gave  the  mode 
for  dividing,  among  the  continental  soldiers,  the  lands  set 
apart  to  them ;  reserved  three  townships  for  Canadian  refu- 
gees ;  secured  to  the  Moravian  Indians  their  rights ;  and  ex- 
cluded from  sale  the  territory  between  the  Little  Miami  and 
Scioto,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  made  by  Virginia, 
in  her  deed  of  cession,  in  favor  of  her  own  troops.  Many 
points  in  this  law  were  afterwards  changed,  but  its  great 
features  remained.* 

It  had  been  anticipated,  that  so  soon  as  the  treaty  of  Fort 
Mclntosh  was  known,  settlers  and  speculators  would  cross  the 
Ohio,  and  to  prevent  the  evil  which  it  was  foreseen  would 
follow  any  general  movement  of  the  kind,  the  Indian  Com- 
missioners were  authorized  in  June,  to  issue  a  Proclamation 
commanding  all  persons  northwest  of  the  river  to  leave  with- 
out loss  of  time,  or  stay  at  their  peril,  announcing  the  inten- 
tion of  government  as  soon  as  possible  to  sell  the  soil  as  fast 
as  surveyed. f  The  peril  to  be  apprehended  from  the  weak 
hands  of  the  confederacy  might  not  have  deterred  fearless 
men  from  filling  the  forbidden  land,  but  there  were  those  near 
by  who  executed  the  laws  they  made  in  a  manner  which  was 
by  no  means  to  be  disregarded ;  and,  as  we  learn  from  the 
Honorable  George  Corwin,  of  Portsmouth,  when  four  families 
from  Redstone  attempted  a  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Scioto,  in  April,  1785,  they  received  such  a  notice  to  quit,  from 
the  natives,  in  the  shape  of  rifle-balls,  that  the  survivors  (for 

*  Land  Laws,  349  to  354.— Old  Journals,  iv.  520  to  522. 
t  Land  Laws,  354. — Old  Journals,  ir.  538. 


292  Third  Convention  in  Kentucky.  1785. 

two  men  were  killed)  were  glad  enough  to  abandon  their  en- 
terprize,  and  take  refuge  at  Limestone  or  Maysville.*  Fur- 
ther West  the  experiment  succeeded  better,  and  some  years 
before  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing,  in  1781,  a  settlement 
was  made  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  old  French  forts,  by 
emigrants  from  Western  Virginia,  who  were  joined  during  the 
present  year  by  several  other  families  from  the  same  region. 

[A  sketch  of  the  early  American  settlements  in  Illinois  will 
be  found  among  the  Annals  of  that  State,  in  the  Appendix.] 

In  Kentucky  during  1785,  events  were  of  a  different  charac- 
ter from  any  yet  witnessed  in  the  West.  Hitherto,  to  live  and 
resist  the  savages  had  been  the  problem,  but  now  the  more 
complicated  questions  of  self-rule  and  political  power  pte- 
sented  themselves  for  discussion  and  answer.  The  Conven- 
tion which  met  late  in  1784,  finding  a  strong  feeling  prevalent 
in  favor  of  separation  from  Virginia,  and  unwilling  to  assume 
too  much  responsibility,  had  proposed,  as  we  have  stated,  a 
second  Convention  to  meet  in  the  following  May.  It  met  upon 
the  23rd  of  that  month,  and  the  same  spirit  of  self  dependence 
being  dominant,  an  address  to  the  Assembly  of  Virginia  and 
one  to  the  people  of  Kentucky,  together  with  five  resolutions, 
all  relative  to  separation,  and  in  favor  of  it,  were  an- 
imously  carried.  Two  of  these  resolutions  deserve  especial 
notice  ;  one  of  them  recognized,  what  the  Constitution  of 
Virginia  did  not,  the  principle  of  equal  representation,  or  a 
representation  of  the  people  living  in  a  certain  territory,  and  not 
the  square  miles  contained  in  it :  the  other  referred  the  whole 
matter  again,  to  a  third  Convention,  which  was  to  meet  in 
August,  and  continue  its  sessions  by  adjournment  until  April, 
1786.  As  the  members  of  the  body  which  passed  this  resolve 
had  been  chosen,  it  is  believed,  on  the  basis  of  equal  re- 
presentation, and  for  the  very  purpose  of  considering  the 
question  of  independence,  it  is  by  no  means  clear  why  this  re- 
ference to  a  third  assembly  was  made.  It  may  have  been 
from  great  precaution,  or  it  may  have  been  through  the 
influence  of  James  Wilkinson,  who,  though  not  a  member  of 
the  second  Convention,  exercised  great  power  in  it;  and  who 
being  chosen  a  member  of  the  third,  became  its  leader  and 
controller,  by  the  combined  influence  of  his  manners,  elo- 
quence, intellect,  and  character.  This  gentleman,  there  ap- 

*  American  Pioneer,  i.  56. 


1785.  Third  Convention  in  Kentucky.  293 

pears  to  be  reason  to  think,  deemed  the  tone  of  the  petition  to 
Virginia  too  humble,  and  wished  another  meeting,  to  speak 
both  to  the  Parent  State  and  the  people  of  the  District  in  more 
rousing  and  exciting  words.  And  his  wish,  if  such  was  his 
wish,  was  fulfilled.  Upon  the  8th  of  August,  a  third  Conven- 
tion met,  adopted  a  new  form  of  address  to  the  Old  Dominion, 
and  called  upon  the  people  of  Kentucky  to  "  arm,  associate, 
and  embody,"  "  to  hold  in  detestation  and  abhorrence,  and 
treat  as  enemies  to  the  community,  every  person  who  shall 
withhold  his  countenance  and  support,  of  such  measures  as 
may  be  recommended  for  [the]  common  defence  ;"  and  to 
prepare  for  offensive  movements  against  the  Indians,  without 
waiting  to  be  attacked.* 

That  Wilkinson,  in  this  address  to  the  people  of  Kentucky, 
somewhat  exaggerated  the  danger  of  Indian  invasion  is  pro- 
bable ;  and  the  propriety  of  his  call  upon  his  countrymen  to 
invade  the  lands  beyond  the  Ohio,  at  the  time  that  Congress 
was  treating  with  the  natives  owning  them,  and  seeking  to 
put  a  stop  to  warfare,  is  more  than  questionable :  but  still  his 
expressions  of  anxiety  lest  the  whites  should  be  found  unpre- 
pared, were  not  wholly  without  cause. 

[At  this  period  hostile  feelings  and  movements  were  again 
manifested,  as  appears  from  the  following  extract  from  Dil- 
lon's "  Historical  Notes." 

"  A  large  Indian  council,  composed  of  deputies  from  dif- 
ferent tribes,  was  held  at  Ouiatenon,  on  the  river  W abash,  in 
the  month  of  August,  1785.  About  the  same  time  an  Indian 
killed  one  of  the  French  inhabitants  of  Post  Vincennes.  A 
party  of  the  friends  of  this  man  then  fell  upon  the  Indians, 
killed  four  and  \vounded  some  more.  Soon  afterwards  an 
Indian  chief  waited  on  the  French  inhabitants,  and  told  them 
that  they  must  remove  at  a  fixed  time — that  the  Indians  were 
determined  to  make  war  on  the  American  settlers — and  that 
if  the  French  remained  at  Post  Vincennes,  they  would  share 
the  fate  of  the  Americans."! 

In  October  the  Southern  Indians  became  hostile,  made  in- 
cursions into  Kentucky,  attacked  the  family  of  Mr.  McClure, 
massacred  three  children,  and  took  his  wife  and  one  child 
prisoners.  They  were  rescued  by  a  party  under  the  command 

*  Marshall,  i.  195,  196  to  220;  where  all  the  original  papers  at  length, 
t  Correspondence  of  Captain  John  Armstrong,  in  Dillon's  Indiana,  i.  201. 


294  Virginia  offers  Kentucky  Terms.  1786. 

of  Captain  William  Whitley.      Other  families  and  stations 
were  attacked.*} 

But  the  proper  source  of  action  in  the  matter  at  this  time 
was  the  confederation,  and  Wilkinson  and  his  associates  in 
proposing  to  invade  the  north-west  territory,  should  have 
sought  to  act  under  its  sanction,  and  not  as  leaders  of  a 
sovereign  power.  Nor  was  the  confederation  at  this  very 
time  unmindful  of  the  [West;  in  the  autumn  of  '85,  Major 
Doughty  descended  the  Ohio  to  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum, 
and  upon  the  point  north  of  the  former,  and  west  of  the  lat- 
ter river,  began  Fort  Harmar.f 

The  address  or  petition,  though  the  last  name  seems  scarcely 
applicable,  which  the  Third  Kentucky  Convention  had  sent  to 
the  Assembly  of  the  the  parent  State,  was  by  that  body  duly 
received  and  listened  to,  and  the  reasons  for  an  early  separation 
appearing  cogent,  Virginia,  in  January,  1786,  passed  a  law  by 
which  Kentucky  might  claim  independence,  provided  she 
were  willing  to  accept  of  the  following  conditions,  as  ex- 
plained in  a  letter  from  Mr.  Madison,  to  Gen.  Washington, 
dated  December  9th,  1785.J 

"  Kentucky  made  a  formal  application  for  independence. 
Her  memorial  has  been  considered,  and  the  terms  of  separation 
fixed  by  a  Committee  of  the  Whole.  The  substance  of  them 
is  that  all  private  rights  and  interests,  derived  from  the  laws 
of  Virginia,  shall  be  secured  ;  that  the  unlocated  lands  shall 
be  applied  to  the  objects  to  which  the  laws  of  Virginia  have 
appropriated  them ;  that  the  Ohio  shall  be  a  common  high- 
way for  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and  the  jurisdiction 
of  Kentucky  and  Virginia,  as  far  as  the  remaining  territory  of 
the  latter  will  be  thereon,  be  concurrent  only  with  the  new 
States  on  the  opposite  shore  ;  that  the  proposed  State  shall 
take  its  due  share  of  our  State  debts  ;  and  that  the  separation 
shall  not  take  place  unless  these  terms  shall  be  approved  by  a 
convention  to  be  held  to  decide  the  question,  nor^until  Congress 
shall  assent  thereto,  and  fix  the  terms  of  their  admission  into 
the  Union.  The  limits  ot  the  proposed  State  are  to  be  the 
same  with  the  present  limits  of  the  district.  The  apparent 
coolness  of  the  representatives  of  Kentucky,  as  to  a  separa- 
tion, since  these  terms  have  been  defined,  indicates  that  they 
had  some  views,  which  will  not  be  favored  by  them.  They 
dislike  much  to  be  hung  upon  the  will  of  Congress." 

*Marshall,  i.  221 

|Amcrican  Pioneer,  i.  25-30  and  frontispiece.    Monette,  ii.  222. 

JSparks'  Washington,  ix.  510. 


1786.          Convention  with   Western  Tribes  Proposed.  295 

These  conditions  were  to  be  submitted  to  a  Fourth  conven- 
tion to  be  held  in  the  following  September.  If  those  were 
agreed  to,  the  convention  was  to  select  a  day  posterior  to  Sep- 
tember 1st,  1787,  after  which  the  laws  of  Virginia  were  to 
cease  forever  to  be  force  within  the  western  district;  for 
which,  meanwhile,  a  constitution  and  laws  were  to  be  pre- 
pared by  a  Fifth  convention  to  be  called  for  that  purpose  :  it 
being  provided,  that  this  act  was  to  be  effective  only  when  in 
substance  approved  by  the  United  States.*  This  act  was  not, 
however,  altogether  pleasant  to  the  more  zealous  of  the  advo- 
cates of  self-rule,  and  an  attempt  was  made  by  Wilkinson 
and  his  friends  to  induce  the  people  of  the  district  to  declare 
themselves  independent  of  Virginia  before  the  comparatively 
distant  period  fixed  by  the  law  in  question.  The  attempt, 
however,  was  opposed  and  defeated  ;  the  election  of  members 
for  the  Fourth  convention  took  place  without  disturbance, 
and  in  September  it  would  undoubtedly  have  met  to  attend  to 
the  business  confide'd  to  it,  had  not  the  Indian  incursions  led 
to  a  movement  against  the  tribes  on  the  Wabash,  at  the  very 
time  appointed  for  the  assembly  at  Danville. 

Before  we  come  to  this  movement  beyond  the  Ohio,  howev- 
er, it  is  necessary  to  mention  the  steps  taken  by  Congress  du- 
ring the  early  part  of  this  year  to  secure  and  perpetuate  peace 
with  the  north-western  tribes.  The  treat}7  of  Fort  Stanwix 
with  the  Iroquois,  was  upon  the  22d  of  October,  1784;  that 
of  Fort  Mclntosh,  with  the  Delawares,  Wyandots,  &c.,  upon 
the  21st  of  January,  1785;  upon  the  18th  of  March  following, 
it  was  resolved  that  a  treaty  be  held  with  the  Wabash  Indi- 
ans at  Post  Vincent  on  the  20th  of  June,  1785,  or  at  such  other 
time  and  place  as  might  seem  best  to  the  commissioners. f 
Various  circumstances  caused  the  time  to  be  changed  to  the 
31st  of  January,  1786,  and  the  place  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Great  Miami,  where,  upon  that  day  a  treaty  was  made  by  G. 
R.  Clark,  Richard  Butler  and  Sam'l.  H.  Parsons,  not,  however, 
with  the  Piankishaws  and  others  named  in  the  original  reso- 
lution, but  with  the  Delawares,  Wyandots  and  Shawanese.J 

•^Marshall,  i.  222. 

tOld  Journals,  iv.  487. 

JThose  first  named  were  the  Potawatama,  Twigtwee?,  Piatika?haw  and  other  west- 
ern nations.  See  Old  Journals,  iv.  528,  53.3,  538,  542.  The  resolution  on  the  page 
last  cited  ( June  29,  1785, )  changes  the  place  to  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  or 
the  Falls. 


296  Letter  of  General  Parsons.  1786. 

That  treaty,  in  addition  to  the  usual  articles,  contained 
the  following.* 

ART.  2.  The  Shawanee  nation  do  acknowledge  the  United 
States  to  be  the  sole  and  absolute  sovereigns  of  all  the  terri- 
tory ceded  to  them  by  a  treaty  of  peace  made  between  them 
and  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  the  fourteenth  day  of  January, 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-four. 

ART.  6.  The  United  States  do  allot  to  the  Shawanee  nation, 
lands  within  their  territory,  to  live  and  hunt  upon,  beginning 
at  the  south  line  of  the  lands  allotted  to  the  Wyandots  and 
Delaware  nations,  at  the  place  where  the  main  branch  of  the 
Great  Miami,  which  falls  into  the  Ohio,  intersects  said  line  ; 
then,  down  the  River  Miami,  to  the  fork  of  that  river,  next  be- 
low the  old  fort  which  was  taken  by  the  French  in  one  thous- 
and seven  hundred  and  fifty-two ;  thence,  due  west,  to  the 
River  De  La  Panse ;  then,  down  that  river,  to  the  river  Wa- 
bash;  beyond  which  lines  none  of  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  shall  settle,  nor  disturb  the  Shawanees  in  their  settle- 
ment and  possessions.  And  the  Shawanees  do  relinquish  to 
the  United  States,  all  title,  or  pretence  of  title,  they  ever  had 
to  the  lands  east,  west,  and  south  of  the  east,  west,  and  south 
lines  before  described.! 

The  absence  of  the  Wabash  Indians  from  this  council  was 
not  the  result  of  any  change  of  plans  on  the  part  of  the  Ameri- 
cans, but  solely  of  a  growing  spirit  of  hostility  among  the  sav- 
ages, fostered,  there  is  too  much  reason  to  think,  by  the  sub- 
agents  of  England.  The  temper  of  the  Indians  who  first  met 
the  commissioners,  is  thus  referred  to  by  General  Parsons,  in 
a  letter  to  Captain  Hart,  at  Fort  Harmar,  dated  "  Fort  Fin- 
ney." 

[Major  Finney  was  a  witness  to  the  treaty.  "  Fort  Finney" 
was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  .]J 

Since  we  have  been  here,  every  measure  has  been  taken  to 
bring  in  the  Indians.  The  Wyandots  and  Delawares  are  here  ; 
the  other  nations  were  coming,  and  were  turned  back  by  the 
Shawanese.  These,  at  last,  sent  two  of  their  tribe  to  exam- 
ine our  situation  and  satisfy  themselves  of  our  designs.  With 
these  men  we  were  very  open  and  explicit.  We  told  them 
we  were  fully  convinced  of  their  designs  in  coming ;  that  we 
were  fully  satisfied  with  it ;  that  they  were  at  liberty  to  take 
their  own  way  and  time  to  answer  the  purposes  they  came 

*01d  Journals,  iv.  627.    Land  Laws,  299. 

f  See  Land  Laws,  299. 

}.  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  ii.  33. 


1786.  Clark's  Treatment  of  the  Indians.  297 

for  ;  that  we  were  desirous  ofliving  in  peace  with  them  ;  and 
for  that  purpose  had  come  with  offers  of  peace  to  them,  which 
they  would  judge  of,  and  whether  peace  or  war  was  most  for 
their  interest /that  we  very  well  knew  the  measures  the  Brit- 
ish agents  haoVtaken  to  deceive  them.  That  if  they  came  to 
the  treaty,  any  man  who  had  filled  their  ears  with  those  stories 
was  at  liberty  to  come  with  them,  and  return  in  safety.  But 
if  they  refused  to  treat  with  us,  we  should  consider  it  as  a 
declaration  of  war  on  their  part,  &c.  These  men  stayed 
about  us  eight  days,  and  then  told  us  they  were  fully  con- 
vinced our  designs  were  good ;  that  they  had  been  deceived;  ( 
that  they  would  return  home,  and  use  their  influence  to  bring  ;" 
in  their  nation)  and  send  out  to  the  other  nations.  Last  night 
we  received  *s  belt  of  Wampum  and  a  twist  of  tobacco,  with 
a  message,  that  they  would  be  in  when  we  had  smoked  the 
tobacco.  From  our  information,  we  are  led  to  believe  these 
people  will  very  generally  come  in,  and  heartily  concur  with 
us  in  peace.  I  think  it  not  probable  the  treaty  will  begin 
sooner  than  January. 

The  British  agents,  our  own  traders,  and  the  inhabitants  of 
Kentucky,  1  am  convinced,  are  all  opposed  to  a  treaty,  and 
are  using  every  measure  to  prevent  it.  Strange  as  this  may 
seem,  I  have  very  convincing  proofs  of  its  reality.  The  causes 
I  can  assign,  but  they  are  too  many  for  the  compass  of  a  let- 
ter. Notwithstanding  all  treaties  we  can  make,  I  am  con- 
vinced we  shall  not  be  in  safety  until  we  have  posts  estab- 
lished in  the  upper  country.* 

The  various  tribes  of  the  north-west,  therefore,  had  been 
invited  to  the  mouth  of  the  Miami,  but,  owing  to  counter  in- 
fluence, neither  attended,  nor  took  any  notice  of  the  messages 
sent  them  ;f  and  those  who  did  finally  attend,  came,  if  tradi- 
tion tells  truly,  in  no  amicable  spirit,  and  but  for  the  profound 
knowledge  possessed  by  Clark  of  the  Indian  character,  and 
the  high  rank  he  held  in  the  estimation  of  the  natives,  the 
meeting  of  January  31st  might  very  probably  have  terminated 
in  the  murder  of  the  commissioners. 

[Of  this  treaty  the  following  account  is  given,  out  of  which, 
probably,  the  graphic  sketch  was  drawn  by  a  western  writer, 
and  may  be  found  in  the  first  edition  of  these  annals.] 

The  Indians  came  in  to  a  treaty  at  Fort  Washington  in  the 
most  friendly  manner,  except  the  Shawanese,  the  most  con- 
ceited and  warlike  of  the  aborigines,  the  first  in  at  a  battle, 
and  the  last  at  a  treaty.  Three  hundred  of  their  finest  war- 

*See  North  American  Review,  October,  1341,  p.  330. 
t  Old  Journals,  jr.  657. 

19 


298  Clark's  Treatment  of  the  Indians.  1786. 

riors  set  off  in  all  their  paint  and  feathers,  and  filed  into  the 
council-house.  Their  number  and  deireanor,  so  unusual  at  an 
occasion  of  this  sort,  was  altogether  unexpected  and  suspi- 
cious. The  United  States'  stockade  mustered  seventy  men. 
In  the  centre  of  the  hall,  at  a  little  table,  sat  the  commissary 
general,  Clark,  the  indefatigable  scourge  of  these  very  marau- 
ders; General  Richard  Butler  and  Mr.  Parsons.  There  was 
also  present  a  Captain  Denny,  who,  I  believe,  is  still  alive, 
and  can  attest  this  story.  On  the  part  of  the  Indians,  an  old 
council-sachem  and  a  war  chief  took  the  lead.  The  latter,  a 
tall,  raw-boned  fellow,  with  an  impudent  and  villanous  look, 
made  a  boisterous  and  threatening  speech,  which  operated 
effectually  on  the  passions  of  the  Indians,  who  set  up  a  pro- 
digious whoop  at  every  pause.  He  concluded  by  presenting 
a  black  and  white  wampum,  to  signify  they  were  prepared  for 
either  event,  peace  or  war.  Clark  exhibited  the  same  unalter- 
ed and  careless  countenance  he  had  shown  during  the  whole 
scene,  his  head  leaning  on  his  left  hand,  and  his  elbow  resting 
upon  the  table.  He  raised  his  little  cane,  and  pushed  the 
sacred  wampum  off  the  table,  with  very  little  ceremony. 
Every  Indian  at  the  same  time  started  from  his  seat  with  one 
of  those  sudden,  simultaneous,  and  peculiar  savage  sounds, 
which  startle  and  disconcert  the  stoutest  heart,  and  can  neither 
be  described  nor  forgotten.  At  this  juncture  Clark  rose.  The 
scrutinizing  eye  cowered  at  his  glance.  He  stamped  his  foot 
on  the  prostrate  and  insulted  symbol,  and  ordered  them  to 
leave  the  hall.  They  did  so,  apparently  involuntarily.  They 
were  heard  all  that  night,  debating  in  the  bushes  near  the  fort. 
The  raw-boned  chief  was  for  war,  the  old  sachem  for  peace. 
The  latter  prevailed,  and  the  next  morning  they  came  back 
and  sued  for  peace.  (Notes  of  an  old  officer.  See  Encyclo- 
paedia Americana,  iii.  232.) 

But  the  tribes  more  distant  than  the  Shawanese  were  in  no 
way  disposed  to  cease  their  incursions,  and  upon  the  16th  of 
May,  the  Governor  of  Virginia  was  forced  to  write  upon  the 
subject  to  Congress,  which  at  once  sent  two  companies  down 
the  Ohio  to  the  Falls,  and  upon  the  30th  of  June  authorized  the 
raising  of  militia  in  Kentucky,  and  the  invasion  of  the  Country 
of  the  mischief-makers,  under  the  command  of  the  lea -J  ing  Unit- 
ed States'  officer.*  We  do  not  learn  that  it  was  nominally 
under  this  resolution  that  General  Clark's  expedition  of  the  en- 
suing fall  was  undertaken  ;  but  at  any  rate  this  act  on  the  part 
of  Congress  justified  offensive  measures  on  the  part  of  the  Ken- 
tuckians  when  they  became  necessary  ;  and  it  being  thought 
necessary  to  act  upon  the  Wabash  before  winter,  a  body  of  a 

*  Old  Journals,  iv.  65T  to  660. 


1786.         Clark's  abortive  Expedition  up  the   Wabash.          299 

thousand  men,  or  more,  gathered  at  the  Falls,  and  marched 
thence  toward  Vincennes,  which  place  they  reached  some 
time  in  September,  1786. 

Here  the  army  remained  inactive  during  nine  days,  waiting 
the  arrival  of  their  provisions  and  ammunition,  which  had 
been  sent  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  in  boats,  and 
were  delayed  by  the  low  water.  This  stay,  so  different  from 
Clark's  old  mode  of  proceeding,  was  in  opposition  to  his  ad- 
vice,* and  proved  fatal  to  the  expedition.  The  soldiers  be- 
came restive,  and  their  confidence  in  the  General  being  de- 
stroyed, by  discovering  the  fact,  that  his  clear  mind  was  too 
commonly  confused  and  darkened  by  the  influence  of  ardent 
spirits,  they  at  last  refused  obedience  ;  a  body  of  three  hundred 
turned  their  faces  homeward,  and  the  rest  soon  followed  in 
their  track. 

An  expedition  conducted  by  Colonel  Logan  against  the 
Shawanese,  who,  in  spite  of  their  treaty,  had  resumed  hostili- 
ties, terminated  very  differently  from  that  under  the  conqueror 
of  Illinois  ;  their  towns  were  burned  and  their  crops  wasted. 

It  was  the  gathering  of  the  men  of  Kentucky  for  these  ex- 
peditions, which  prevented  the  meeting  of  the  convention  that 
was  to  have  come  together  in  September.  So  many  were 
absent  on  military  duty  that  a  quorum  could  not  be  had,  and 
those  who  came  to  the  point  of  assembly,  were  forced,  as  a 
committee  merely,  to  prepare  a  memorial  for  the  Virginia 
legislature,  setting  forth  the  causes  which  made  a  convention 
at  that  time  impossible,  and  asking  certain  changes  in  the  Act 
of  Separation. f  This  done,  they  continued  their  meetings  by 
adjournment  during  the  remainder  of  the  year,  hoping  a 
quorum  might  still  be  gathered  ;  which  was  not  done,  how- 
ever, until  the  ensuing  January. J 

Meanwhile,  beyond  the  Alleghenies,  events  were  taking 
place  which  produced  more  excitement  in  Kentucky  than  In- 
dian wars,  or  Acts  of  Separation  even  :  we  refer  to  the 
Spanish  negotiations,  involving  the  navigation  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. In  1780,  as  we  have  stated,  Spain  expressed  her  de- 
termination to  claim  the  control  of  the  great  western  river  :  in 
January,  1781,  she  attacked  the  fort  of  St.  Joseph's,  and  took 
possession  of  the  northwest  in  the  name  of  his  Catholic  Majes- 

*  Marshall,  i.  250.— Butler,  153. 

t  Marshall,  L  251.  J  Ibid,  253. 


300  Negotiations  with  Spain.  1786. 

ty  :  on  the  15th  of  the  next  month,  Congress,  at  the  instance 
of  the  Virginia  Delegates,  instructed  Mr.  Jay,  then  at  Madrid, 
not  to  insist  on  the  use  of  the  Mississippi  by  the  Americans,  if 
a  treaty  could  not  be  effected  without  giving  it  up.     Through 
1782,  the  court  of  Madrid  labored,  not  only  to  induce  the 
United  States  to  give  up  the  stream  of  the  West,  but  a  great 
part  of  the  West  itself,  and  France  backed  her  pretensions  ;* 
and  thus  matters  rested.    In  July,  1785,  Don  Diego  Gardoqui, 
appeared  before  Congress  as  the  representative  of  Spain  ;f  on 
the  20th  of  the  same  month,  Mr.  Jay,  the  Secretary  of  foreign 
affairs,  was  authorised  to  negotiate  with  him  ;  and  in  May,  of 
the  year  of  which  we  are  writing,  negotiations  begun  between 
them,  were  brought  to  the  notice  of  Congress.    This  was  done 
in  consequence  of  the  fact,  that  in  these  transactions  Mr.  Jay 
asked  the  special  guidance  of  that  body,  and  explained  his 
reasons  for  doing  so  at  length.J     He  pointed  out  the  import- 
ance of  a  commercial  treaty  with  Spain,  and  dwelt  upon  the 
two  difficulties  of  making  such  a  treaty  ;  one  of  which  was, 
the  unwillingness  of  Spain  to  permit  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi,  the  other,  the  question  of  boundaries.     Upon  the 
first  point  Mr.  Jay  was,  and  always  had  been,  opposed  to 
yielding  to  the  Spanish  claim ;  but  that  claim  was  still  as 
strenuously  urged  as  in  1780 ;  and  the  court  of  Madrid,  their 
ambassador  said,  would  never  abandon  it.     Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, the  interests  of  the  whole  Union  demanding  the 
conclusion    of  the  Spanish  commercial   treaty,   while   that 
treaty  could  apparently  be  secured  only  by  giving  up  the 
right  to  navigate  the  Mississippi,  which  was  in  a  manner 
sacrificing  the  West,  Mr.  Jay  proposed,  as  a  sort  of  compro- 
mise, to  form  a  treaty  with  Spain  for  twenty-five  or  thirty 
years,  and  during  that  time  to  yield  the  right  of  using  the  Mis- 
sissippi below  the  boundaries  of  the  United  States.     To  this 
proposition,  the  Southern  members  in  Congress  were  vehe- 
mently opposed,  and  an  attempt  was  made  by  them  to  take 
the  whole  matter  out  of  Mr.  Jay's  hands,  the  delegates  from 
Virginia  offering  a  long  and  able  argument  in  opposition  to 
his  scheme  ;  but  the  members  of  the  eastern  and  middle  states 
out-voted  the  south,  and  the  Secretary  was  authorised  to  con- 
tinue his  negotiations,  without  being  bound  to  insist,  at  all 

*  Secret  Journals,  iv.  63  to  80.    Diplomatic  Correspondence. 

t  Old  Journals.  IT.  544.  J  Secret  Journals,  IT.  43.  45. 


1786.  Dissatisfaction  in  the   West.  301 

hazards,  upon  the,  immediate  use  of  the  river.*  The  discus- 
sion in  Congress  relative  to  the  Spanish  claims,  took  place 
during  August,  and  the  rumor  of  them,  and  of  the  Secretary's 
proposal,  in  due  time  reached  the  West ;  but,  as  is  common, 
the  tale  spread  by  report,  differed  from  the  truth,  by  represent- 
ing the  proposition  as  much  more  positive  than  it  really  was, 
and  as  being  made  by  John  Jay,  without  any  sanction  of 
Congress.  This  story,  which  circulated  during  the  winter  of 
1786-7,  produced  among  those  who  dwelt*  upon  the  western 
waters  great  indignation  ;  and  prepared  the  people  to  antici- 
pate a  contest  with  Spain,  or  a  union  with  her,  and  in  either 
case,  action  independent  of  the  old  Atlantic  colonies.  And 
the  conduct  of  Clark,  after  the  failure  of  the  Wabash  expedi- 
tion, was  well  calculated  to  cause  many  to  think  that  the  lead- 
ing minds  were  already  prepared  for  action.  On  the  8th  of 
October,  a  board  of  field  officers  at  Vincennes,  determined  to 
garrison  that  point,  to  raise  supplies  by  impressment,  and  to 
enlist  new  troops.  Under  this  determination,  Spanish  pro- 
perty was  seized,  soldiers  were  embodied,  and  steps  were 
taken  to  hold  a  peace  council  with  the  natives ;  all  under  the 
direction  of  General  Clark.  Soon  after  this,  in  December, 
Thomas  Green  wrote  from  Louisville  to  the  Governor,  Council 
and  Legislature  of  Georgia — which  State  was  involved  in  the 
boundary  quarrel  with  Spain — that  Spanish  property  had  been 
seized  in  the  north-west  as  a  hostile  measure,  and  not  merely 
to  procure  necessaries  for  the  troops,  which  Clark  afterward 
declared  was  the  case ;  and  added,  that  the  General  was 
ready  to  go  down  the  river  with  "  troops  sufficient"  to  take 
possession  of  the  lands  in  dispute,  if  Georgia  would  counte- 
nance him.  This  letter  Clark  said  he  never  saw,  but  as  he  paid 
equally  with  Green  towards  the  expenses  of  the  messenger 
who  was  to  take  it  to  the  south,  it  was  natural  enough  to 
think  him  privy  to  all  the  plans  relative  to  the  disputed  terri- 
tory, whatever  they  may  have  been.  And  what  they  were,  in 
some  minds  at  least,  may  perhaps,  be  judged  by  the  following 
extract  from  a  letter,  also  written  from  Louisville,  professedly 
to  some  one  in  New  England,  and  very  probably  by  Green ; 
and  which  was  circulated  widely  in  Frankland,  Tennessee. 
It  is  dated  December  4,  1786. 

Our  situation  is  as  bad  as  it  possibly  can  be,  therefore  every 

»  Secret  Journals,  iv.  81  to  132. 


302  Expedition  against  Spain  proposed.  1787. 

exertion  to  retrieve  our  circumstances  must  be  manly,  eligible 
and  just. 

We  can  raise  twenty  thousand  troops  this  side  the  Alle- 
gheny and  Apalachian  Mountains;  and  the  annual  increase 
of  them  by  emigration,  from*  other  parts,  is  from  two  to  four 
thousand. 

We  have  taken  all  the  goods  belonging  to  the  Spanish  mer- 
chants of  Post  Vincennes  and  the  Illinois,  and  are  determined 
they  shall  not  trade  up  the  river,  provided  they  will  not  let  us 
trade  down  it.  Preparations  are  now  making  here  (if  neces- 
sary) to  drive  the  Spaniards  from  their  settlements,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  In  case  we  are  not  countenanced 
and  succored  by  the  United  States  ^if  we  need  it)  our  alle- 
giance will  be  thrown  off,  and  some  other  power  applied  to. 
Great  Britain  stands  ready  with  open  arms  to  receive  and 
support  us.  They  have  already  offered  to  open  their  resour- 
ces for  our  supplies.  When  once  re-united  to  them,  "fare- 
well, a  long  farewell  to  all  your  boasted  greatness."  The 
province  of  Canada  and  the  inhabitants  of  these  waters,  of 
themselves,  in  time,  will  be  able  to  conquer  you.  You  are  as 
ignorant  of  this  country  as  Great  Britain  was  of  America. 
These  are  hints,  if  rightly  improved,  may  be  of  some  service  ; 
if  not,  blame  yourselves  for  the  neglect.* 

Wells,  Green's  messenger,  on  his  way  to  Georgia,  showed 
his  papers  to  various  persons  at  Danville;  copies  were  at 
once  taken  of  them,  and  enclosed  in  a  letter  written  on  the 
22d  of  December  to  the  Executive  of  Virginia,  by  fifteen  of 
the  leading  citizens  of  Kentucky,  among  whom  was  James 
Wilkinson.  In  February,  1787,  the  Council  of  Virginia  acted 
upon  the  subject;  condemned  Gen.  Clark's  conduct,  disavowed 
the  powers  assumed  by  him,  ordered  the  prosecution  of  the  per- 
sons concerned  in  the  seizure  of  property,  and  laid  the  matter 
before  Congress.  It  was  presented  in  detail  to  that  body  upon 
the  13th  of  April,f  and  upon  the  24th  of  that  month,  it  was 
resolved  that  the  troops  of  the  United  States  he  employed  to 
dispossess  the  unauthorized  intruders  who  had  taken  ppssession 
of  St.  Vincents.J 

All  these  things  naturally  tended  to  excite  speculation,  in- 
quiry and  fear  throughout  the  West;  and  though  no  action 
was  had  in  reference  to  the  Mississippi  question  beyond  the 
mountains,  until  the  next  spring,  we  may  be  sure  there  was 
talking  and  feeling  enough  in  the  interval. 

*  Secret  Journals,  iv.  323. 

t  Secret  Journals,  iv.  301  to  323. 

j  Old  Journals,  iy.  740. 


1786.         Putnam  and  Tupper  propose  to  move  West.  303 

But  in  giving  the  history  of  1786,  we  must  not  omit  those 
steps  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the  New  England 
Ohio  Company,  and  the  founding  of  the  first  colony,  author- 
ized by  government,  north-west  of  the  Belle  Riviere. 

Congress,  by  the  resolutions  of  September  16,  1776,  and 
August  12,  1780,  had  promised  land  bounties  to  the  officers 
and  soldiers  of  the  Revolutionary  army,  who  should  continue  in 
the  service  till  the  close  of  the  war,  or  until  discharged  by 
Congress ;  and  to  the  representatives  of  those  who  should  be 
slain  by  the  enemy.*  In  June,  1783,  peace  having  been  pro- 
claimed, General  Rufus  Putnam  forwarded  to  Washington  a 
memorial  from  certain  of  those  having  claims  under  these 
resolutions;  which  Washington  transmitted  to  Congress,  to- 
gether with  General  Putnam's  letter,  f  But  as  the  States 
claiming  the  western  territory  had  not  made  their  final  ces- 
sions, Congress  was  forced,  on  the  29th  of  October,  1783,  to 
announce  their  inability  to  make  any  appropriation  of  land.J 
From  that  time, nothing  further  was  done  until,  upon  the  18th 
of  July,  1785,  Benjamin  Tupper,  a  Revolutionary  officer  be- 
longing to  Massachusetts,  was  appointed  a  surveyor  of  western 
lands,  in  the  place  of  General  Putnam,  who^had  been  before 
chosen,  but  was  otherwise  engaged.  He,  in  the  course  of 
that  year,  visited  the  West,  going,  however,  no  farther  than 
Pittsburgh,  as  the  Indian  troubles  prevented  surveys.^  On  his 
return  home,  he  conferred  with  his  friend,  Putnam,  as  to  a  re- 
newal of  their  memorial  of  1783,  and  a  removal  westward; 
which  conference  resulted  in  a  publication,  dated  January  10, 
1786,  in  which  was  proposed  the  formation  of  a  company  to 
settle  the  Ohio  lands ;  and  those  taking  an  interest  in  the 
plan,  were  invited  to  meet  in  February,  and  choose,  for  each 
county  of  Massachusetts,  one  or  more  delegates  ;  these  dele- 
gates were  to  assemble  on  the  1st  of  March,  at  the  Bunch  of 
Grapes  tavern  in  Boston,  there  to  agree  upon  a  system  of  as- 
sociation. On  the  day  named,  eleven  persons  appeared  at 
the  place  agreed  upon  ;  and  by  the  3d  of  March,  the  outline 
of  the  company  was  drawn  up,  and  subscriptions  under  it  at 
once  commenced.  The  leading  features  of  that  outline  were 

*Land  Law*,  337. 

•(•The  letters  relating  to  this  petition  were  sent  by  Mr.  Sparks  to  the  Committee  for  the 
Celebration  of  the  Settlement  of  Ohio,  1835;  and  were  published  by  them. 
JLand  Laws,  339. 
gNye's  Address,  Transactions  Ohio  Historical  Society,  p.  317. 


304        Ohio  Company  fanned . — Cession  by  Connecticut.      1786. 

these  :  a  fund  of  a  million  dollars,  mainly  in  continental  cer- 
tificates, was  to  be  raised  for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  lands 
in  the  western  territory ;  there  were  to  be  a  thousand  shares 
of  one  thousand  dollars  each,  and  upon  each  share  ten  dollars 
in  specie  were  to  be  paid,  for  contingent  expenses.  One 
year's  interest  was  to  be  appropriated  to  the  charges  of  mak- 
ing a  settlement  and  assisting  those  unable  to  remove  without 
aid.  The  owners  of  every  twenty  shares  were  to  choose  an 
agent  to  represent  them,  and  attend  to  their  interests  ;  and  the 
agents  were  to  choose  the  Directors.*  The  plan  was  approv- 
ed, and  in  a  year  from  that  time  the  company  was  organized ; 
and,  before  its  organization,  the  last  obstacle  to  the  purposed 
grant  from  the  United  States,  was  done  away  by  the  cession  of 
most  of  her  territorial  claims  on  the  part  of  Connecticut.  In 
October,  1780,  soon  after  the  first  action  of  Congress  relative 
to  the  western  lands,  that  State  had  passed  an  act  respecting 
the  cession  of  her  claim  to  the  United  States.  This,  on  the 
31st  of  January,  1781,  was  referred,  together  with  the  reso- 
lutions of  New  York  and  Virginia,  to  a  committee.-)-  Various 
reports  were  made,  and  discussions  had,  relative  to  the  mat- 
ter, but  it  was  not  till  May  26,  1786,  that  the  views  of  the 
State  and  the  Union  could  be  brought  to  a  coincidence.  This 
being  done  by  a  resolution  of  Congress,  dated  upon  that  day, 
the  Delegates  of  Connecticut,  upon  the  14th  of  September, 
made  the  deed  of  cession  by  which  all  her  claims  to  the  coun- 
try west  of  a  line  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  beyond  the 
western  boundary  of  Pennsylvania  and  parallel  thereto,  were 
given  up  to  the  confederation. J 

We  have  mentioned  that  a  minority  of  the  Convention  called 
in  Kentucky,  to  meet  in  September,  1786,  was  adjourned  from 
time  to  time  until  January  of  this  year ;  when,  at  length  a 
quorum  attended.  Upon  a  vote  being  then  taken  relative  to 
separation,  the  feeling  was  still,  as  before,  strongly  in  favor  of 
it.  But  scarce  had  this  been  ascertained  when  a  second  act 

*See  Nye's  Address  in  Transactions  of  Ohio  Historical  Society,  Part  2d.  Also,  an  article 
on  Ohio,  in  North  American  Review,  for  October,  1841;  vol.  liii.  320  to  359 :  this  article  is 
full  of  original  matter. 

|0ld  Journals,  iii.  571. 

JBy  this  transfer,  Connecticut  retained  hoth  the  soil  and  jurisdiction  of  what  is  now- 
known  as  the  Connecticut  or  Western  Reserve.  The  compromise  with  her  was  disapproved 
by  Washington  and  others.  See  Sparks'  Wa'hington,  ix.  178  and  note.  Virginia,  in  her 
cessign,  (?ee  p.  258)  had  resigned  her  jurisdiction,  and  her  "reserve"  was  merely  of  tho 
lands  necessary  to  recompense  her  soldiers. 


1786.  Navigation  of  the  Mississippi.  305 

upon  the  subject,  passed  by  Virginia  in  October,  1786,* 
reached  the  West,  and  the  whole  question  was  again  post- 
poned, to  be  laid  before  a  fifth,  convention,  which  was  to  meet 
in  September ;  while  the  time  when  the  laws  of  Virginia 
should  cease  to  be  of  force,  was  changed  to  the  close  of  the 
year  1778.  There  were  many,  beyond  doubt,  to  whom 
this  delay  was  a  source  of  vexation  and  anger,  but  the  people 
of  the  district  generally  evinced  no  such  feelings;  the  elec' 
tions  took  place  in  August,  and  the  Convention  assembled  upon 
the  17th  of  September,  all  in  perfect  harmony  and  quietness. 
The  vote  was  again  unanimous  in  favor  of  separation,  and 
the  act  of  Virginia  was  agreed  to  ;  to  form  a  constitution,  a 
sixth  convention  was  to  be  chosen  in  the  ensuing  April,  and  to 
complete  the  work  of  independence,  Congress  was  to  assent 
to  a  formation  of  Kentucky  into  a  State  before  July  4,  1788. f 
Nor  was  the  spirit  of  moderation  shown  this  year  by  the 
Kentuckians  in  relation  to  self-government,  confined  to  that 
subject;  in  regard  to  the  vexatious  affair  of  the  Spanish  claims, 
there  was  a  like  temper  manifested.  Mr.  Jay,  as  already  re- 
lated, had  been  authorized  by  Congress  to  abandon  the  right 
of  using  the  Mississippi  for  a  term  of  years,  but  not  to  yield 
the  pretensions  of  the  United  States  to  its  navigation,  after 
that  period  closed.  In  October,  1786,  under  these  instructions, 
he  resumed  his  negotiations  with  Don  Gardoqui,  but  without 
success,  as  Spain  required  an  entire  relinquishment  of  the 
American  claim.J  In  November  of  that  year,  also,  Virginia 
had  passed  several  Resolutions  against  giving  up  the  use  of 
the  river,  even  for  a  day,  and  had  instructed  her  delegates  to 
oppose  every  attempt  of  the  kind.  When,  therefore,  the  peo- 
ple of  Kentucky  met  at  Danville,  early  in  May,  1787,  to  act 
in  relation  to  the  subject, — having  been  called  together  by 
Messrs.  Muter,  Innis,  Brown  and  Sebastian,  for  that  purpose 
— they  found  that  little  or  nothing  was  to  be  done  ;  the  plan 
of  the  Secretary  was  not  likely  to  succeed,  and  had  been 
fully  protested  against : — the  assembly  at  Danville,  having 
been  informed  of  these  things,  quietly  adjourned. 

What  connection,  if  any,  existed    between    this  calmer 

#Morehead,  124. 

fMarshall,  i.  253-256.    27^258.    The  "date  July  4,  1788,"  is  misprinted  "1787"  in 
Marshall,  256. 

JSecret  Journals,  iv.  297-301. 


306  Growing  Dissalisfaclion  in  the   West.  1787. 

spirit  in  Kentucky  and  General  Wilkinson's  absence,  during  a 
part  of  the  year,  it  is  impossible  to  say ;  but  it  is  probable 
that  had  not  his  attention  at  that  time  been  drawn  to  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  trade  with  New  Orleans,  he  would  have  exerted 
during  1787,  a  much  greater  influence  upon  his  fellow  citizens 
than  he  seems  to  have  done.  In  June,  we  find  him  on  his 
\vay  to  the  South ;  nor  did  he  appear  in  Kentucky  again  until 
the  following  February  ;  and  then  it  was  that  he  commenced 
those  connections  with  the  Spanish  government  of  Louisiana, 
which  were  afterwards  brought  in  question,  and  by  means  of 
which  his  character  became  involved  in  doubts  that  have 
never  entirely  been  done  away.* 

At  that  period,  the  feeling  expressed  in  the  extract  from 
a  letter,  which  we  have  already  quoted,  that  the  West 
would  separate  from  the  East,  seems  to  have  been  grow- 
ing even  among  those  who,  in  December,  1786,  denounced 
Green  and  Clark  to  the  Governor  of  Virginia.  Harry  Innis, 
Attorney-General  of  the  district,  and  one  of  those  who  gave 
information  of  the  Vincennes  proceedings,  in  July,  1787,  writes 
to  the  executive  of  the  State  (Virginia),  that  he  cannot  pros- 
ecute those  guilty  of  aggressions  on  the  Indians,  and  adds  : 
"  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  this  Western  country  will,  in 
a  few  years,  act  for  itself,  and  erect  an  independent  govern- 
ment.'^ This  opinion  was  based  partially  upon  the  failure, 
on  the  part  of  Virginia  and  the  confederation,  to  protect  the 
frontiers,  which,  during  this  whole  year,  suffered  both  from  the 
northern  and  southern  Indians ;  and  partly  on  the  uncertain 
state  of  the  navigation  question,  in  respect  to  which  the 
western  men  had  reason,  perhaps,  to  think  that  some  of  the 
leaders  in  the  Old  Dominion  were  leagued  against  them. 
We  find,  for  example,  Washington  expressing  his  willingness 
that  the  Mississippi  should  be  closed  for  a  time,  because,  as  he 
thought,  its  closure  would  knit  the  new  colonies  of  the  West 
more  closely  to  the  Atlantic  States,  and  lead  to  the  realization 
of  one  of  his  favorite  projects,  the  opening  of  lines  of  inter- 
nal navigation,  connecting  the  Ohio  with  the  Potomac  and 
James  River.  J  In  these  sentiments  both  Henry  Lee  and  Rich- 

*Mar<.hall,  i.  259,  261,  267. 
t  Marshall,  i.  270. 

%  Sparks'  Washington,  ix.  119,  172,  261.    For  Washington's  views  on  internal  improve- 
ments see  30,  291,  471,  301,  326,  80,  Ac. 


1787.  First  Papers  in  the   West.  £07 

ard  Henry  Lee  agreed.*  How  far  these  views  of  the  great 
Virginians  were  known,  we  cannot  discover;  but  more  or 
less  distinct  rumors  respecting  them,  we  may  presume,  were 
prevalent,  so  that  it  was  by  no  means  strange  that  the  very 
foremost  men  of  the  West  wavered  in  their  attachment  to  the 
powerless,  almost  worthless  confederation.  Nor  did  the  pros- 
pect of  a  new  government  at  first  help  the  matter.  The  view 
which  Patrick  Henry  and  others  took  of  the  proposed  fede- 
ral constitution,  was  the  favorite  view  of  the  Western  Virgin- 
ians ;  so  that  of  fourteen  representatives  from  the  District  of 
Kentucky,  in  the  convention  called  in  1788,  to  deliberate  upon 
that  constitution,  but  three  voted  in  favor  of  it ;  one  of  these 
three  was  Humphrey  Marshall,  the  historian.f  And  this  re- 
jection of  the  instrument  under  which  our  Union  has  since  so 
greatly  prospered,  was  not  the  result  of  hasty  action,  or  strong 
party  influence.  The  first  point  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  it 
was  made  known  through  the  press  to  the  people  of  the  West, 
upon  the  27th  of  October,  1789,  having  been  on  that  day 
printed  in  the  Kentucky  Gazette.J  That  mere  party  influ- 
ence did  not  govern  the  opponents  of  the  constitution  of  the 
United  States,  is  proved,  both  by  the  character  of  the  men, 
and  the  debates  in  the  convention. 

[The  Kentucky  Gazette,  commenced  in  Lexington,  in  Au- 
gust of  this  year,  by  Mr.  John  Bradford,  was  the  second  news~ 
paper  established  west  of  the  Allegheny  mountains.  The  first 
was  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette,  established  by  John  Scull  and 
Joseph  Hall,  two  poor,  but  enterprizing  young  men.  The  first 
number  was  issued  July  29,  1786-  These  papers  contributed- 
much  to  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  this  central  valley.§] 

*For  Henry  Lee's  views,  see  Sparks,  ix.  178,  note,  205,  nets;  Richard  Henry  Les^ 
views,  Washington's  letter  to  him,  Sparks,  is.  261, 
f  Marshall,  i.  287. 
£  Butler,  166,  note, 
g  Marshall,  i,  234 — Butler,  1Q3.— American  Pioneer,  i,  305, 


CHAPTER  XI. 
NORTH  WESTERN  TERRITORY. 

The  Ohio  Company  Negotiate  for  L*nd — Their  Purchase  of  Congress — Mr.  Jefferson's 
Project  of  Ten  States— Ordinance  of  1787 — Settlements  on  the  Muskingum — Symmes' 
Purchase  end  Settlements  made  on  the  Miami — Cincinnati  Founded — Trade  opened 
with  New  Orleans — General  AVilkiuson's  Movements— Affairs  in  Kentucky. 

While,  soutn  of  Ohio,  dissatisfaction  with  the  federal  union 
was  spreading,  not  secretly  and  in  spirit  of  treason,  but  openly 
and  as  the  necessary  consequences  of  free  and  unfettered 
choice,  the  New  England  associates  for  settling  the  northwest, 
were  by  degrees  reducing  their  theories  to  practice.  In 
March,  1786,  it  will  be  remembered,  they  began  their  sub- 
scription :  on  the  8th  of  that  month,  1787,  a  meeting  of  Agents 
chose  General  Parsons,  General  Putnam,  and  the  Rev.  Ma- 
nasseh  Cutler,  Directors  for  the  Company  ;  and  these  Direc- 
tors appointed  Dr.  Cutler  to  go  to  New  York  and  negotiate 
with  Congress  for  the  desired  tract  of  country.  On  the  5th  of 
July,  that  gentleman  reached  the  temporary  Capital  of  the 
Union,  and  then  began  a  scene  of  management  worthy  of 
more  degenerate  days.  Full  extracts  from  Dr.  Cutler's  Jour- 
nal, showing  how  things  went,  may  be  found  in  the  North 
American  Review  for  October,  1841.*  Of  these  we  can  give 
but  a  few  paragraphs.  The  first  relates  to  the  choice  of  the 
Muskingum  valley  as  the  spot  for  settlement. 

July  7.  Paid  my  respects  to  Dr.  Holton  and  several  other 
gentlemen.  Was  introduced,  by  Dr.  Ewings  and  Mr.  Ritten- 
house,  to  Mr.  Hutchins,  Geographer  of  the  United  States. 
Consulted  with  him  where  to  make  Our  location. 

Monday,  July  9.  Waited  this  morning,  very  early,  on  Mr. 
Hutchins.  He  gave  me  the  fullest  information  of  the  western 
country,  from  Pennsylvania  to  the  Illinois,  and  advised  me 
by  all  means  to  make  our  location  on  the  Muskingum,  which 
was  decidedly,  in  his  opinion,  the  best  part  of  the  whole  west- 
ern country  Attended  the  committee  before  Congress  opened, 
and  then  spent  the  remainder  of  the  forenoon  with  Mr. 
Hutchins. 

Attended  the  committee  at  Congress  chamber ;  debated  on 
terms,  but  were  so  wide  apart,  there  appears  little  prospect  of 
closing  a  contract. 

*  Vol.  liii.  334  to  343. 


1787.    Dr.  Cutler  negotiates  with  Congress  for  Lands.        309 

Called  again  on  Mr.  Hutchins.  Consulted  him  further 
about  the  place  of  location. 

The  opinion  thus  given  by  Hutchins,  who  had  been  long 
and  familiarly  acquainted  with  the  West,  agreed  with  that 
formed  by  General  Parsons,  who  had  visited  the  Ohio  valley, 
once  at  least,  if  not  twice  ;  the  result  of  his  observations  will 
be  found  in  the  letter  given  at  length  in  the  article  of  the 
North  American  Review,  of  October,  1841,  already  quoted. 
The  other  extracts  which  we  take  from  the  Doctor's  Journal, 
refer  to  the  "  manoeuvres,"  as  he  terms  them,  by  which  was 
effected  a  contract  at  least  as  favorable  to  the  Union  as  it  was 
to  the  Company. 

Colonel  Duer  came  to  me  with  proposals  from  a  number  of 
the  principal  characters  in  the  city,  to  extend  our  contract,  and 
take  in  another  company  ;  but  that  it  should  be  kept  a  profound 
secret.  He  explained  the  plan  they  had  concerted  and  offered 
me  generous  conditions  if  I  would  accomplish  the  business  for 
them.  The  plan  struck  me  agreeably ;  Sargent  insisted  on 
my  undertaking ;  and  both  urged  me  not  to  think  of  giving 
the  matter  up  so  soon. 

I  was  convinced  it  was  best  for  me  to  hold  up  the  idea  of 
giving  up  a  contract  with  Congress,  and  making  a  contract 
with  some  of  the  States,  which  I  did  in  the  strongest  terms, 
and  represented  to  the  committee  and  to  Duer  and  Sargent 
the  difficulties  I  saw  in  the  way,  and  the  improbability  of 
closing  a  bargain  when  we  were  so  far  separated ;  and  told 
them  I  conceived  it  not  worth  while  to  say  anything  further 
to  Congress  on  the  subject.  This  appeared  to  have  the  effect 
I  wished.  The  committee  were  mortified  and  did  not  seem  to 
know  what  to  say ;  but  still  urged  another  attempt.  I  left 
them  in  this  state,  but  afterwards  explained  my  views  to  Duer 
and  Sargent,  who  fully  approved  my  plan.  Promised  Duer  to 
consider  his  proposals. 

I  spent  the  evening  (closeted)  with  Colonel  Duer,  and 
agreed  to  purchase  more  land,  if  terms  could  be  obtained,  for 
another  company,  which  will  probably  forward  the  negotiation. 
Saturday,  July  21.  Several  members  of  Congress  called 
on  me  early  this  morning.  They  discovered  much  anxiety 
about  a  contract,  and  assured  me  that  Congress,  on  finding  I 
was  determined  not  to  accept  their  terms,  and  had  proposed 
leaving  the  city,  had  discovered  a  much  more  favorable  dis- 
position ;  and  believed,  if  I  renewed  my  request  I  might  ob- 
tain conditions  as  reasonable  as  I  desired.  I  was  very  indif- 
ferent and  talked  much  of  the  advantages  of  a  contract  with 
one  of  the  States.  This  1  found  had  the  desired  effect.  At 
length  I  told  him  that  if  Congress  would  accede  to  the  terms 


310     Dr.  Cutler  negotiates  with  Congress  for  Lands.      1787. 

I  proposed,  I  would  extend  the  purchase  to  the  tenth  town- 
ship from  the  Ohio  to  the  Scioto  inclusively  ;  by  which  Con- 
gress would  pay  more  than  four  millions  of  the  public  debt ; 
that  our  intention  was,  an  actual,  large,  and  immediate  settle- 
ment of  the  most  robust  and  industrious  people  in  America, 
and  that  it  would  be  made  systematically,  which  would  in- 
stantly advance  the  price  of  the  Federal  lands,  and  prove  an 
important  acquisition  to  Congress.  On  these  terms,  I  would 
renew  the  negotiation,  if  Congress  was  disposed  to  take  the 
matter  up  again. 

I  spent  the  evening  with  Mr.  Dane  and  Mr.  Milliken.  They 
informed  me  that  Congress  had  taken  up  my  business  again. 

July  23.  My  friends  had  made  every  exertion,  in  private 
conversation,  to  bring  over  my  opponents  in  Congress.  In 
order  to  get  at  some  of  them  so  as  to  work  more  powerfully  on 
their  minds, -were  obliged  to  engage  three  or  four  persons  be- 
fore we  could  get  at  them.  In  some  instances  we  engaged 
one  person  who  engaged  a  second,  and  he  a  third,  before  we 
could  effect  our  purpose.  In  these  manoeuvres  I  am  much  be- 
holden to  Colonel  Duer  and  Major  Sargent. 

#  *  #  #  *  # 

Having  found  it  impossible  to  support  General  Parsons,  as 
a  candidate  for  Governor,  after  the  interest  that  General  Ar- 
thur St.  Clair  had  secured,  I  embraced  this  opportunity  to 
declare  that  if  General  Parsons  could  have  the  appointment 
of  first  judge,  and  Sargent  Secretary,  we  should  be  satisfied  ; 
and  that  I  heartily  wished  his  Excellency  General  St.  Clair 
might  be  the  Governor  ;  and  that  I  would  solicit  the  Eastern 
members  in  his  favor.  This  I  found  rather  pleasing  to  south- 
ern members. 

#  *  *  *  *  * 

I  am  fully  convinced  that  it  was  good  policy  to  give  up 
Parsons  and  openly  appear  solicitous  that  St.  Clair  might  be 
appointed  Governor.  Several  gentlemen  have  told  me  that 
our  matters  went  on  much  better  since  St.  Clair  and  his 
friends  had  been  informed  that  we  had  given  up  Parsons,  and 
that  I  had  solicited  the  Eastern  members  in  favor  of  his  ap- 
pointment. I  immediately  went  to  Sargent  and  Duer,  and  we 
now  entered  into  the  true  spirit  of  negotiation  with  great 
bodies.  Every  machine  in  the  city  that  it  was  possible  to 
work  we  now  put  in  motion.  Few,  Bingham,  and  Kearney 
are  our  principal  opposers.  Of  Few  and  Bingham  there  is 
hope  ;  but  to  bring  over  that  stubborn  mule  of  a  Kearney,  I 
think  is  beyond  our  power. 

Friday,  July  27.  I  rose  very  early  this  morning,  and,  after 
adjusting  my  baggage  for  my  return,  for  I  was  determined  to 
leave  New  York  this  day,  I  set  out  on  a  general  morning 
visit,  and  paid  my  respects  to  all  the  members  of  Congress  in 


1787.  Purchase  by  Ohio   Company.  311 

the  city,  and  informed  them  of  my  intention  to  leave  the  city 
that  day.  My  expectations  of  obtaining  a  contract,  I  told 
them,  were  nearly  at  an  end.  I  should,  however,  wait  the 
decision  of  Congress ;  and  if  the  terms  I  had  stated — and 
which  I  conceived  to  be  very  advantageous  to  Congress,  con- 
•sidering  the  circumstances  of  that  country — were  not  acceded 
to,  we  must  turn  our  attention  to  some  other  part  of  the  coun- 
try. New  York,  Connecticut,  and  Massachusetts  would  sell  us 
lands  at  half  a  dollar,  and  give  us  exclusive  privileges  beyo'nd 
what  we  have  asked  of  Congress.  The  speculating  plan  con- 
certed between  the  British  of  Canada,  was  now  well  known. 
The  uneasiness  of  the  Kentucky  people,  with  respect  to  the 
Mississippi,  was  notorious.  A  revolt  of  that  country  from  the 
Union,  if  a  war  with  Spain  took  place,  was  universally 
acknowledged  to  be  highly  probable  ;  and  most  certainly  a 
systematic  settlement  in  that  country,  conducted  by  men 
thoroughly  attached  to  the  federal  government,  and  composed 
of  young,  robust  and  hardy  laborers,  who  had  no  idea  of  any 
other  than  the  Federal  Government,  I  conceived  to  be  an  ob- 
ject worthy  of  some  attention. 

[This  business  was  now  managed,  carried  through  Congress 
and  brought  to  a  conclusion  in  great  haste.  At  that  time  the 
fiscal  concerns  of  government  were  deplorable  ;  the  treasury 
of  the  nation  was  exhausted,  money  could  not  be  raised  on 
loan,  as  the  whole  revolutionary  debt  was  a  terrible  incubus 
on  the  national  credit,  and  the  only  alternative  was  to  sell 
lands.  Dr.  Cutler's  own  journal  shows  he  managed  the  ne- 
gotiation shrwedly,  but  we  will  not  say,  quite  honorably. 

On  the  23rd  of  July,  Congress  authorized  the  Board  of 
Treasury  to  make  the  contract;  on  the  26th,  Messrs.  Cutler 
and  Sargent  stated,  in  writing  their  conditions ;  and  on  the 
27th  Congress  referred  their  letter  to  the  Board,  and  an  order 
of  the  same  date  was  obtained.  Of  this,  his  Journal  says  : 

By  this  ordinance  we  obtained  the  grant  of  near  five  mil- 
lion of  acres  of  land,  amounting  to  three  million  and  a  half 
of  dollars ;  one  million  and  a  half  of  acres  for  the  Ohio 
Company,  and  the  remainder  for  a  private  speculation,  in 
which  many  of  the  principal  characters  of  Ameri<  a  are  con- 
cerned. Without  connecting  this  speculation,  similar  terms 
and  advantages  could  not  have  been  obtained  for  the  Ohio 
Company. 

Messrs.  Cutler  and  Sargent,  the  latter  of  whom  the  Doctor 
had  associated  with  himself  some  days  before,  at  once  closed 
a  verbal  contract  with  the  Board  of  Treasury,  which  was  exe- 


312  Purchase  by  the  Ohio  Company.  1786. 

cuted  in  form  on  the  27th  of  the  following  October.*  By  this 
contract,  the  vast  region  bounded  south  by  the  Ohio,  west  by 
Scioto,  east  by  the  seventh  range  of  townships  then  survey- 
ing, and  north  by  a  due  west  line  drawn  from  the  north  boun- 
dary of  the  tenth  township  from  the  Ohio  direct  to  the  Scioto, 
was  sold  to  the  Ohio  associates  and  their  secret  co-partners, 
for  one  dollar  per  acre,  subject  to  a  deduction  of  one-third  for 
bad  lands  and  other  contingencies.  •  The  whole  tract,  how- 
ever, was  not  paid  for,  or  taken  by  the  company — even  their 
own  portion  of  a  million  and  a  half  of  acres,  and  extending 
west  to  the  eighteenth  range  of  townships,!  was  not  taken ; 
and  in  179.2,  the  boundaries  of  the  purchase  proper  were  fixed 
as  follows:  the  Ohio  on  the  south,  the  seventh  range  of  town- 
ships on  the  east,  the  sixteenth  range  on  the  west,  and  a  line 
on  the  north  so  drawn  as  to  make  the  grant  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  (750,000)  acres,  besides  reservations;  this 
grant  being- the  portion  which  it  was  originally  agreed  the 
Company  might  enter  into  possession  of  at  once.  In  addition 
to  this,  two  hundred  and  fourteen  thousand,  two  hundred  aud 
eighty-five  (214,285)  acres  of  land  were  granted  as  army 
bounties,  under  the  resolutions  of  1779,  and  1780;  and  one 
hundred  thousand  (100,000)  as  bounties  to  actual  settlers  ;  both 
of  the  latter  tracts  being  within  the  original  grant  of  1787, 
and  adjoining  the  purchase  as  above  defined. J 

While  Dr.  Cutler  was  preparing  to  press  his  suit  with  Con- 
gress, that  body  was  bringing  into  form  an  ordinance  for  the 
political  and  social  organization  of  the  Territory  beyond  the 
Ohio.  Virginia  made  her  cession  March  1,  1784,  and  during 
the  month  following,  a  plan  for  the  temporary  government  of 
the  newly  acquired  territory,  came  under  discussion. §  On  the 
19th  of  April,  Mr.  Spaight,  of  North  Carolina,  moved  to  strike 
from  that  plan,  which  had  been  reported  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  a 
provision  for  prohibiting  slavery  north-west  of  the  Ohio,  after 
the  year  1800, — and  this  motion  prevailed.])  From  that  day 
till  the  23J,  the  plan  was  debated  and  altered,  and  then  pass- 

*  See  Land  Laws  262,  to  264.— Old  Journals,  iv.    Appendix,  17, 18. 

f  North  American  ReTiew,  vol.  liii,  343,  344. 

J  Laud  Laws,  364  to  36S. — North  American  Review,  liii.  344. 

g  See  in  Old  Journals,  iv,  293,  a  proposition  to  organize  a  western  District,  made  Octo- 
ber 14,  1783. 

11  Old  Journals,  iv.  373. 


1787.  Project  of  ten  new  States.  313 

ed  unanimously,  with  the  exception  of  South  Carolina.*  By 
this  proposition  the  territory  was  to  have  been  divided  into 
States  by  parallels  of  latitude  and  meridian  lines  ;f  this,  it 
was  thought,  would  have  made  ten  States,  which  were  to 
have  been  named  as  follows,  beginning  at,  the  north-west  cor- 
ner and  going  southwardly  ; — Sylvania,  Michigania,  Cherso- 
nisus,  Assenispia,  Mesopotamia,  Illinoia,  Saratoga,  Wash- 
ington, Polypotamia,  and  Pelisipia.J  Surely  the  hero  of 
Mount  Vernon  must  have  shuddered  to  find  himself  in  such 
company. 

[We  shall  refer  to  this  subject  in  the  Appendix,  Annals  of 
Illinois,  and  give  the  facts  and  references  concerning  the 
prohibition  of  slavery  in  the  Western  Territory.] 

But  a  more  serious  difficulty  existed  to  this  plan  than  its 
catalogue  of  names— namely,  the  number  of  States  which  it 
was  proposed  to  form,  and  their  boundaries.  The  root  of  this 
evil  was  in  the  resolution  passed  by  Congress,  October  10th, 
1780,  which  fixed  the  size  of  the  States  to  be  formed  from  the 
ceded  lands,  at  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
square;  and  the  terms  of  that  resolution  had  been  referred  to, 
both  by  Virginia  and  Massachusetts  in  their  grants,  so  as  to 
make  further  legislation,  at  least  by  the  former,  needful  to 
change  them.  Upon  the  7th  of  July,  1786,  this  subject  was 
taken  up  in  Congress,  and  a  resolution  passed  in  favor  of  a 
division  of  not  less  than  three  nor  more  than  five  States, 
to  which  resolution,  Virginia,  at  the  close  of  1788,  assented.§ 
On  the  29th  of  Sept.  1786,  Congress,  having  thus  changed  the 
plan  for  dividing  the  north-western  territory  into  ten  States, 
proceeded  again  to  consider  the  terms  of  an  ordinance  for  the 
government  of  that  region  ;  and  this  was  taken  up  from  time 
to  time,  until  July  13th  of  the  year  of  which  we  are  writing, 
when  it  was  finally  passed,  having  been  somewhat  changed 
just  before  its  passage,  at  the  suggestion  of  Dr.  Cutler. ||  We 
give  it  entire  as  it  is  the  corner-stone  of  the  Constitutions  of 
our  north-western  States. 

*  Old  Journals,  iv,  380. 

fOld  Journals,  iv.  379  ;  Land  Laws,  347. 

JSparks'  Washington,  ix.  48. 

I  Land  Laws,  338,  100,  101. 

I}  Old  Journals,  iv,  701,  <fcc.,  746,  &c.,  751,  <tc,    North  American  R«yiew,  Hii,  336. 

20 


314  Ordinance  of  17S7.  1787. 

An  Ordinance  for  the  Government  of  the  Territory  of  the  United 
States  Northwest  of  the  River  Ohio. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled, 
That  the  said  territory,  for  the  purposes  of  temporary  govern- 
ment, be  one  district,  subject,  however,  to  be  divided  into  two 
districts,  as  future  circumstances  may,  in  the  opinion  of  Con- 
gress, make  it  expedient. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  the  estates, 
both  of  resident,  and  non-resident  proprietors  in  said  territory, 
dying  intestate,  shall  descend  to,  and  be  distributed  among, 
their  children,  and  the  descendants  of  a  deceased  child,  in 
equal  parts;  the  descendants  of  a  deceased  child,  or  grand  child, 
to  take  the  share  of  their  deceased  parent  in  equal  parts 
among  them :  And  where  there  shall  be  no  children  or  de- 
scendants, then  in  equal  parts  to  the  next  of  kin  in  equal  de- 
gree ;  and,  among  collaterals,  the  children  of  a  deceased 
brother  or  sister  of  the  intestate  shall  have,  in  equal  parts 
among  them,  their  deceased  parents'  share  ;  and  there  shall, 
in  no  case,  be  a  distinction  between  kindred  of  the  whole  and 
half-blood;  saving,  in  all  cases,  to  the  widow  of  the  intestate, 
'her  third  part  of  the  real  estate  for  life,  and  one-third  part  of 
the  personal  estate  ;  and  this  law,  relative  to  descents  and 
dower,  shall  remain  in  full  force  until  altered  by  the  legisla- 
ture of  the  district.  And,  until  the  governor  and  judges  shall 
adopt  laws  as  hereinafter  mentioned,  estates  in  the  said  terri- 
tory may  be  devised  or  bequeathed  by  wills  in  writing,  signed 
and  sealed  by  him  or  her,  in  whom  the  estate  may  be,  (being 
of  full  age,)  and  attested  by  three  witnesses  :  and  real  estates 
may  be  conveyed  by  lease  and  release,  or  bargain  and  sale, 
signed,  sealed,  and  delivered,  by  the  person,  being  of  full  age, 
in  whom  the  estate  may  be,  and  attested  by  two  witnesses, 
provided  such  wills  be  duly  proved,  and  such  conveyances  be 
acknowledged,  or  the  execution  thereof  duly  proved,  and  be 
recorded  within  one  year  after  proper  magistrates,  courts,  and 
registers,  shall  be  appointed  for  that  purpose  ;  and  personal 
property  may  be  transferred  by  delivery;  saving,  however,  to 
the  French  and  Canadian  inhabitants,  and  other  settlers  of  the 
Kaskaskias,  iSt.  Vincents,  and  the  neighboring  villages  who 
have  heretofore  professed  themselves  citizens  of  Virginia, 
their  laws  and  customs  now  in  force  among  them,  relative  to 
the  descent  and  conveyance  of  property. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  there  shall 
be  appointed,  from  time  to  time,  by  Congress,  a  governor, 
whose  commission  shall  continue  in  force  for  three  years,  un- 
less sooner  revoked  by  Congress;  he  shall  reside  in  the  dis- 
trict, and  have  a  freehold  estate  therein  in  1000  acres  of  Tand, 
while  in  the  exercise  of  his  office. 

There  shall  be  appointed,  from  time  to  time,  by  Congress, 


1787.  Ordinance  of  1787.  315 

a  secretary,  whose  commission  shall  continue  in  force  for  four 
years,  unless  sooner  revoked ;  he  shall  reside  in  the  district, 
and  have  a  freehold  estate  therein  in  500  acres  of  land,  while 
in  the  exercise  of  his  office  ;  it  shall  be  his  duty  to  keep  and 
preserve  the  acts  and  laws  passed  by  the  legislature,  and  the 
public  records  of  the  district,  and  the  proceedings  of  the  gov- 
ernor in  his  Executive  department ;  and  transmit  authentic 
copies  of  such  acts  and  proceedings,  every  six  months,  to  the 
Secretary  of  Congress  :  There  shall  also  be  appointed  a  court 
to  consist  of  three  judges,  any  two  of  whom  to  form  a  court, 
who  shall  have  a  common  law  jurisdiction,  and  reside  in  the 
district,  and  have  each  therein  a  freehold  estate  in  500  acres 
of  land  while  in  the  exercise  of  their  offices  ;  and  their  com- 
missions shall  continue  in  force  during  good  behavior. 

The  governor  and  judges,-or  a  majority  of  them,  shall  adopt 
and  publish  in  the  district  such  laws  of  the  original  States, 
criminal  and  civil,  as  may  be  necessary,  and  best  suited  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  district,  and  report  them  to  Congress 
from  time  to  time  ;  which  laws  shall  be  in  force  in  the  district 
until  the  organization  of  the  General  Assembly  therein,  unless 
disapproved  of  by  Congress ;  but,  afterwards,  the  legislature 
shall  have  authority  to  alter  them  as  they  shall  think  fit. 

The  governor,  for  the  time  being,  shall  be  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  militia,  appoint  and  commission  all  officers  in  the 
same  below  the  rank  of  general  officers ;  all  general  officers 
shall  be  appointed  and  commissioned  by  Congress. 

Previous  to  the  organization  of  the  General  Assembly,  the 
governor  shall  appoint  such  magistrates  and  other  civil  offi- 
cers, in  each  county  or  township,  as  he  shall  find  necessary 
for  the  preservation  of  the  peace  and  good  order  in  the  same  : 
After  the  General  Assembly  shall  be  organized,  the  powers 
and  duties  of  magistrates  and  other  civil  officers,  shall  be  reg- 
ulated and  defined  by  the  said  assembly ;  but  all  magistrates 
and  other  civil  officers,  not  herein  otherwise  directed,  shall, 
during  the  continuance  of  this  temporary  government,  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  governor. 

For  the  prevention  of  crimes  and  injuries,  the  laws  to  be 
adopted  or  made  shall  have  force  in  all  parts  of  the  district, 
and  for  the  execution  of  process,  criminal  and  civil,  the  gov- 
ernor shall  make  proper  divisions  thereof;  and  he  shall  pro- 
ceed, from  time  to  time,  as  circumstances  may  require,  to  lay 
out  the  parts  of  the  district  in  which  the  Indian  titles  shall 
have  been  extinguished,  into  counties  and  townships,  subject, 
however,  to  such  alterations  as  may  thereafter  be  nvade  by 
the  legislature. 

So  soon  as  there  shall  be  5090  free  male  inhabitants 
of  full  age  in  the  district,  upon  giving  proof  thereof  to 
the  Governor,  they  shall  receive  authority,  with  time  and 
place,  to  elect  representatives  from  their  counties  or  townships 


316  Ordinance  of  1787.  1787. 

to  represent  them  in  the  General  Assembly  :  Provided,  That, 
for  every  500  free  male  inhabitants,  there  shall  be  one  repre- 
sentative, and  so  on  progressively  with  the  number  of  free 
male  inhabitants,  shall  the  right  of  representation  increase, 
until  the  number  of  representatives  shall  amount  to  twenty- 
five;  after  which,  the  number  and  proportion  of  representa- 
tives shall  be  regulated  by  the  Legislature  :  Provided,  That 
no  person  be  eligible  or  qualified  to  act  as  a  representative 
unless  he  shall  have  been  a  citizen  of  one  of  the  United 
States  three  years,  and  be  a  resident  in  the  district,  or  unless 
he  shall  have  resided  in  the  district  three  years :  and,  in  ei- 
ther case,  shall  likewise  hold  in  his  own  right,  in  fee  simple, 
two  hundred  acres  of  land  within  the  same :  Provided,  also, 
That  a  freehold  in  fifty  acres  of  land  in  the  district,  having 
been  a  citizen  of  one  of  the  States,  and  being  resident  in 
the  district,  or  the  like  freehold  and  two  years'  residence  in 
the  district,  shall  be  necessary  to  qualify  a  man  as  an  elector 
of  a  representative. 

The  representatives  thus  elected,  shall  serve  for  the  term  of 
two  years :  and,  in  case  of  the  death  of  a  representative,  or 
removal  from  office,  the  Governor  shall  issue  a  writ  to  the 
county  or  township  for  which  he  was  a  member,  to  elect 
another  in  his  stead,  to  serve  for  the  residue  of  the  term. 

The  General  Assembly,  or  Legislature,  shall  consist  of  the 
Governor,  Legislative  Council,  and  a  House  of  Representa- 
tives. The  Legislative  Council  shall  consist  of  five  members, 
to  continue  in  office  five  years,  unless  sooner  removed  by 
Congress  ;  any  three  of  whom  to  be  a  quorum  :  and  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Council  shall  be  nominated  and  appointed  in  the 
following  manner,  to  wit :  As  soon  as  Representatives  shall 
be  elected,  the  Governor  shall  appoint  a  time  and  place  for 
them  to  meet  together ;  and  when  met  they  shall  nominate 
ten  persons,  residents  in  the  district,  and  each  possessed  of  a 
freehold  in  five  hundred  acres  of  land,  and  return  their  names 
to  Congress ;  five  of  whom  Congress  shall  appoint  and  com- 
mission to  serve  as  aforesaid;  and,  whenever  a  vacancy  shall 
happen  in  the  Council,  by  death  or  removal  from  office,  the 
House  of  Representatives  shall  nominate  tuo  persons,  quali- 
fied as  aforesaid,  for  each  vacancy,  and  return  their  names  to 
Congress ;  one  of  whom  Congress  shall  appoint  and  commis- 
sion for  the  residue  of  the  term.  And  every  five  years,  four 
months  at  least  before  the  expiration  of  the  time  of  service  of 
the  members  of  the  Council,  the  said  House  shall  nominate 
ten  persons,  qualified  as  aforesaid,  and  return  their  names  to 
Congress ;  five  of  whom  Congress  shall  appoint  and  commis- 
sion to  serve  as  members  of  the  Council  five  years,  unless 
sooner  removed.  And  the  Governor,  Legislative  Council, 
and  House  of  Representatives,  shall  have  authority  to  make 
laws  in  all  cases,  for  the  good  government  of  the  district,  not 


1787.  Ordinance  of  1787.  317 

repugnant  to  the  principles  and  articles  in  this  ordinance  es- 
tablished and  declared.  And  all  bills,  having  passed  by  a  ma- 
jority in  the  House,  and  by  a  majority  in  the  Council,  shall  be 
referred  to  the  Governor  for  his  assent ;  but  no  bill,  or  legisla- 
tive act  whatever,  shall  be  of  any  force  without  his  assent. 
The  Governor  shall  have  power  to  convene,  prorogue,  and 
dissolve  the  General  Assembly,  when,  in  his  opinion,  it  shall 
be  expedient. 

The  Governor,  Judges,  Legislative  Council,  Secretary,  and 
such  other  officers  as  Congress  shall  appoint  in  the  district, 
shall  take  an  oath  or  affirmation  of  fidelity  and  of  office  ;  the 
Governor  before  the  President  of  Congress,  and  all  other  offi- 
cers before  the  Governor.  As  soon  as  a  Legislature  shall 
be  formed  in  the  district,  the  Council  and  House  assembled  in 
one  room,  shall  have  authority,  by  joint  ballot,  to  elect  a  del- 
egate to  Congress,  who  shall  have  a  seat  in  Congress,  with  a 
right  of  debating,  but  not  of  voting,  during  this  temporary 
government. 

And,  for  extending  the  fundamental  principles  of  civil  and 
religious  liberty,  which  form  the  basis  whereon  these  republics, 
their  laws  and  constitutions  are  erected ;  to  fix  and  establish 
those  principles  as  the  basis  of  all  laws,  constitutions,  and 
governments,  which  forever  hereafter  shall  be  formed  in  the 
said  territory;  to  provide  also  for  the  establishment  of  States, 
and  permanent  government  therein,  and  for  their  admission 
to  a  share  in  the  federal  councils  on  an  equal  footing  with  the 
original  States,  at  as  early  periods  as  may  be  consistent  with 
the  general  interest : 

It  is  hereby  ordained  and  declared  by  the  authority  afore- 
said, That  the  following  articles  shall  be  considered  as  ar- 
ticles of  compact  between  the  original  States  and  the  people 
and  States  in  the  said  territory,  and  forever  remain  unaltera- 
ble, unless  by  common  consent,  to  wit : 

ART.  1.  No  person,  demeaning  himself  in  a  peaceable  and 
orderly  manner,  shall  ever  be  molested  on  account  of  his 
mode  of  worship  or  religious  sentiments,  in  the  said  territory. 

ART.  2.  The  inhabitants  of  the  said  territory  shall  always 
be  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  the  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  and  of 
the  trial  by  jury,  of  a  proportionate  representation  of  the  peo- 
ple in  the  Legislature  ;  and  of  judicial  proceedings  according 
to  the  course  of  common  law.  All  persons  shall  be  bailable, 
unless  for  capital  offences,  where  the  proof  shall  be  evident 
or  the  presumption  great.  All  fines  shall  be  moderate  ;  and 
no  cruel  or  unusual  punishments  shall  be  inflicted.  No  man 
shall  be  deprived  of  his  liberty  or  property,  but  by  the  judg- 
ment of  his  peers  or  the  law  of  the  land ;  and,  should  the 
public  exigencies  make  it  necessary,  for  the  common  preserva- 
tion, to  take  any  person's  property,  or  to  demand  his  particular 


318  Ordinance  of  1787.  1787. 

services,  fall  compensation  shall  be  made  for  the  same.  And, 
in  the  just  preservation  of  rights  and  property,  it  is  understood 
and  declared,  that  no  law  ought  ever  to  be  made,  or  have 
force  in  the  said  territory,  that  shall,  in  any  manner  whatever, 
interfere  with  or  affect  private  contracts  or  engagements,  bona 
fide,  and  without  fraud,  previously  formed. 

ART.  3.  Religion,  morality  and  knowledge,  being  necessa- 
ry to  good  government  and  the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools 
and  the  means  of  education  shall  forever  be  encouraged. 
The  utmost  good  faith  shall  always  be  observed  towards  the 
Indians ;  their  lands  and  property  shall  never  be  taken  from 
them  without  their  consent;  and,  in  their  property,  rights  and 
liberty,  they  shall  never  be  invaded  or  disturbed,  unless  in 
just  and  lawful  wars  authorized  by  Congress;  but  laws  founded 
injustice  and  humanity,  shall,  from  time  to  time,  be  made  for 
preventing  wrongs  being  done  to  them,  and  for  preserving 
peace  and  friendship  with  them. 

ART.  4.  The  said  territory,  and  the  States  which  may  be 
formed  therein,  shall  forever  remain  a  part  of  this  confedera- 
cy of  the  United  States  of  America,  subject  to  the  Articles  of 
Confederation,  and  to  such  alterations  therein  as  shall  be  con- 
stitutionally made;  and  to  all  the  acts  and  ordinances  of  the 
United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  conformable  thereto. 
The  inhabitants  and  settlers  in  the  said  territory  shall  be 
subject  to  pay  a  part  of  the  federal  debts  contracted,  or  to  be 
contracted,  and  a  proportional  part  of  the  expenses  of  gov- 
ernment, to  be  apportioned  on  them  by  Congress  according  to 
the  same  common  rule  and  measure  by  which  apportionments 
thereof  shall  be  made  on  the  other  States;  and  the  taxes,  for 
paying  their  proportion,  shall  be  laid  and  levied  by  the  au- 
thority and  direction  of  the  Legislatures  of  the  district  or 
districts,  or  new  States,  as  in  the  original  States,  within  the 
time  agreed  upon  by  the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled. 
The  Legislatures  of  those  districts  or  new  States,  shall  never 
interfere  with  the  primary  disposal  of  the  soil  by  the  United 
States  in  Congress  assembled,  nor  with  any  regulations  Con- 
gress may  find  necessary  for  securing  the  title  in  such  soil  to 
the  bona  fide  purchasers.*  No  tax  shall  be  imposed  on  lands 
the  property  of  the  United  States  ;  and,  in  no  case,  shall  non- 
resident proprietors  be  taxed  higher  than  residents.  The 
navigable  waters  leading  into  the  Mississippi  and  St.  Law- 
rence, and  the  carrying  places  between  the  same,  shall  be 
common  highways,  and  forever  free,  as  well  to  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  said  territory  as  to  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States,  and  those  of  any  other  States  that  may  be  admitted 

*Act  of  25th  February,  1811,  provides  the  same  in  Louisiana;  and,  al?o,  that  lands  sold 
by  Congress  shall  not  be  taxed  for  five  years  after  sale; — in  Mississippi,  by  act  of  1st 
March,  1817,  and  so  of  all  others. 


1787.  Ordinance  of  1787.  319 

into  the  Confederacy,  without  any  tax,  impost  or  duty,  there- 
for. 

ART.  5.  There  shall  be  formed  in  the  said  territory,  not 
less  than  three  nor  more  than  five  States ;  and  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  States,  as  soon  as  Virginia  shall  alter  her  act  of 
cession,  and  consent  to  the  same,  shall  become  fixed  and  es- 
tablished as  follows,  to  wit :  The  western  State  in  the  said 
territory,  shall  be  bounded  by  the  Mississippi,  the  Ohio,  and 
Wabash  rivers;  a  direct  line  drawn  from  the  Wabash  and 
Post  St.  Vincent's  due  north,  to  the  territorial  line  between 
the  United  States  and  Canada;  and,  by  the  said  territorial 
line,  to  the  Lake  of  the  Woods  and  Mississippi.  The  middle 
State  shall  be  bounded  by  the  said  direct  line,  the  Wabash  from 
Post  St.  Vincent's,  to  the  Ohio;  by  the  Ohio,  by  a  direct  line 
drawn  due  north  from  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  to  the 
said  territorial  line.  The  eastern  State  shall  be  bounded  by  the 
last  mentioned  direct  line,  the  Ohio,  Pennsylvania,  and  the  said 
territorial  line  :  Provided,  however,  and  it  is  further  understood 
and  declared,  that  the  boundaries  of  these  three  States  shall 
be  subject  so  far  to  be  altered,  that  if  Congress  shall  here- 
after find  it  expedient,  they  shall  have  authority  to  form  one 
or  two  States  in  that  part  of  the  said  territory  which  lies 
north  of  an  east  and  west  line  drawn  through  the  southerly 
bend  or  extreme  of  Lake  Michigan.  And,  whenever  any  of 
the  said  States  shall  have  60,000  free  inhabitants  therein,  such 
State  shall  be  admitted,  by  its  delegates,  into  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original 
States  in  all  respects  whatever,  and  shall  be  at  liberty  to  form 
a  permanent  constitution  and  State  government:  Provided, 
the  constitution  and  government  so  to  be  formed,  shall  be  re- 
publican, and  in  conformity  to  the  principles  contained  in 
these  articles ;  and  so  far  as  it  can  be  consistent  with  the  gen- 
eral interest  of  the  confederacy,  such  admission  shall  be 
allowed  at  an  earlier  period,  and  when  there  may  be  a  less 
number  of  free  inhabitants  in  the  State  than  sixty  thousand. 

ART.  6.  There  shall  be  neither  slavery  or  involuntary  ser- 
vitude in  the  said  territory,  otherwise  than  in  the  punishment 
of  crimes,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  convicted  : 
Provided,  always,  That  any  person  escaping  into  the  same, 
from  whom  labor  or  service  is  lawfully  claimed  in  any  one  of 
the  original  States,  such  fugitive  may  be  lawfully  reclaimed 
and  conveyed  to  the  person  claiming  his  or  her  labor  or  ser- 
vice as  aforesaid. 

Be  it  ordained  by  the  authority  aforesaid,  That  the  resolu- 
tions of  the  23d  of  April,  1784,  relative  to  the  subject  of  this 
ordinance,  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby  repealed  and  declared 
null  and  void.  Done,  &c.* 

*Land  Laws,  p.  356. 


320  Symmes  Applies  for  Land.  1788. 

The  passage  of  this  ordinance,  and  the  grant  to  the  New 
England  associates,  was  soon  followed  by  an  application  to 
government  by  John  Cleve  Symmes,  of  New  Jersey,  for  the 
country  between  the  Miamis.*  This  gentleman  had  been  led 
to  visit  that  region  by  the  representations  of  Benjamin  Stites, 
of  Red  Stone,  (Brownsville,)  who  had  examined  the  vallies 
of  the  Shawanese  soon  after  the  treaty  of  January,  1786.f 
Symmes  found  them  all,  and  more  than  all  they  had  been  rep- 
resented to  be,  and  upon  the  29th  of  August,  1787,  wrote  to 
the  President  of  Congress,  asking  that  the  Treasury  Board 
might  be  empowered  to  contract  with  him  for  the  district 
above  named.  This  petition,  on  the  2d  of  October,  was  re- 
ferred to  the  Board,  with  power  to  act,  and  a  contract  was 
concluded  the  next  year.  Upon  the  18th  of  the  month  last 
named,  another  application  was  made  by  Royal  Flint  and  Jo- 
seph Parker,  for  lands  upon  the  Wabash  and  Mississippi  ;J 
this  was  also  referred  to  the  Board  of  Treasury. 

During  this  autumn  the  directors  of  the  company  organized 
in  New  England,  were  preparing  for  an  actual  settlement  in 
the  ensuing  spring,  and  upon  the  23d  of  November,  made  ar- 
rangements for  a  party  of  forty-seven  men,  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  General  Rufus  Putnam,  to  set  forward.  Six  boat- 
builders  were  to  leave  the  next  week  ;  on  the  1st  of  January, 
1788,  the  surveyors  and  their  assistants,  twenty-six  in  number, 
were  to  meet  at  Hartford,  and  go  westward  ;  and  the  remain- 
der to  follow  as  soon  as  possible.  Congress,  meantime,  upon 
the  3d  of  October,  had  ordered  seven  hundred  troops  for  the 
defence  of  the  western  settlers,  and  to  prevent  unauthorized 
intrusions ;  and  two  days  later  appointed  St.  Clair  governor 
of  the  North-western  Territory.|| 

The  two  leading  causes  of  disquiet  to  the  western  people 
through  1787,  the  Indian  incursions,  and  the  Spanish  posses- 
sion of  the  Mississippi,  did  not  cease  to  irritate  them  during 
the  next  year  also. 

*  Land  Laws,  372.  See  also  Burnet's  Letters  in  the  Ohio  Historical  Transactions,  p.  335 
to  347. 

•f  Cincinnati  Directory,  1819,  p.  16.  The  Historical  sketch  in  this  Tolume  was  compiled 
from  the  statements  of  the  earliest  settlers.  The  Miami  country  had  been  entered  in 
1 785,  and  some  "improrements"  made.  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  ii.  33. 

J  Old  Journals,  iv.  Appendix  19. 

\  North  American  Review,  liii.  341.    Old  Journals,  iv.  785,  786. 


1788.  Measures  to  preserve  Peace.  321 

When  Clark  took  his  unauthorized  possession  of  Vincennes, 
in  October,  1786,  he  had  asked  the  savages  of  the  north-west 
to  meet  him  in  council  in  November;  they  replied  that  it  was 
too  late  in  the  year,  and  the  proposed  meeting  was  postponed 
till  April.  Of  this  meeting  Messrs.  Marshall,  Muter,  and  oth- 
ers, when  writing  to  Virginia,  gave  information,  and  suggested 
that  the  government  should  take  Clark's  place  in  it.  The 
Council  of  Virginia  coincided  with  the  suggestion,  and  recom- 
mended to  Congress  James  Wilkinson,  Richard  C.  Anderson 
and  Isaac  Shelby,*  as  commissioners  on  behalf  of  the  United 
States.  Congress,  however,  received  notice  of  Clark's  move- 
ments too  latef  for  the  proposed  treaty,  and  nothing  seems  to 
have  been  done  until  July  21st,  when  the  superintendant  of 
Indian  affairs  in  the  north,  or,  if  he  could  not  go,  Colonel  Har- 
mar,  was  instructed  to  proceed  to  Vincennes,  or  some  other 
convenient  place,  and  there  hold  a  council  with  the  Wabash 
Indians  and  Shawanese,  for  the  purpose  of  putting  an  end  to 
warfare. J  Favorable  notice  was  also  taken  of  a  council 
which  had  been  held  at  the  mouth  of  Detroit  river,  in  Decem- 
ber, 1786,  by  the  Iroquois,  Wyandots  and  others,  the  purpose 
of  which  was  pacific,  and  from  which  an  address  relative  to 
the  Indian  troubles  had  been  sent  to  Congress.  This  was 
considered,  and  upon  the  5th  of  October  it  was  resolved,  that 
a  treaty  should  be  held  early  in  the  year  1788,  with  these 
tribes,  by  the  governor  of  the  new  territory,  who  was  instruct- 
ed on  the  subject,  on  the  26th  of  the  month  last  mentioned. || 
At  the  same  time,  however,  that  measures  were  thus  taken  to 
preserve  peace,  troops  were  placed  at  Venango,  Fort  Pitt,  Fort 
Mclntosh,  the  Muskingum,  the  Miami,  Vincennes,  and  Louis- 
ville, and  the  governor  of  Virginia  was  requested  to  have  the 
militia  of  Kentucky  in  readiness  for  any  emergency. §  All  these 
measures,  however,  produced  no  results  during  1788  ;  the  Indi- 
ans were  neither  overawed,  conquered,  nor  satisfied ;  from  May 
until  the  middle  of  July  they  \vere  expected  to  meet  the 
whites  upon  the  Muskingum,  but  the  point  which  had  been 

*  Secret  Journals,  iv.  313,  314,  309,  306. 
f  April  12th.    Secret  Journals,  iv.  301. 
J  Old  Journals,  iv.  761. 

||  Lanman's  History  of  Michigan,  149.     Old  Journals,  iv.  762,  7G3,  786.    Secret  Jour- 
nals, i.  276. 

I  Old  Journals,  iv.  762. 


322  Emigrants  Land  at  Muskingum.  1788. 

selected,  and  where  goods  had  been  placed,  being  at  last  at- 
tacked by  the  Chippeways,  it  was  thought  best  to  adjourn  the 
meeting  and  hold  it  at  Fort  Harmar,  where  it  was  at  length 
held,  but  not  until  January,  1789. 

These  Indian  uncertainties,  however,  did  not  prevent  the 
New  England  associates  from  going  forward  with  their  opera- 
tions. During  the  winter  of  1787-8,  their  men  were  press- 
ing on  over  the  Alleghenies  by  the  old  Indian  path  which  had 
been  opened  into  Braddock's  road,  and  which  has  since  been 
followed  by  the  national  turnpike  from  Cumberland  westward. 
Through  the  dreary  winter  days  they  trudged  on,  and  by  April 
were  all  gathered  on  the  Yohiogany,* -where  boats  had  been 
built,  and  started  for  the  Muskingum.  On  the  7th  of  April 
they  landed  at  the  spot  chosen,  and  became  the  founders  of 
Ohio,  unless  we  regard  as  such  the  Moravian  Missionaries. 

As  St.  Clair,  who  had  been  appointed  governor  the  preced- 
ing October,  had  not  yet  arrived,  it  became  necessary  to  erect 
a  temporary  government  for  their  internal  security ;  for  which 
purpose  a  set  of  laws  was  passed,  and  published  by  being 
nailed  to  a  tree  in  the  village,  and  Return  Jonathan  Meigs 
was  appointed  to  administer  them.  It  is  a  strong  evidence  of 
the  good  habits  of  the  people  of  the  colony,  that  during  three 
months,  but  one  difference  occurred,  and  that  was  compro- 
mised.f  Indeed,  a  better  set  of  men  altogether,  could  scarce 
have  been  selected  for  the  purpose,  than  Putnam's  little  band. 
•Washington  might  well  say,  "  no  colony  in  America  was  ever 
settled  under  such  favorable  auspices  as  that  which  has  first 
commenced  at  the  Muskingum.  Information,  properly,  and 
strength  will  be  its  characteristics.  I  know  many  of  the  set- 
tlers personally,  and  there  never  were  men  better  calculated 
to  promote  the  welfare  of  such  a  community.''! 

On  the  2d  of  July,  a  meeting  of  the  directors  and  agents 
was  held  on  the  banks  of  the  Muskingum,  for  the  purpose  of 
naming  the  new  born  city  and  its  public  squares.§  As  yet  the 
settlement  had  been  merely  "The  Muskingum,"||  but  the  name 

*  A  list  of  the- forty-eight  is  given,  N<5rth  American  Review,  liii.  34.6. 
t  Western  Monthly  Magazine,  1833,  vol.  i.  p.  395. 
J  Sparks'  Washington,  ix.  384. 
$  American  Pioneer,  i.  83. 

||  Some  of  the  settlers  called  it  the  city  of  Adelphi:  See  a  letter  dated  May  16th,  1788, 
to  the  Massachusetts  Spy  in  Imlay  (Ed.  1797)  p.  595. 


1788.  Marietta  Founded.  323 

Marietta  was  now  formally  given  it,  in  honor  of  Marie  Antoi- 
nette ;  the  square  upon  which  the  block-houses  stood  was 
christened  Campus  Martins ;  the  square  No.  19,  Capitolium ; 
the  square  No.  61,  Cecilia;  and  the  great  road  through  the 
covert  way,  Sacra  Via.* 

On  the  4th  of  July  an  oration  was  delivered  by  James  M. 
Varnum,f  who,  with  H.  S.  Parsons  and  John  Armstrong,^  had 
been  appointed  to  the  judicial  bench  of  the  territory,  on  the 
16th  of  October,  1787.  Five  days  after  the  Governor  arrived, 
and  the  colony  began  to  assume  form.  The  ordinance  of  1787 
provided  two  distinct  grades  of  government  for  the  north- 
west territory,  under  the  first  of  which  the  whole  power  \vas 
in  the  hands  of  the  governor  and  the  three  judges,  and  this 
form  was  at  once  organized  upon  the  governor's  arrival.  The 
first  law,  which  was  "for  regulating  and  establishing  the  mili- 
tia," was  published  upon  the  25th  of  July;  and  the  next  day, 
appeared  the  governor's  proclamation,  erecting  all  the  coun- 
try that  had  been  ceded  by  the  Indians  east  of  the  Scicto  river 
into  the  county  of  Washington.§ 

From  that  time  forward,  notwithstanding  the  doubt  yet  ex- 
isting as  to  the  Indians,  all  at  Marietta  went  on  prosperously 
and  pleasantly.  On  the  2d  of  September  the  first  court  was 
held,  with  becoming  ceremonies. 

The  procession  was  formed  at  the  Point,  (where  most  of  the 
settlers  resided,)  in  the  following  order  : — 1st,  the  high  Sheriff, 
with  his  drawn  sword  ;  2d,  the  citizens ;  3d,  the  officers  at  the 
garrison  at  Fort  Harmar ;  4th,  the  members  of  the  bar;  5th, 
the  Supreme  Judges  ;  6th,  the  Governor  and  Clergyman  ;  7th, 
the  newly  appointed  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas, 
Generals  Rufus  Putnam  and  Benjamin  Tupper. 

They  marched  up  a  path  that  had  been  cut  and  cleared 
through  the  forest  to  Campus  Martius  Hall,  (stockade,)  where 
the  whole  counter-marched,  and  the  Judges,  (Putnam  and 
Tupper)  took  their  seats.  The  Clergyman,  Rev.  Dr.  Cutler, 
then  invoked  the  divine  blessing.  The  Sheriff,  Col.  Ebenezer 

*Carey's  Museum,  vol.  iv.  p.  390.  In  the  fifth  volume  (March,  1789)  of  that  periodical, 
page  284,  is  an  account  of  the  city  of  Athens,  which  the  Spaniards  at  this  time  proposed  to 
build  at  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri.  "On  the  very  point"  where  the  rivers  joined,  was  to 
be  Fort  Solon ;  not  for  defence,  however,  "but  for  the  retirement  of  the  Governor  from  the 
busy  scenes  of  public  employment." 

t  See  this  oration  in  Carey's  Museum  for  May,  1789,  453  to  455. 

J  Mr.  Armstrong  declined  serving.  John  Cleve  Syinmes  was  chosen  in  his  stead,  Feb. 
19th,  178S. 

**  Chase,  vol.  i.  p.  92.    Carey's  Museum,  iv,  433. 


324  Great  Emigration   Westward.  1788. 

Sproat,  (one  of  nature's  nobles,)  proclaimed  with  his  solemn 
'O  yes,  that  a  court  is  opened  for  the  administration  of  even- 
handed  justice,  to  the  poor  and  the  rich,  to  the  guilty  and  the 
innocent,  without  respect  to  persons ;  none  to  be  punished 
without  a  trial  by  their  peers,  and  then  in  pursuance  of  the 
laws  and  evidence  in  the  case.'  Although  this  scene  was  ex- 
hibited thus  early  in  the  settlement  of  the  State,  few  ever 
equalled  it  in  the  dignity  and  exalted  character  of  its  princi- 
pal participators.  Many  of  them  belonged  to  the  history  of 
our  country,  in  the  darkest  as  well  as  the  most  splendid  peri- 
ods of  the  Revolutionary  war.  To  witness  this  spectacle,  a 
large  body  of  Indians  was  collected,  from  the  most  powerful 
tribes  then  occupying  the  almost  entire  West.  They  had  as- 
sembled for  the  purpose  of  making  a  treaty.  Whether  any  of 
them  entered  the  hall  of  justice,  or  what  were  their  impres- 
sions, we  are  not  told.  (American  Pioneer,  i.  p.  165.) 

The  progress  of  the  settlement,  says  a  letter  from  Muskin- 
gum,  "is  sufficiently  rapid  for  the  first  year.  We  are  con- 
tinually erecting  houses,  but  arrivals  are  faster  than  we  can 
possibly  provide  convenient  covering.  Our  first  ball  was 
opened  about  the  middle  of  December,  at  which  were  fifteen 
ladies,  as  well  accomplished  in  the  manners  of  polite  circles 
as  any  I  have  ever  seen  in  the  old  States.  I  mention  this  to 
show  the  progress  of  society  in  this  new  world ;  where  I  be- 
lieve we  shall  vie  with,  if  not  excel,  the  old  States,  in  every 
accomplishment  necessary  to  render  life  agreeable  and  hap- 
py." 

The  emigration  westward,  even  at  this  time,  was  very  great; 
the  commandant  at  Fort  Harmar  reporting  four  thousand  five 
hundred  persons  as  having  passed  that  post  between  Februa- 
ry and  June,  1788;  many  of  whom  would  have  stopped  on 
the  purchase  of  the  Associates,  had  they  been  ready  to  re- 
ceive them. 

During  the  following  year,  and  indeed  until  the  Indians, 
who,  in  spite  of  treaties,  had  been  committing  small  depreda- 
tions all  the  time,  stealing  horses  and  sinking  boats,  went 
fairly  and  openly  to  war,  the  settlement  on  the  Muskingum 
grew  slowly,  but  steadily,  and  to  good  purpose  ;  the  first  at- 
tack made  by  Indians  on  the  Muskingum  settlements,  began 
January  2d,  1791. 

Nor  were  Symmes  and  his  New  Jersey  friends  idle  during 
this  year,  though  his  purchase  was  far  more  open  to  Indian 
depredations  than  that  of  the  Massachusetts  men.  His  first 
proposition  had  been  referred,  as  we  have  said,  to  the  Board 
of  Treasury,  with  power  to  contract,  upon  the  2d  of  Oct.  1787. 


1788.  Syrnmes1  Purchase.  325 

Upon  the  26th  of  the  next  month,  Symmes  issued  a  pamph- 
let, addressed  "to  the  respectable  public,"  stating  the  terms  of 
his  contract,  and  the  scheme  of  sale  which  he  proposed  to 
adopt.  This  was,  to  issue  his  warrants  for  not  less  than  a 
quarter  section,  (a  hundred  and  sixty  acres,)  which  might  be 
located  any  where,  except,  of  course,  on  reservations,  and 
spots  previously  chosen.  No  section  was  to  be  divided,  if  the 
warrant  held  by  the  locator  would  cover  the  whole.  The 
price  was  to  be  sixty  cents  and  two-thirds  per  acre,  till  May, 
1788  ;  then  one  dollar  till  November ;  and,  after  that  time, 
\vas  to  be  regulated  by  the  demand  for  land.  Every  locator 
\vas  bound  to  begin  improvements  within  two  years,  or  forfeit 
one-sixth  of  his  purchase  to  whoever  would  settle  thereon  and 
remain  seven  years.  Military  bounties  might  be  taken  in  this 
as  in  the  purchase  oft  he  associates.  For  himself,  Symmes  re- 
tained one  township  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  at  the 
junction  of  which  stream  with  the  Ohio,  he  proposed  to  build 
his  great  city ;  to  help  the  growth  of  which  he  offered  each 
alternate  lot  to  any  one  that  wrould  build  a  house  and  live 
therein  three  years. 

As  Continental  certificates  were  rising,  in  consequence  of 
the  great  land  purchases  then  making  with  them,  and  as  diffi- 
culty was  apprehended  in  procuring  enough  to  make  his  first 
payment,  Symmes  was  anxious  to  send  forward  settlers  early, 
that  the  true  value  of  his  purchase  might  become  known  at 
the  east.  He  had,  however,  some  difficulty  in  arranging  with 
the  Board  of  Treasury  the  boundaries  of  the  first  portion  he 
was  to  occupy.* 

In  January,  1788,  Mathias  Denman,  of  New  Jersey,  took  an 
interest  in  Symmes'  purchase,  and  located,  among  other  tracts, 
the  sectional  and  fractional  section  upon  which  Cincinnati 
has  been  built. f  Retaining  one-third  of  this  particular  lo- 
cality, he  sold  another  third  to  Robert  Patterson,  and  the  re- 
mainder to  John  Filson  ;  and  the  three,  about  August,  1788, 
agreed  to  lay  out  a  town  on  the  spot,  which  was  designated 
as  being  opposite  Licking  river,  to  the  mouth  of  which  they 
proposed  to  have  a  road  cut  from  Lexington,  Kentucky,  to  be 

*  Manuscript  Letters  of  Symmes.    See  Burnet's  Letters,  136. 

t  Many  facts  relative  to  the  settlement  of  Cincinnati,  we  take  from  the  depositions  of 
Denman,  Patterson,  Ludlow,  and  others,  contained  in  the  report  of  the  chancery  trial  of 
City  of  Cincinnati  vs.  Joel  Williams,  in  1807. 


326  Cincinnati  laid  out.  1788. 

connected  with  the  northern  shore  by  a  ferry.  Mr.  Filson, 
who  had  been  a  schoolmaster,  was  appointed  to  name  the 
town  ;  and,  in  respect  to  its  situation,  and  as  if  with  a  pro- 
phetic perception  of  the  mixed  race  that  were  in  after  days  to 
inhabit  there,  he  named  it  Losantiville,  which,  being  interpre- 
ted, means  vitte,  the  town  ;  anti,  opposite  to;  os,  the  mouth  ;  L, 
of  Licking. J  This  may  well  put  to  the  blush  the  Campus 
Martins  of  the  Marietta  scholars,  and  the  Fort  Sokm  of  the 
Spaniards. 

Meanwhile,  in  July,  Symmes  got  thirty  people  and  eight 
four-horse  wragons  under  way  for  the  West.  These  reached 
Limestone  (no  w  Maysville)  in  September,  where  they  found  Mr. 
Stites  with  several  persons  from  Red  Stone.  But  the  mind  of 
the  chief  purchaser  was  full  of  trouble.  He  had  not  only 
been  obliged  to  relinquish  his  first  contract,  which  was  ex- 
pected to  embrace  two  millions  of  acres,  but  had  failed  to 
conclude  one  for  the  single  million  which  he  now  proposed 
taking.  This  arose  from  a  difference  between  him  and  the  gov- 
ernment, he  wishing  to  have  the  whole  Ohio  from  between  the 
Miamies,  while  the  Board  of  Treasury  wished  to  confine  him 
to  twenty  miles  upon  the  Ohio.  This  proposition,  however, 
he  would  not  for  a  long  time  agree  to,  as  he  had  made  sales 
along  nearly  the  whole  Ohio  shore.  Leaving  the  bargain  in 
this  unsettled  state,  Congress  considered  itself  released  from 
its  obligation  to  sell ;  and,  but  for  the  representations  of  some 
of  his  friends,  our  adventurer  would  have  lost  his  bargain,  his 
labor,  and  his  money.  Nor  was  this  all.  In  February,  1788, 
he  had  been  appointed  one  of  the  judges  of  the  North-west 
Territory,  in  the  place  of  Mr.  Armstrong,  who  declined  serv- 
ing. This  appointment  gave  offence  to  some;  and  others 
were  envious  of  the  great  fortune  which  it  was  thought  he 
would  make.  Some  of  his  associates  complained  of  him,  also, 
probably  of  his  endangering  the  contract  to  which  they  had 
become  parties.  With  these  murmurs  and  reproaches  behind 
him,  he  saw  before  him  danger,  delay,  suffering,  and,  perhaps, 
ultimate  failure  and  ruin,  and,  although  hopeful  by  nature, 
apparently  he  felt  discouraged  and  sad.  However,  a  visit  to 
his  purchase,  where  he  landed  upon  the  22d  of  September, 
revived  his  spirits,  and  upon  his  return  to  Maysville,  he  wrote 
to  Jonathan  Dayton,  of  New  Jersey,  who  had  become  in- 

J  Cincinnati  Directory  {for  1819,  p.  18. 


1788.  Troubles  of  Symmes.  327 

terested  with  him,  that  he  thought  some  of  the  land  near  the 
Great  Miami  "  positively  worth  a  silver  dollar  the  acre  in  its 
present  state." 

It  may  be  as  well  to  give  here  a  sketch  of  the  changes 
made  in  Symmes'  contract.  His  first  application  was  for  all 
the  country  between  the  Miamies,  running  up  to  the  north  line 
of  the  Ohio  Company's  purchase,  extending  due  west.  On 
the  22d  of  October,  1787,  Congress  resolved,  that  the  Board  , 
of  Treasury  be  authorized  to  contract  with  any  one  for  tracts 
of  not  less  than  a  million  acres  of  western  lands,  the  front  of 
which,  on  the  Ohio,  Wabash  and  other  rivers,  should  not  ex- 
ceed one-third  the  depth.  On  the  15th  of  May,  1788,  Dayton 
and  Marsh,  as  Symmes'  agents,  concluded  a  contract  with  the 
Commissioners  of  the  Treasury  for  two  millions  of  acres  in 
two  equal  tracts.  In  July,  Symmes  concluded  to  take  only 
one  tract,  but  differed  with  the  Commissioners  on  the  grounds 
stated  in  the  text.  After  much  negotiation,  upon  the  15th  of 
October,  1788,  Dayton  and  Marsh  concluded  a  contract  with 
government,  bearing  date  May  15th,  for  one  million  of  acres, 
beginning  twenty  miles  up  the  Ohio  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Great  Miami,  and  to  run  back  for  quantity  between  the  Miami 
and  a  line  drawn  from  the  Ohio  parallel  to  the  general  course 
of  that  river.  In  1791,  Symmes  found  this  would  throw  his 
purchase  too  far  back  from  the  Ohio,  and  applied  to  Congress 
to  let  him  have  all  between  the  Miamies,  running  back  so  as 
to  include  a  million  acres,  which  that  body,  on  the  12th  of 
April,  1792,  agreed  to  do.  When  the  lands  between  the 
Miamies  were  surveyed,  however,  it  was  found  that  the  tract 
south  of  a  line  drawn  from  the  head  of  the  Little,  due  west  to 
the  Great  Miami,  would  include  less  than  six  hundred  thou- 
sand acres ;  but  even  this  Symmes  could  not  pay  for,  and, 
when  his  patent  issued  upon  the  30th  September,  1794,  it 
gave  him  and  his  associates  but  two  hundred  and  forty-eight 
thousand  five  hundred  and  forty  acres,  exclusive  of  reserva- 
tions, which  amounted  to  sixty-three  thousand  one  hundred 
and  forty-two  acres.  This  tract  was  bounded  by  the  Ohio, 
the  two  Miamies,  and  a  due  east  and  west  Jine,  run  so  as  to 
comprehend  the  desired  quantity.  As  Symmes  made  no  far- 
ther payments  after  this  time,  the  rest  of  his  purchase  revert- 
ed to  the  United  States,  who  gave  those  that  had  bought 
under  Symmes  ample  pre-emption  rights.  See  Land  Laws, 
pp.  272-382,  et  scq  and  post. 

About  this  time  the  Indians  were  threatening;  in  Kentucky, 
he  says,  "  they  are  perpetually  doing  mischief;  a  man  a  week, 
I  believe,  falls  by  their  hands  ;  but  still  government  gave  him 
little  help  toward  defending  himself;  for,  while  three  hundred 
men  were  stationed  at  Muskingum,  he  had  '  but  one  ensign 


328  Troubles  of  Symmcs.  1788. 

and  seventeen  men  for  the  protection  and  defence  of  '  the 
slaughter-house,'"  as  the  Miami  valley  was  called  by  the 
dwellers  upon  the  "dark  and  bloody  ground"  of  "Kentucke." 
And  when  Captain  Kearny  and  forty-five  soldiers  came  to 
Maysville  in  December,  they  came  without  provisions,  and  but 
made  bad  worse.  Nor  did  their  coming  answer  any  purpose  ; 
for  when  a  little  band  of  settlers  were  ready  to  go,  under  their 
protection,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Miami,  the  grand  city  of 
Symmes  that  was  to  be,  the  ice  stove  their  boats,  their  cattle 
were  drowned,  and  their  provisions  lost,  and  so  the  settlement 
was  prevented.  But  the  fertile  mind  of  a  man  like  our  ad- 
venturer could,  even  under  these  circumstances,  find  comfort 
in  the  anticipation  of  what  was  to  come.  In  the  words  of 
Return  Jonathan  Meigs,  the  first  Ohio  poet  with  whom  we 
have  any  acquaintance, 

"  To  him  glad  Fancy  brightest  prospects  shows, 
Rejoicing  Nature  all  around  him  glows  ; 
Where  late  the  savage,  hid  in  ambush,  lay, 
Or  roamed  the  uncultured  valleys  for  his  prey, 
Her  hardy  gifts  rough  Industry  extends, 
The  groves  b'>w  down,  the  lofty  forest  bends  ; 
And  see  the  spires  of  towns  and  cities  rise, 
And  domes  and  temples  swell  unto  the  skies."* 

But  alas  !  so  far  as  his  pet  city  was  concerned,  "  glad  Fancy" 
proved  but  a  gay  deceiver;  for  there  came  "an  amazing  high 
freshet,"  and  "  the  Point,"  as  it  was,  and  still  is  called,  was 
fifteen  feet  under  wrater. 

But,  before  Symmes  left  Maysville,  which  was  upon  the 
29th  of  January,  1789,  two  settlements  had  been  made  within 
his  purchase.  The  first  was  by  Mr.  Stites,  the  original  pro- 
jector of  the  whole  plan  ;  who,  with  other  Redstone  people, 
had  located  themselves  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Miami, 
where  the  Indians  had  been  led  by  the  great  fertility  of  the 
soil  to  make  a  partial  clearing.  To  this  point,  on  the  18th  of 
November,  1788.  came  twenty-six  persons,  who  built  a  block- 
house, named  their  town  Columbia,  and  prepared  for  a  winter 
of  want  and  hard  fighting. f  The  land  at  this  point  was  so 
fertile,  that  from  nine  acres  were  raised  nine  hundred  and 
sixty-three  bushels  of  Indian  corn.  But  they  were  agreeably 

*  Poem  delivered  at  Marietta,  July  4th,  slightly  altered, 
t  Cincinnati  Directory  for  1849,  and  Symmes'  Letters. 


1788.  Columbia   Settled.  329 

disappointed  :  the  Indians  came  to  them,  and  though  the 
whites  answered,  as  Symmes  says,  "  in  a  blackguarding  man- 
ner," the  savages  sued  for  peace.  One,  at  \vhom  a  rifle  was 
presented,  took  off  his  cap,  trailed  his  gun,  and  held  out  his 
right  hand,  by  which/pacific  gestures  he  induced  the  Ameri- 
cans to  consent  to  their  entrance  into  the  block-houses.  In  a 
few  days  this  good  understanding  ripened  into  intimacy,  the 
"  hunters  frequently  taking  shelter  for  the  night  at  the  Indian 
camps;"  and  the  red-men  and  squaws  "  spending  whole  days 
and  nights"  at  Columbia,  "  regaling  themselves  with  whis- 
ky." This  friendly  demeanor  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  was 
owing  to  the  kind  and  just  conduct  of  Symmes  himself;  who, 
during  the  preceding  September,  when  examining  the  coun- 
try about  the  Great  Miami,  had  prevented  some  Kentuckians, 
who  were  in  his  company,  from  injuring  a  band  of  the  sav- 
ages that  came  within  their  power ;  which  proceeding,  he 
says,  "  the  Kentuckians  thought  unpardonable." 

The  Columbia  settlement  was,  however,  like  that  proposed 
at  the  Point,  upon  land  that  was  under  water  during  the  high 
rise  in  January,  1789.  "  But  one  house  escaped  the  deluge." 
The  soldiers  were  driven  from  the  ground-floor  of  the  block- 
house into  the  loft,  and  from  the  loft  into  the  solitary  boat 
which  the  ice  had  spared  them. 

This  flood  deserves  to  be  commemorated  in  an  epic  ;  for, 
while  it  demonstrated  the  dangers  to  which  the  three  chosen 
spots  of  all  Ohio,  Marietta,  Columbia,  and  the  Point,  must  be 
ever  exposed,  it  also  proved  the  safety,  and  led  to  the  rapid, 
settlement  of  Losantiville.  The  great  recommendation  of  the 
spot  upon  which  Denrnan  and  his  comrades  proposed  to  build! 
their  "  Mosaic"  town,  as  it  has  been  called,  appears  to  have 
been  the  fact,  that  it  lay  opposite  the  Licking ;  the  terms  of" 
Denman's  purchase  having  been,  that  his  warrants  were  to  be 
located,  as  nearly  as  possible,  over  against  the  mouth  of  that 
river;  though  the  advantage  of  the  noble  and  high  plain  at 
that  point  could  not  have  escaped  any  eye.  But  the  freshet 
of  1789  placed  its  superiority  over  other  points  more  strongly 
in  view  than  anything  else  could  have  donel 

[John  Filson  was  killed  by  the  Indians  in  the  Miami  valley 

in  the  autumn  of  1788.]     As  nothing  had  been  paid  upon  his 

third  of  the  plat  of  Losantiville,  his  heirs  made  no  claim  upon 

it,  and  it  was  transferred  to  Israel  Ludlow,  who  had  been 

21 


330  Cincinnati   Settled.  1788. 

Symmes'  surveyor.  This  gentleman,  with  Colonel  Patterson, 
one  of  the  other  proprietors,  and  well  known  in  the  Indian 
wars,  with  about  fourteen  others,  left  Maysville  upon  the 
24th  of  December,  1788,  "  to  form  a  station  and  lay  of  a 
town  opposite  Licking."  The  river  was^illed  with  ice  "  from 
shore  to  shore  ;"  but,  says  Symmes,  in  May,  1789,  "  persever- 
ance triumphing  over  difficulty,  they  landed  safe  on  a  most 
delightful  high  bank  of  the  Ohio,  where  they  founded  the 
town  of  Losantiville,  which  populates  considerably." 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  and  one  of  many  in  western  history, 
that  may  well  tend  to  shake  our  faith  in  the  learned  discus- 
sions as  to  dates  and  localities  with  which  scholars  now  and 
then  amuse  the  world,  that  the  date  of  the  settlement  of  Cin- 
cinnati is  unknown,  even  though  we  have  the  testimony  of 
the  very  men  that  made  the  settlement.  Judge  Symmes  says 
in  one  of  his  letters,  "  On  the  24th  of  December,  1788,  Colo- 
nel Patterson,  of  Lexington,  who  is  concerned  with  Mr.  Den- 
man  in  the  section  at  the  mouth  of  Licking  river,  sailed  from 
Limestone,"  &c.  Some,  supposing  it  would  take  about  two 
days  to  make  the  voyage,  have  dated  the  being  of  the  Queen 
City  of  the  West  from  December  26th.  This  is  but  guess- 
work, however  ;  for,  as  the  river  was  full  of  ice,  it  might  have 
taken  ten  days  to  have  gone  the  sixty-five  miles  from  Mays- 
ville to  Licking.  But,  in  the  case  in  chancery,  to  which  we 
have  referred,  we  have  the  evidence  of  Patterson  and  Ludlow, 
that  they  landed  opposite  the  Licking  "  in  the  month  of  Jan- 
uary, 1789;"  while  William  McMillan  testifies  that  he  "  was 
one  of  those  who  formed  the  settlement  of  Cincinnati  on  the 
28th  day  of  December,  1788."  As  we  know  of  nothing  more 
conclusive  on  the  subject  than  these  statements,  we  must 
Jeave  this  question  in  the  same  darkness  that  we  find  it. 

The  settlers  of  Losantiville  built  a  few  log  huts  and  block- 
houses, and  proceeded  to  lay  out  the  town;  though  they 
placed  their  dwellings  in  the  most  exposed  situation,  yet,  says 
Symmes  they  "  suffered  nothing  from  the  freshet." 

South  of  the  Ohio,  during  this  year,  matters  were  in  scarce 
as  good  a  train  as  upon  the  "  Indian"  side  of  the  river.  The 
savages  continued  to  annoy  the  settlers,  and  the  settlers  to  re- 
taliate upon  the  savages,  as  Judge  Symmes'  letters  have 
already  shown.  But  a  more  formidable  source  of  trouble  to 
the  district  than  any  attack  the  red  men  were  capable  of 


1788.  General  Wilkinson's  Plans.  331 

making,  was  the  growing  disposition  to  cut  loose  from  the 
Atlantic  colonies,  and  either  by  treaty  or  warfare  obtain  the 
use  of  the  Mississippi  from  Spain.  We  have  already  men- 
tioned Wilkinson's  trip  to  New  Orleans,  in  June,  1787  ;  but 
as  that  voyage  was  the  beginning  of  that  long  and  mysterious 
Spanish  intrigue  with  the  citizens  of  the  West,  it  seems  worth 
while  to  quote  part  of  a  paper,  believed  to  be  by  Daniel 
Clark,  the  younger,  whose  uncle  of  the  same  name  was  the 
agent  and  partner*  of  Wilkinson,  in  New  Orleans,  and  who 
was  fully  acquainted  with  the  government  officers  of  Louis- 
iana.! 

About  the  period  of  which  we  are  now  speaking,  in  the 
middle  of  the  year  1787,  the  foundation  of  an  intercourse 
with  Kentucky  and  the^settlements  on  the  Ohio  was  laid, 
which  daily  increased.  Previous  to  that  time,  all  those  who 
ventured  on  the  Mississippi  had  their  property  seized  by  the 
first  commanding  officer  they  met,  and  little  or  no  communi- 
cation was  kept  up  between  the  two  countries.  Now  and 
then,  an  emigrant  who  wished  to  settle  in  Natchez,  by  dint  of 
entreaty,  and  solicitation  of  friends  who  had  interests  in  New 
Orleans,  procured  permission  to  remove  there  with  his  family, 
slaves,  cattle,  furniture  and  farming  utensils ;  but  was  allowed 
to  bring  no  other  property,  except  cash.  An  unexpected  in- 
cident, however,  changed  the  face  of  things,  and  was  produc- 
tive of  a  new  line  of  conduct.  The  arrival  of  a  boat,  belong- 
ing to  General  Wilkinson,  loaded  with  tobacco  and  other  pro- 
ductions of  Kentucky,  was  announced  in  town,  and  a  guard 
was  immediately  sent  on  board  of  it.  The  general's  name 
had  hindered  this  being  done  at  Natchez,  as  the  commandant 
was  fearful  that  such  a  step  might  be  displeasing  to  his  supe- 
riors, who  might  wish  to  show  some  respect  to  the  property  of 
a  general  officer ;  at  any  rate,  the  boat  was  proceeding  to  Or- 
leans, and  they  would  then  resolve  on  what  measures  they 
ought  to  pursue,  and  put  into  execution.  The  government, 
not  much  disposed  to  show  any  mark  of  respect  or  forbear- 
ance towards  the  general's  property ,  he  not  having  at  that 
time  arrived,  was  about  proceeding  in  the  usual  way  of  con- 
fiscation, when  a  merchant  in  Orleans,  who  had  considerable 

*  Wilkinson  says  the  partnership  was  formed  without  his  knowledge  or  consent.     (Me- 
moir?, ii.  113.) 
|  American  State  Papers,  xx.  704. 


332  Trade  Opened  with  New  Orleans.  1788. 

influence  there,  and  who  was  formerly  acquainted  \vith  the 
general,  represented  to  the  governor  that  the  measures  taken 
by  the  Intendant  would  very  probably  give  rise  to  disagreea- 
ble events ;  that  the  people  of  Kentucky  were  already  exas- 
perated at  the  conduct  of  the  Spaniards  in  seizing  on  the  prop- 
erty of  all  those  who  navigated  the  Mississippi ;  and  if  this 
system  was  pursued,  they  would  very  probably,  in  spite  of 
Congress  and  the  Executive  of  the  United  States,  take  upon 
themselves  to  obtain  the  navigation  of  the  river  by  force, 
which  they  were  well  able  to  do ;  a  measure  for  some  time 
before  much  dreaded  by  this  government,  which  had  no  force 
to  resist  them,  if  such  a  plan  was  put  in  execution.  Hints 
were  likewise  given  that  Wilkinson  was  a  very  popular  man, 
who  could  influence  the  whole  of  that  country ;  and  probably 
that  his  sending  a  boat  before  him,  with  a  wish  that  she  might 
be  seized,  was  but  a  snare  at  his  return  to  influence  the  minds 
of  the  people,  and,  having  brought  them  to  the  point  he  wished, 
induce  them  to  appoint  him  their  leader,  and  then  like  a  tor- 
rent, spread  over  the  country,  and  carry  fire  and  desolation 
from  one  end  of  the  province  to  the  other. 

Governor  Miro,  a  weak  man,  unacquainted  with  the  Ameri- 
can Government,  ignorant  even  of  the  position  of  Kentucky 
with  respect  to  his  own  province,  but  alarmed  at  the  very  idea 
of  an  irruption  of  Kentucky  men,  whom  he  feared  without 
knowing  their  strength,  communicated  his  wishes  to  the  In- 
tendant that  the  guard  might  be  removed  from  the  boat,  which 
was  accordingly  done ;  and  a  Mr.  Patterson,  who  was  the 
agent  of  the  general,  was  permitted  to  take  charge  of  the 
property  on  board,  and  to  sell  it.  free  of  duty.  The  general, 
on  his  arrival  in  Orleans,  some  time  after,  was  informed  of 
the  obligation  he  lay  under  to  the  merchant  who  had  im- 
pressed the  government  with  such  an  idea  of  his  importance 
and  influence  at  home,  waited  on  him,  and,  in  concert  with 
him,  formed  a  plan  for  their  future  operations.  In  his  inter- 
view with  the  governor,  that  he  might  not  seem  to  derogate 
from  the  character  given  of  him,  by  appearing  concerned  in 
so  trifling  a  business  as  a  boat-load  of  tobacco,  hams,  and  but- 
ter, he  gave  him  to  understand  that  the  property  belonged  to 
many  citizens  of  Kentucky,  who,  availing  themselves  of  his 
return  to  the  Atlantic  States,  by  way  of  Orleans,  wished  to 
make  a  trial  of  the  temper  of  this  government,  as  he,  on  his 


1788.  Trade  Opened  with  New  Orleans.  333 

arrival,  might  inform  his  own  what  steps  had  been  pursued 
under  his  eye,  that  adequate  measures  might  be  afterwards  ta- 
ken to  procure  satisfaction.     He  acknowledged  with  gratitude 
the  attention  and  respect  manifested  by  the  governor  towards 
himself  in  the  favor  shown  to  his  agent;  but  at  the  same  time 
mentioned  that  he  would  not  wish  the  governor  to  expose 
himself  to  the  anger  of  his  court  by  refraining  from  seizing  on 
the  boat  and  cargo,  as  it  was  but  a  trifle,  if  such  were  the 
positive  orders  from  the  court,  and  he  had  not  the  power  to 
relax  them  according  to  circumstances.     Convinced  by  this 
discourse  that  the  general  rather  wished  for  an  opportunity  of 
embroiling  affairs,  than  sought  to  avoid  it,  the  governor  be- 
came more  alarmed.     For  two  or  three  years  before,  particu- 
larly since  the  arrival  of  the  commissioners  from  (Georgia,  who 
had  come  to  Natchez  to  claim  that  country,  he  had  been  fear- 
ful of  an  invasion  at  every  annual  rise  of  the  waters,  and  the 
news  of  a  few  boats  being  seen  was  enough  to  alarm  the 
whole  province.     He  revolved  in  his  mind  what  measures  he 
ought  to  pursue  (consistent  with  the  orders  he  had  from  home 
to  permit  the  free  navigation  of  the  river)  in  order  to  keep 
the  Kentucky  people  quiet;  and,  in  his  succeeding  interviews 
with  Wilkinson,  having  procured  more  knowledge  than  he 
had  hitherto  acquired  of  their  character,  population,  strength, 
and  disposition,  he  thought  he  could  do  nothing  better  than 
hold  out  a  bait  to  Wilkinson  to  use  his  influence  in  restraining 
the  people  from  an  invasion  of  this  province  till  he  could  give 
advice  to  his  court,  and  require  further  instructions.     This 
was  the  point  to  which  the  parties  wished  to  bring  him  ;  and, 
being  informed  that  in  Kentucky  two  or  three  crops  were  on 
hand,  for  which,  if  an  immediate  vent  was  not  to  be  found, 
the  people  could  not  be  kept  within  bounds,  he  made  Wilkin- 
son the  offer  of  a  permission  to  import,  on  his  own  account, 
to  New  Orleans,  free  of  duty,  all  the  productions  of  Kentucky, 
thinking  by  this  means  to  conciliate  the  good- will  of  the  peo- 
ple, without  yielding  the  point  of  navigation,  as  the  com- 
merce carried  on  would  appear  the  effect  of  an  indulgence  to 
an  individual,  which  could  be   withdrawn   at  pleasure.     On 
consultation  with    his   friends,  who   well  knew  what  further 
concessions  Wilkinson  would  extort  from  the  fears  of  the 
Spaniards,  by  the  promise  of  his  good  offices   in   preaching 
peace,  harmony,  and  good  understanding  with  his  govern- 


334  Kentucky  not  Made  a  State.  1788. 

<  %» 

ment,  until  arrangements  were   made  between   Spain   and 

America,  he  was  advised  to  insist  that  the  governor  should 
insure  him  a  market  for  all  the  flour  and  tobacco  he  might 
send,  as  in  the  event  of  an  unfortunate  shipment,  he  would  be 
ruined  whilst  endeavoring  to  do  a  service  to  Louisiana.  This 
was  accepted.  Flour  was  always  wanted  in  New  Orleans, 
and  the  king  of  Spain  had  given  orders  to  purchase  more  to- 
bacco for  the  supply  of  his  manufactories  at  home  than  Louis- 
iana at  that  time  produced,  and  which  was  paid  for  at  about 
$9.50  per  cwt.  In  Kentucky  it  cost  but  $2,  and  the  profit 
was  immense.  In  consequence,  the  general  had  appointed 
his  friend,  Daniel  Clark,  his  agent  here,  returned  by  way  of 
Charleston  in  a  vessel,  with  a  particular  permission  to  go  to 
the  United  States,  even  at  the  very  moment  of  Gardoqui's  in- 
formation ;  and,  on  his  arrival  in  Kentucky,  bought  up  all  the 
produce  he  could  collect,  which  he  shipped  and  disposed  of 
as  before  mentioned  ;  and  for  some  time  all  the  trade  for  the 
Ohio  was  carried  on  in  his  name,  a  line  from  him  sufficing  to 
ensure  the  owner  of  the  boat  every  privilege  and  protection.* 

[This  Daniel  Clark,  we  suppose,  was  the  father  of  Mrs. 
Gaines  ] 

Whatever  Wilkinson's  views  may  have  been,  (and  we 
should  never  forget  that  there  was  no  treachery  or  treason 
against  the  United  States  in  leaving  the  old  colonies  and 
forming  an  alliance  with  Spain  at  that  period) — such  a  recep- 
tion as  be  had  met  with  at  New  Orleans,  was  surely  calculat- 
ed to  make  him  and  his  friends  feel  that  by  either  intimida- 
tion, or  alliance,  the  free  trade  they  wished  might  be  had  from 
Spain,  could  the  act  of  Independence  but  be  finally  made 
binding  by  the  consent  of  Congress,  which  was  to  be  given 
before  July  5th,  1788.  It  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  this  agree- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  Union  was  looked  for  as  a  matter  of 
course  almost; — Kentucky  had  spoken  her  wishes  over  and 
over  again,  and  Virginia  had  acquiesced  in  them.  When  John 
Brown,  therefore,  who  in  December,  1787,  had  been  sent  as 
the  first  Western  representative  to  Congress,  brought  the  sub- 
ject of  admitting  Kentucky  as  a  Federal  State  before  that 
body  upon  the  29th  February,!  ^  was  hoped  the  matter 
would  soon  be  disposed  of.  But  such  was  not  the  case  ;  from 

*  See  American  State  Papers,  xx.  p.  707. — Clark's  Memoir  is  said  by  Wilkinson  to  bft 
substantially  correct.    (Memoirs,  ii.  110.) 
t  Old  Journals,  iv.  811,  819,  828,  829,  830. 


1788.  Offers  of  Spain  to  Kentucky.  335 

February  to  May,  from  May  to  June,  from  June  to  July,  the 
admission  of  the  District  was  debated,  and  at  length  the 
whole  subject,  on  the  3d  of  July,  was  referred  to  the  new  gov- 
ernment about  to  be  organized,  and  once  more  the  Pioneers 
found  themselves  thwarted,  and  self-direction  withheld. 

On  the  28th  of  July  the  sixth  Convention  met  at  Danville, 
to  proceed  with  the  business  of  making  a  Constitution,  when 
news  reached  them*  that  their  coming  together  was  all  to  no 
purpose,  as  the  Legislature  of  the  Union  had  not  given  the 
necessary  sanction  to  the  act  of  Virginia.  This  news  amazed 
and  shocked  them,  and  being  accompanied  or  followed  by  in- 
timations from  Mr.  Brown  that  Spain  would  make  easy  terms 
with  the  West,  were  the  West  once  her  own  mistress,  we 
surely  cannot  wonder  that  the  leaders  of  the  "Independence" 
party  were  disposed  to  act  with  decision  and  show  a  spirit  of 
self-reliance.  Wilkinson,  on  the  one  hand,  could  speak  of 
his  vast  profits  and  the  friendly  temper  of  the  south-western 
rulers,  while  Brown  wrote  home  such  sentiments  as  these  : — 

"  The  eastern  States  would  not,  nor  do  I  think  they  ever 
will  assent  to  the  admission  of  the  district  in  the  Union,  as  an 
independent  State,  unless  Vermont,  or  the  province  of  Maine, 
is  brought  forward  at  the  same  time.  The  change  which  has 
taken  place  in  the  general  government  is  made  the  ostensible 
objection  to  the  measure;  but,  the  jealousy  of  the  growing  im- 
portance of  the  western  country,  and  an  unwillingness  to  add 
a  vote  to  the  southern  interest,  are  the  real  causes  of  opposi- 
tion. The  question  which  the  district  will  now  have  to  de- 
termine upon,  will  be — whether,  or  not,  it  will  be  more  expe- 
dient to  continue  the  connexion  with  the  State  of  Virginia, 
or  to  declare  their  independence  and  proceed  to  frame  a  con- 
stitution of  government? 

In  private  conferences  which  I  have  had  with  Mr.  Gardo- 
qui,  the  Spanish  minister,  at  this  place,  I  have  been  assured 
by  him  in  the  most  explicit  tei\ris,  that  if  Kentucky  will  de- 

*The  difficulty  of  communicating  news  to  the  West  may  be  judged  of  by  the  following 
extract  from  a  letter  by  John  Brown  to  Judge  Muter. 

"An  answer  to  your  favor  of  the  16th  of  IVfareh  was,  together  with  several  other  letters, 
put  into  the  hands  of  one  cf  General  Harmar's  officers,  who  set  out  in  May  last  for  the 
Ohio,  and  who  promised  to  forward  them  to  the  district;  but  I  fear  they  have  miscarried, 
as  I  was  a  few  days  ago  informed  that  his  orders  had  been  countermanded,  and  that  he 
had  been  sent  to  the  garrison  at  West  Point.  Indeed  I  have  found  it  almost  impracticable 
to  transmit  a  letter  to  Kentucky,  as  there  is  scarce  any  communication  between  this  place 
and  that  country.  A  post  is  now  established  from  this  place  to  Fort  Pitt,  to  set  out  once 
in  two  weeks,  after  the  20th  instant;  this  will  render  the  communication  ea=y  and  cer- 
tain."—(Marshall,  i.  304.) 


336  A  Seventh  Convention  Called.  1788. 

clare  her  independence,  and  empower  some  proper  person  to 
negotiate  \vith  him,  that  he  has  authority,  and  will  engage  to 
open  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  for  the  exportation  of 
their  produce,  on  terms  of  mutual  advantage.  But  that  this 
privilege  never  can  be  extended  to  them  while  part  of  the 
United  States,  by  reason  of  commercial  treaties  existing  be- 
tween that  court  and  other  powers  of  Europe. 

As  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  the  sincerity  of  this  declara- 
tion, I  have  thought  proper  to  communicate  it  to  a  few  confi- 
dential friends  in  the  district,  with  his  permission,  not  doubting 
but  that  they  will  make  a  prudent  use  of  the  information — 
which  is  in  part  confirmed  by  despatches  yesterday  received 
by  Congress,  from  Mr.  Carmichal,  our  minister  at  that  court, 
the  contents  of  which  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  disclose.* 

But  even  under  the  excitement  produced  by  such  prospects 
offered  from  abroad,  and  such  treatment  at  the  hands  of  their 
fellow-citizens,  the  members  of  the  July  Convention  took  no 
hasty  or  mischievous  steps.  Finding  their  own  powers  legally 
at  an  end  in  consequence  of  the  course  pursued  by  Congress, 
they  determined  to  adjourn,  and  in  doing  so  advised  the  call- 
ing of  a  seventh  Convention,  to  meet  in  the  following  Novem- 
ber, and  continue  in  existence  until  January,  1790,  with  full 
power 

To  take  such  measures  for  obtaining  admission  of  the  dis- 
trict, as  a  separate  and  independent  member  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  and  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  as 
may  appear  most  conducive  to  those  important  purposes:  and 
also  to  form  a  constitution  of  government  for  the  district, 
and  organize  the  same  when  they  shall  judge  it  necessary ;  or 
to  do  and  accomplish  whatsoever,  on  a  consideration  of  the 
state  of  the  district,  may  in  their  opinion  promote  its  interests.f 

These  terms,  although  they  contain  nothing  necessarily  im- 
plying a  separation  from  Virginia  against  her  wish,  or  direct- 
ly authorizing  the  coming  Convention  to  treat  with  Spain, 
were  still  supposed  to  have  been  used  for  the  purpose  of  ena- 
bling or  even  inviting  that  body  to  take  any  steps,  however 
much  against  the  letter  of  the  law;  and  as  Mr.  Brown's  let- 
ters showed  that  strong  temptations  were  held  out  to  the  peo- 
ple of  the  District  to  declare  themselves  independent  and  then 
enter  into  negotiations  with  Spain,  George  Muter,  Chief  Jus- 
tice of  the  District,  on  the  15th  of  October,  published  a  letter 
in  the  Kentucky  Gazette,  calling  attention  to  the  fact  that  a 

*See  Marshall's  History  of  Kentucky,  i.  p.  305. 
|See  Marshall's  History  of  Kentucky,  L  p.  290. 


1788.  Connolly  in  Kentucky.  337 

separation  without  legal  leave  from  the  parent  State,  would 
be  treason  against  that  State,  and  a  violation  of  the  Federal 
Constitution  then  just  formed. 

This  letter,  and  the  efforts  of  the  party  who  favored  strict 
adherence  to  legal  proceedings,  were  not  in  vain.  The  elec- 
tions took  place,  and  on  the  4th  of  November  the  Convention 
met;  the  contest  at  once  began,  but  the  two  parties  being 
happily  balanced,  both  in  and  out  of  the  Convention,  the 
greatest  caution  was  observed  by  both,  and  all  excess  prevent- 
ed. An  address  to  the  people  of  the  District  was  proposed 
by  Wilkinson,  the  purpose  of  which  was,  doubtless,  to  procure 
instructions  as  to  the  contested  points  of  illegal  independence 
and  negotiation  with  Spain; — but  the  plan  of  issuing  such  a 
paper  was  afterwrards  dropped,  Congress  was  memorialized 
respecting  the  Mississippi,  Virginia  was  again  asked  for  an 
act  of  separation,  and  the  Convention  quietly  adjourned  until 
the  1st  Monday  of  the  following  August.*  It  is  not  improba- 
ble that  one  tranquilizing  influence  was,  the  contradiction  by 
members  of  Congress,  of  the  report  that  the  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi  was  to  be  relinquished  by  the  United  States. 
This  contradiction  had  been  authorized  on  the  16th  of  Sep- 
tember, f  It  was  during  the  autumn  of  this  same  year  of 
trouble  and  intrigue,  that  there  appeared  again  in  Kentucky, 
John  Connolly,  formerly  of  Pittsburgh,  of  whom  we  last  heard 
as  organizing  an  expedition  to  attack  the  frontiers  in  1781.  Of 
his  purposes  and  movements  nothing  of  consequence  can  be 
added,  we  believe,  to  the  following  statement  sent  by  Colonel 
Thomas  Marshall,  to  General  Washington,  in  the  month  of 
February,  1789. 

About  this  time,  (November,  1788,)  arrived  from  Canada 
the  famous  Doctor  (now  Colonel)  Connolly  ;  his  ostensible 
business  was  to  enquire  after,  and  repossess  himself  of,  some 
lands  he  formerly  held  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio  ;  but  I  believe 
his  real  business  was  to  sound  the  disposition  of  the  leading 
men  of  this  district  respecting  this  Spanish  business.  He  knew 
that  both  Colonel  Muter  and  myself  had  given  it  all  the  op- 
position in  Convention  we  were  able  to  do,  and  before  he  left 
the  district  paid  us  a  visit,  though  neither  of  us  had  the  honor 
of  the  least  acquaintance  with  him. 

He  was  introduced  by  Colonel  John  Campbell,  his  old  co- 

»See  Marshall,  i.  238  to  341.— Marshall  gives  all  the  papers.— Butler  Ifi2  to  181—517  to 
523.— Carey's  Museum,  April  1789,  p.  331  to  333. 
f  Secret  Journals,  iv.  4.49  to  454. 


338  Connolly  in  Kentucky.  1788 

purchaser  of  the  land  at  the  Falls,  formerly  a  prisoner  taken 
by  the  Indians,  and  confined  in  Canada,  who  previously  in- 
formed us  of  the  proposition  he  was  about  to  make.  He 
(Connolly)  presently  entered  upon  his  subject,  urged  the  great 
importance  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  must  be  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  western  waters,  showed  the  absolute  neces- 
sity of  our  possessing  it,  and  concluded  with  assurances  that 
were  we  disposed  to  assert  our  right  respecting  that  naviga- 
tion. Lord  Dorchester,  (formerly  Sir  Guy  Carlton,)  was  cor- 
dially disposed  to  give  us  powerful  assistance,  that  his  Lord- 
ship had  (I  think  he  said)  four  thousand  British  troops  in 
Canada,  besides  two  regiments  at  Detroit,  and  could  furnish  us 
with  arms,  ammunition,  clothing,  and  money ;  that,  with  this 
assistance,  we  might  possess  ourselves  of  New  Orleans,  fortify 
the  Balize  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  and  keep  possession  in 
spite  of  the  utmost  efforts  of  Spain  to  the  contrary.  He  made 
very  confident  professions  of  Lord  Dorchester's  wishes  to  cul- 
tivate the  most  friendly  intercourse  with  the  people  of  this 
country,  and  of  his  own  desire  to  become  serviceable  to  us, 
and  with  so  much  seeming  sincerity,  that  had  I  not  before 
been  acquainted  with  his  character  as  a  man  of  intrigue  and 
artful  address,  I  should  in  all  probability  have  given  him  my 
confidence. 

I  told  him  that  the  minds  of  the  people  of  this  country  were 
so  strongly  prejudiced  against  the  British,  not  only  from  cir- 
cumstances attending  the  late  war,  but  from  a  persuasion  that 
the  Indians  were  at  this  time  stimulated  by  them  against  us, 
and  that  so  long  as  those  savages  continued  to  commit  such 
horrid  cruelties  on  our  defenceless  frontiers,  and  were  received 
as  friends  and  allies  by  the  British  at  Detroit,  it  would  be  im- 
possible for  them  to  be  convinced  of  the  sincerity  of  Lord 
Dorchester's  offers,  let  his  professions  be  ever  so  strong  ;  and 
that,  if  his  Lordship  would  have  us  believe  him  really  dis- 
posed to  be  our  friend,  he  must  begin  by  showing  his  disap- 
probation of  the  ravages  of  the  Indians. 

He  admitted  the  justice  of  my  observation,  and  said  he 
had  urged  the  same  to  his  Lordship  before  he  left  Canada. 
He  denied  that  the  Indians  are  stimulated  against  us  by  the 
British,  and  says,  Lord  Dorchester  observed,  that  the  Indians 
are  free  and  independent  nations,  and  have  a  right  to  make 
peace  or  war  as  they  think  fit,  and  that  he  could  not  with 
propriety  interfere.  He  promised,  however,  on  his  return  to 
Canada  to  repeat  his  arguments  to  his  Loniship  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  hopes,  he  says,  to  succeed.  At  taking  his  leave  he 
begged  very  politely  the  favor  of  our  correspondence  ;  we 
both  promised  him,  providing  he  would  begin  it,  and  devise  a 
means  of  carrying  it  on.  He  did  not  tell  me  that  he  was  au- 
thorized by  Lord  Dorchester  to  make  us  these  offers  in  his 
name,  nor  did  I  ask  him  ;  but  General  Scott  informs  me  that 


1788.  Connolly  in  Kentucky.  339 

he  told  him  that  his  Lordship  had  authorized  him  to  use  his 
name  in  this  business.* 

Colonel  George  Morgan,  during  this  year,  was  induced  to 
remove  for  a  time  to  the  Spanish  territories  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  remained  at  New  Madrid  between  one  and  two 
months ;  thence  he  went  to  New  Orleans.f 

[The  projected  city  and  settlement  of  New  Madrid  by  Col. 
Morgan,  may  be  found  in  the  Appendix,  Annals  of  Mis- 
souri.] 

Preparations,  as  we  have  stated,  had  been  made  early  in  1788, 
for  a  treaty  with  the  Indians,  and  during  the  whole  autumn,  the 
representatives  of  the  Indian  tribes  were  lingering  about  the 
Muskingum  settlement :  but  it  was  not  till  Jan.  9th  of  this  year, 
that  the  natives  were  brought  to  agree  to  distinct  terms.  On 
that  day,  one  treaty  was  made  with  the  Iroquois,J  confirming 
the  previous  one  of  October,  1784,  at  Fort  Stanwix  ;  and 
another  with  the  Wyandots,  Delawares,  Ottawas,  Chippewas, 
Pottawatamies  and  Sacs,  confirming  and  extending  the  treaty 
of  Fort  Mclntosh,  made  in  January,  1785.§  Of  the  additions 
we  quote  the  following : 

ART.  4.  It  is  agreed  between  the  United  States  and  the  said 
nations,  that  the  individuals  of  said  nations  shall  be  at  liberty 
to  hunt  within  the  territory  ceded  to  the  United  States,  with- 
out hindrance  or  molestation,  so  long  as  they  demean  them- 
selves peaceably,  and  offer  no  injury  or  annoyance  to  any  of 
the  subjects  or  citizens  of  the  said  United  States. 

ART.  7.  Trade  shall  be  opened  with  the  said  nations,  and 
they  do  hereby  respectively  engage  to  afford  protection  to  the 
persons  and  property  of  such  as  may  be  duly  licensed  to  re- 
side among  them  for  the  purpose  of  trade,  and  to  their 
agents,  factors,  and  servants  ;  but  no  person  shall  be  permit- 
ted to  reside  at  their  towns,  or  at  their  hunting  camps,  as  a 
trader,  who  is  not  furnished  with  a  license  for  that  purpose, 
under  the  hand  and  seal  of  the  Governor  of  the  territory  of 
the  United  States  northwest  of  the  Ohio,  for  the  time  being, 
or  under  the  hand  and  seal  of  one  of  his  deputies  for  the 
management  of  Indian  Affairs;  to  the  end  that  they  may  not 
be  imposed  upon  in  their  traffic.  And  if  any  person  or  per- 
sons shall  intrude  themselves  without  such  license,  they  prom- 

*  See  Butler,  520. 

f  American  State  Papers,  xx.  504. 

J  Collection  of  Indian  treaties.     Land  Laws,  123. 

g  Land  Laws,  149.— See  also  CuTey'i  Museum  for  April,  1789,  p.  415. 


340  Treaties  of  Fort  Harmar.  1789 

ise  to  apprehend  him  or  them,  and  to  bring  them  to  the  said 
Governor,  or  one  of  his  deputies,  for  the  purpose  beforemen- 
tioned,  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  law ;  and  that  they  may 
be  defended  against  persons  who  might  attempt  to  forge  such 
licenses,  they  further  engage  to  give  information  to  the  said 
Governor,  or  one  of  his  deputies,  of  the  names  of  all  traders 
residing  among  them,  from  time  to  time ,  and  at  least  once  every 
year. 

ART.  8.  Should  any  nation  of  Indians  meditate  a  war  against 
the  United  States,  or  either  of  them,  and  the  same  shall  come 
to  the  knowledge  of  the  beforementioned  nations,  or  either  of 
them,  they  do  hereby  engage  to  give  immediate  notice  thereof 
to  the  Governor,  or,  in  his  absence,  to  the  officer  commanding 
the  troops  of  the  United  States  at  the  nearest  post.  And 
should  any  nation,  with  hostile  intentions  against  the  United 
States,  or  either  of  them,  attempt  to  pass  through  their  coun- 
try, they  will  endeavor  to  prevent  the  same,  and,  in  like  man- 
ner, give  information  of  such  attempt  to  the  said  Governor  or 
commanding  officer,  as  soon  as  possible,  that  all  causes  of 
mistrust  and  suspicion  may  be  avoided  between  them  and  the 
United  States  :  in  like  manner,  the  United  States  shall  give 
notice  to  the  said  Indian  nations,  of  any  harm  that  may  be 
meditated  against  them,  or  either  of  them,  that  shall  come  to 
their  knowledge  ;  and  do  all  in  their  power  to  hinder  and  pre- 
vent the  same,  that  the  friendship  between  them  may  be 
uninterrupted.* 

But  these  treaties,  if  meant  in  good  faith  by  those  who  made 
them,  were  not  respected,  and  the  year  of  which  we  now 
write,  saw  renewed  the  old  frontier  troubles  in  all  their  bar- 
barism and  variety.  The  Wabash  Indians  especially,  who  had 
not  been  bound  by  any  treaty  as  yet,  kept  up  constant  incursions 
against  the  Kentucky  settlers,  and  the  emigrants  down  the 
Ohio,f  and  the  Kentuckians  retaliated,  striking  foes  and 
friends,  even  "the  peaceable  Piankeshaws  who  prided  them- 
selves on  their  attachment  to  the  United  States. "J  Nor  could 
the  President  take  any  effectual  steps  to  put  an  end  to  this 
constant  partisan  warfare.  In  the  first  place,  it  was  by  no 
means  clear  that  an  attack  by  the  forces  of  the  government 
upon  the  Wabash  tribes,  could  be  justified.  Says  Wash- 
ington : 


'6' 


I  would  have  it  observed  forcibly,  that  a  war  with  the  Wa- 
bash Indians  ought  to  be  avoided  by  all  means  consistently 

"Sea  Land  Laws,  p.  152. 

t  Marshall,  i,   348,   351.— American   State   Papers,  vol.  v.  84,  85.— Carey's  Museum, 
April  1789,  p.  416,  and  May,  pp.  504,  608. 

J  Gen.  Knox.    American  State  Papers,  v.  13.         , 


1789.  Troubles  with  the  Indians.  341 

with  the  security  of  the  frontier  inhabitants,  the  security  of  the 
troops,  and  the  national  dignity.  In  the  exercise  of  the 
present  indiscriminate  hostilities,  it  is  extremely  difficult,  if 
not  impossible,  to  say  that  a  war  without  further  measures 
would  be  just  on  the  part  of  the  United  States.  But,  if,  after 
manifesting  clearly  to  the  Indians  the  disposition  of  the  Gene- 
ral Government  for  the  preservation  of  peace,  and  the  exten- 
sion of  a  just  protection  to  the  said  Indians,  they  should  con- 
tinue their  incursions,  the  United  States  will  be  constrained  to 
punish  them  with  severity.* 

But  how  to  punish  them  was  a  difficult  question,  again, 
even  supposing  punishment  necessary.  Says  Gen.  Knox  : 

By  the  best  and  latest  information  it  appears  that,  on  the 
Wabash  and  its  communications,  there  are  from  fifteen  hun- 
dred to  two  thousand  warriors.  An  expedition  against  them, 
with  a  view  of  extirpating  them,  or  destroying  their  towns, 
could  not  be  undertaken  with  a  probability  of  success,  with 
less  than  an  army  of  two  thousand  five  hundred  men.  The 
regular  troops  of  the  United  States  on  the  frontiers,  are  less 
than  six  hundred:  of  that  number,  not  more  than  four  hundred 
could  be  collected  from  the  posts  for  the  purpose  of  the  expe- 
dition. To  raise,  pay,  feed,  arm,  and  equip  one  thousand  nine 
hundred  additional  men,  with  the  necessary  officers,  for  six 
months,  and  to  provide  every  thing  in  the  hospital  and  quarter- 
master's line,  would  require  the  sum  of  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  a  sum  far  exceeding  the  ability  of  the  United  States 
to  advance,  consistently  with  a  due  regard  to  other  indispen- 
sable objects. 

Such,  however,  were  the  representations  of  the  Governor 
of  the  new  territory,  and  of  the  people  of  Kentucky,  that 
Congress,  upon  the  29th  of  September,  empowered  the  Presi- 
dent to  call  out  the  militia  to  protect  the  frontiers,  and  he,  on 
the  6th  of  October,  authorized  Governor  St.  Clair  to  draw 
1500  men  from  the  western  counties  of  Virginia  and  Penn- 
sylvania, if  absolutely  necessary;  ordering  him,  however,  to 
ascertain,  if  possible,  the  real  disposition  of  the  Wabash 
and  Illinois  Indians. f  In  order  to  do  this,  speeches  to  them 
were  prepared,  and  messengers  sent  among  them,  of  whose 
observations  we  shall  have  occasion  to  take  notice  under  the 
year  1790. 

Kentucky,  especially,  felt  aggrieved  this  year  by  the  with- 
drawal of  the  Virginia  scouts  and  rangers,  who  had  hitherto 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  13,  97,  pp.  34  to  93. 
I  American  State  Papers,  97,  101,  102. 


342  Muskingum  Settlements  Spread.  1789. 

helped  to  protect  her.  This  was  done  in  July,  by  the  Govern- 
or, in  consequence  of  a  letter  from  the  federal  executive, 
stating  that  national  troops  would  thenceforward  be  stationed 
upon  the  western  streams.  The  Governor  communicated  this 
letter  to  the  Kentucky  convention  held  in  July,  and  that  body 
at  once  authorized  a  remonstrance  against  the  measure,  repre- 
senting the  inadequacy  of  the  federal  troops,  few  and  scattered 
as  they  were,  to  protect  the  country,  and  stating  the  amount 
of  injury  received  from  the  savages  since  the  first  of  May.* 

[We  have  the  authority  of  Judge  Innis,  of  Kentucky  ( Amer. 
State  Papers,  v.  p.  88,)  that  in  seven  years,  1500  persons,  20,- 
000  horses,  and  £15,000  worth  of  property  had  been  destroy- 
ed or  taken  away  from  that  district,  by  the  savages.] 

Nor  was  the  old  separation  sore  healed  yet.  Upon  the  29th 
of  December,  1788,  Virginia  had  passed  her  third  act  to  make 
Kentucky  independent;  but  as  this  law  made  the  District  lia- 
ble for  a  part  of  the  State  debt,  and  also  reserved  a  certain 
control  over  the  lands  set  apart  as  army  bounties,  to  the  Old 
Dominion, — it  was  by  no  means  popular ;  and  when,  upon 
the  20th  of  July,  the  eighth  Convention  came  together  at  Dan- 
ville, it  was  only  to  resolve  upon  a  memorial  requesting  that 
the  obnoxious  clauses  of  the  late  law  might  be  repealed. 
This,  in  December,  was  agreed  to  by  the  present  State,  but 
new  proceedings  throughout  were  at  the  same  time  ordered, 
and  a  ninth  Convention  directed  to  meet  in  the  following 

July.f 

North  of  the  Ohio,  during  this  year,  there  was  less  trouble 
from  the  Indians  than  south  of  it,  especially  in  the  Muskingum 
country.  There  all  prospered  :  the  Rev.  Dan'l.  Story,  under  a 
resolution  of  the  Directors  of  the  Ohio  Company,  passed  in 
March,  1788,  in  the  spring  of  this  year  came  westward  as  a 
teacher  of  youth  and  a  preacher  of  the  Gospel. §  By  November, 
nine  associations,  comprising  two  hundred  and  fifty  persons, 
had  been  formed  for  the  purpose  of  settling  different  points 
within  the  purchase ;  and  by  the  close  of  1790,  eight  settlements 
had  been  made ;  two  at  Belpre,  (belle  prairie,)  one  at  Nevv- 
bury,  one  at  Wolf  Creek,||  one  at  Duck  Creek,  one  at  the 

9  Marshall,  i  352. — American  State  Papers,  v.  84,  &c. 

t.Ibid,  342,  350.— Butler,  187. 

J  American  Pioneer,  i.  86. 

H  Here  was  built  the  first  mill  in  Ohio.     (American  Pioneer,  ii.  99,  and  plate.) 


1789.  Fort  Washington  Founded.  343 

mouth  of  Meigs'  Creek,  one  at  Anderson's  Bottom,  and  one  at 
Big  Bottom.* 

Between  the  Miamies,  there  was  more  alarm  at  this  period, 
but  no  great  amount  of  actual  danger.  Upon  the  15th  of 
June,  news  reached  Judge  Symmes  that  the  Wabash  Indians 
threatened  his  settlements,  and  as  yet  he  had  received  no 
troops  for  their  defence,  except  nineteen  from  the  Falls. f 
Before  July,  however,  Major  Doughty  arrived  at  the  "Slaugh- 
ter House,"  and  commenced  the  building  of  Fort  Washington 
on  the  site  of  Losantiville.  In  relation  to  the  choice  of  that 
spot,  rather  than  the  one  where  Symmes  proposed  to  found 
his  great  city,  Judge  Burnet  tells  the  following  story: 

"  Through  the  influence  of  the  Judge  (Symmes,)  the  de- 
tachment sent  by  General  Harmar,  to  erect  a  fort  between 
the  Miami  rivers,  for  the  protection  of  the  settlers,  landed  at 
North  Bend.  This  circumstance  induced  many  of  the  first 
emigrants  to  repair  to  that  place,  on  account  of  the  expected 
protection,  which  the  garrison  would  afford.  While  the  offi- 
cer commanding  the  detachment  was  examining  the  neigh- 
borhood, to  select  the  most  eligible  spot  for  a  garrison,  he 
became  enamored  with  a  beautiful  black-eyed  female,  who 
happened  to  be  a  married  woman.  The  vigilant  husband  saw 
his  danger,  and  immediately  determined  to  remove,  with  his 
family,  to  Cincinnati,  where  he  supposed  they  would  be  safe 
from  intrusion.  As  soon  as  the  gallant  officer  discovered 
that  the  object  of  his  admiration  had  been  removed  beyond 
his  reach,  he  began  to  think  that  the  Bend  was  not  an  advan- 
tageous situation  for  a  military  work.  This  opinion  he  com- 
municated to  Judge  Symmes,  who  contended,  very  strenu- 
ously, that  it  was  the  most  suitable  spot  in  the  Miami  country; 
and  protested  against  the  removal.  The  arguments  of  the 
judge,  however,  were  not  as  influential  as  the  sparkling  eyes 
of  the  fair  female,  who  was  then  at  Cincinnati.  To  preserve 
the  appearance  of  consistency,  the  officer  agreed,  that  he 
would  defer  a  decision  till  he  had  explored  the  ground,  at  and 
near  Cincinnati ;  and  that,  if  he  found  it  to  be  less  eligible 
than  the  Bend,  he  would  return  and  erect  the  garrison  at  the 
latter  place.  The  visit  was  quickly  made;  and  resulted  in  a 
conviction,  that  the  Bend  was  not  to  be  compared  with  Cin- 
cinnati. The  troops  were  accordingly  removed  to  that  place, 
and  the  building  of  Fort  Washington  was  commenced.  This 
movement,  apparently  trivial  in  itself,  and  certainly  produced 
by  a  whimsical  cause,  was  attended  by  results  of  incalculable 
importance.  It  settled  the  question  at  once  whether  Symmes 

*  Han  ij  Tour,  191,192. 

fSymmes'  Letters  in  Cist's  Cincinnati,  231,  229,  219, 


344  Reason  for  placing  the  Fort  at  Cincinnati.         1789. 

or  Cincinnati  was  to  be  the  great  commercial  town  on  the 
Miami  purchase.  This  anecdote  was  communicated  by 
Judge  Symmes,  and  is  unquestionably  authentic.  As  soon  as 
the  troops  removed  to  Cincinnati,  and  established  the  garrison, 
the  settlers  at  the  Bend,  then  more  numerous  than  those  at 
Cincinnati,  began  to  remove;  and  in  two  or  three  years,  the 
Bend  was  literally  deserted,  and  the  idea  of  eslablishing  a 
town  at  that  point  was  entirely  abandoned. 

Thus,  we  see,  what  great  results  are  sometimes  produced 
by  trivial  circumstances.  The  beauty  of  a  female,  transferred 
the  commercial  emporium  of  Ohio  from  the  place  where  it 
was  commenced,  to  the  place  where  it  now  is.  Had  the  black- 
eyed  beauty  remained  at  the  Bend,  the  garrison  would  have 
been  erected  there,  population,  capital,  and  business  would 
have  centered  there,  and  our  city  must  have  been  now  of 
comparatively  small  importance.*" 

We  suspect  the  influence  of  this  bright-eyed  beauty  upon 
the  fate  of  Cincinnati,  is  over  estimated,  however.  Upon  the 
14th  of  June,  before  Fort  Washington  was  commenced,  and 
when  the  only  soldiers  in  the  purchase  were  at  North  Bend, 
Symmes  writes  to  Dayton  : 

"It  is  expected,  that  on  the  arrival  of  Governor  St.  Clair, 
this  purchase  will  be  organized  into  a  county  ;  it  is  therefore 
of  some  moment  which  town  shall  be  made  the  county  town. 
Losantiville,  at  present,  bids  the  fairest ;  it  is  a  most  excellent 
site  for  a  large  town,  and  is  at  present  the  most  central  of  any 
of  the  inhabited  towns ;  but  if  South  Bend  might  be  finished 
and  occupied,  that  would  be  exactly  in  the  centre,  and  proba- 
bly would  take  the  lead  of  the  present  villages  until  the  city 
can  be  made  somewhat  considerable.  This  is  really  a  matter 
of  importance  to  the  proprietors,  but  can  only  be  achieved  by 
their  exertions  and  encouragement.  The  lands  back  of  South 
Bend  are  not  very  much  broken,  after  you  ascend  the  first 
hill,  and  will  afford  rich  supplies  for  a  county  town.  A  few 
troops  stationed  at  South  Bend  will  effect  the  settlement  of 
this  new  village  in  a  very  short  time.f" 

The  truth  is,  that  neither  the  proposed  city  on  the  Miami, 
North  Bend  or  South  Bend,  could  compete,  in  point  of  natu- 
ral advantages,  with  the  plain  on  which  Cincinnati  has  since 
arisen ;  and  had  Fort  Washington  been  built  elsewhere,  after 
the  close  of  the  Indian  war,  nature  would  have  ensured  the 
rapid  growth  of  that  point  where  even  the  ancient  and  mys- 
terious dwellers  along  the  Ohio  had  reared  the  earthen  walls 
of  one  of  their  vastest  temples.J 

*Tran?actions  Historical  Society,  Ohio,  p.  17.  fCist's  Cincinnati,  p.  230. 

JSee  Transactions  of  Ohio  Historical  Society,  part  ii.  vol.   i.  35. — Drake's  Picture  of 
Cincinnati,  202. 


1789.  Contest  with  the  Spaniards.  345 

We  have  referred  to  Wilkinson's  voyage  to  New  Or- 
leans, in  1787  ;  in  January  of  this  year,  (1789,)  he  fitted 
out  twenty-five  large  boats,  some  of  them  carrying  three 
pounders,  and  all  of  them  swivels,  manned  by  150  men,  and 
loaded  with  tobacco,  flour,  and  provisions,  with  which  he  set 
sail  for  the  south ;  and  his  lead  was  soon  followed  by  others.* 
Among  the  adventurers  was  Colonel  Armstrong  of  the  Cum- 
berland settlements,  who  sent  down  six  boats  manned  by 
thirty  men;  these  were  stopped  at  Natchez,  and  the  goods 
being  there  sold  without  permission,  an  officer  and  fifty  soldiers 
were  sent  by  the  Spanish  commander  to  arrest  the  transgres- 
sors. They,  meanwhile,  had  returned  within  the  lines  of  the 
United  States  and  refused  to  be  arrested ;  this  led  to  a  con- 
test, in  which,  as  a  cotemporary  letter  states,  five  Spaniards 
were  killed  and  twelve  wounded.f 

*Letter  in  Carey's  Museum  for  February,  1789,  pp.  209,  313.— Wilkinson's  Memoirs,  ii. 
113. 

fCarey's  Museum,  April,  1789,  p.  417. 
22 


CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  INDIAN  WAR  OF  1790—1795. 

Organization  of  the  North-western  Territory— Sketch  of  Governor  St.  Clair— The  Ex- 
cursion to  the  Illinois  Country— Claims  of  the  United  States  on  Indian  Lands— Difficul- 
ties with  the  Indians — Gamelin's  Mission — Agency  of  British  Officers  and  Traders — 
Harmar's  Campaign— Expedition  of  General  Charles  Scott— Campaign  of  St.  Clair— 
Disastrous  Defeat. 

[The  ordinance  of  Congress,  as  already  shown,  passed  in 
August,  1787,  but  the  government  was  not  organized  until 
the  following  year.  In  the  month  of  July,  General  Arthur 
St.  Clair,  who  had  been  appointed  Governor  by  the  Old  Con- 
gress, appeared  at  Marietta,  and  put  the  machinery  of  the 
new  government  in  motion.  This  was  on  the  15th  of  July, 
1788,  when  the  governor,  who  had  arrived  on  the  9th,  pub- 
lished the  ordinance  of  Congress  for  the  government  of  the 
Territory,  and  the  commissions  of  the  officers.*  The  organ- 
ization was  what  has  been  called,  the  first  grade  ;  consisting 
of  a  Governor,  Secretary,  and  three  Judges,  who,  conjointly, 
constituted  the  law-making  power. 

Winthrop  Sargent,  one  of  the  Ohio  immigrants  of  the  pre- 
ceding year,  was  appointed  Secretary,  and  Samuel  H.  Par- 
sons, James  M.  Varnum  and  John  Armstrong,  Judges.  The 
latter  not  accepting  the  office,  John  Cleves  Symmes  was  ap- 
pointed in  his  stead.  On  the  26th  of  July,  by  proclamation 
of  the  governor,  the  county  of  Washington  \vas  organized. 
This  was  the  first  organized  county  in  the  North-western  Ter- 
ritory. It  contained  within  its  limits  about  one-half  of  the 
present  State  of  Ohio. 

In  September  the  Governor  and  Judges  prepared  and  adopt- 
ed a  code  of  laws,  which  have  been  perpetuated,  with  few 
alterations,  in  all  the  North-western  States. 

As  the  executive  authority  of  Governor  St.  Glair  extended 
over  the  vast  territory  Out  of  which  five  states  had  been 
organized,  a  brief  sketch  of  his  life  will  be  read  with  interest. 

He  was  a  native  of  Scotland,  from  which  country  he  came 
to  the  British  Colonies  of  North  America  in  1755;  having 

*  Atwater's  History  of  Ohio,  p.  129 ; — Dillon's  Indiana,  232. 


1788.  Sketch  of  Governor  St.  Clair.  347 

joined  the  Royal  American  or  60th  British  regiment,  and 
served  under  General  Amherst  at  the  taking  of  Louisburg,  in 
1758.  He  carried  a  standard  at  the  storming  and  capture  of 
Quebec,  under  General  Wolfe,  in  1759.  •*,'• 

Soon  after  the  peace  of  1763,  he  settled  in  Ligonier  valley, 
in  Western  Pennsylvania,  where  he  continued  to  reside  until 
the  revolutionary  war.  Being  a  firm  friend  of  liberty  and  the* 
rights  of  the  colonies,  he  received  from  Congress  the  commis- 
sion of  Colonel,  and  joined  the  American  army  with  a  regi- 
ment of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men.  Having  been  promot- 
ed to  the  rank  of  Major-General,  he  was  tried  by  a  court 
martial,  in  1778,  for  evacuating  Ticonderoga  and  Mount  In- 
dependence, and  unanimously  acquitted  with  the  highest 
honors.*  The  late  General  James  Wilkinson,  \vho  was  a  Ma- 
jor under  St.  Clair,  at  the  time,  states  in  the  "  Memoir  of  his 
own  Times,"  that  the  General  said  to  him,  "  I  know  I  can 
save  my  character  by  sacrificing  the  army,  but  were  I  to  do 
so,  I  should  forfeit  that  which  the  world  cannot  restore,  and 
which  the  world  cannot  take  away — my  own  conscience."-]- 
He  continued  in  the  service  with  honor  until  peace.  He 
was  rigid,  some  thought  arbitrary,  in  his  government,  and, 
therefore  unpopular,  but  he  was  scrupulously  honest — had  no 
talent  for  speculation,  and  died  poor.  In  a  letter  to  the  Hon. 
W.  B.  Giles,  of  Virginia,  he  wrote  as  follows  : 

In  the  year  1786,  I  entered  into  the  public  service  in  civil 
life,  and  was  a  member  of  Congress,  and  President  of  that 
body,  when  it  was  determined  to  erect  a  government  in  the 
country  to  the  west,  that  had  been  ceded  by  Virginia  to  the 
United  States;  and  in  the  year  1788,  the  office  of  Governor 
was  in  a  great  measure  forced  on  me.  The  losses  I  had  sus- 
tained in  the  revolutionary  war,  from  the  depreciation  of  the 
money  and  other  causes,  had  been  very  great ;  and  my  friends 
saw  in  this  new  government  means  that  might  be  in  my  power 
to  compensate  myself,  and  to  provide  handsomely  for  my 
numerous  family.  They  did  not  know  how  little  I  was  quali- 
fied to  avail  myself  of  those  advantages,  if  they  had  existed. 
I  had  neither  taste  nor  genius  for  speculation  in  land,  neither 
did  I  think  it  very  consistent  with  the  office. J 

On  entering  upon  the  responsible  office  of  Governor  of 
this  new  Territory,  instructions  were  received  by  him  from 
Congress.  He  was  authorized  and  required  : 

*  Dillon's  Indiana,  231. 

|  Wilkinson's  Memoirs,  i.  85. 

t  Dillon's  Indiana,  231. 


348  Instructions  to  Governor  St.  Glair.  1788. 


1.  Tfc.  examine  carefully  into  the  real  temper  of  the  Indians. 

2.  To  remove,  if  possible,  all  causes  of  controversy  with 
them,  so  that  peace  and  harmony  might  exist  between  them 

\  and  the  United  States. 

WM^^w 

•    3.  To  regulate  the  trade  with  them. 

/"  4.  To  use  his  best  efforts  to  extinguish  the  rights  of  the  In- 
dians to  lands  westward  to  the  Mississippi,  and  northward  to 
the  forty-first  degree  of  latitude. 

5.  To  ascertain,  as  far  as  possible,  the  names  of  the  real 
head  men  and  leading  warriors  of  each  tribe,  and  to  attach 
these  men  to  the  United  States. 

6.  To  defeat  all  combinations  among  the  tribes  by  concilia- 
tory means.* 

About  the  first  of  January,  1790,  the  Governor  and  Judges, 
with  Winthrop  Sargent,  the  Secretary,  proceeded  down  the 
river  from  Marietta  to  Fort  Washington,  (now  Cincinnati,) 
and  the  Governor  laid  off  the  county  of  Hamilton,  and  ap- 
pointed magistrates  and  other  civil  officers  for  the  administra- 
tion of  justice.  At  this  time  Losantiville  received  the  name 
of  Cincinnati.  On  the  5th  of  January,  a  law  was  enacted  by 
the  Governor  and  Judges,  requiring  courts  to  be  held  fouv 
times  in  a  year. 

The  Governor  and  Secretary  continued  down  the  river,  and 
on  the  8th  of  January,  they  were  at  Clarksville,  near  the  foot  of 
the  Falls,  where  magistrates  were  appointed  for  that  portion  of 
the  North-western  Territory,  now  included  within  the  State  of 
Indiana.  From  this  point,  the  Governor  and  Secretary  pro- 
ceeded by  land  to  Vincennes.  Here  Major  Hamtramck  was  in 
command.  At  that  period  corn  was  very  scarce,  and  the  peo- 
ple were  suffering,  and  the  Governor  proffered  to  have  corn 
transported  from  the  Falls,  where  it  was  plenty  and  cheap, 
provided  the  citizens  could  pay  for  it.  And  although  he  had 
no  authority  from  the  government,  he  offered  to  provide  for 
the  starving  who  had  not  means  to  pay,  and  trust  to  the 
liberality  of  Congress. f  Such  was  also  the  condition  of  the 
inhabitants  in  the  Illinois  country. 

Governor  St.  Clair  and  the  Secretary  reached  Kaskaskia  in 
February,  and  soon  after  organized  the  county  of  St.  Clair, 

*  Dillon's  Indiana,  1.  232. 
t  Dillon's  Indiana,  i.  242. 


1790.  County  of  St.  Clair  Organized.  349 

appointed  magistrates  and  other  civil  officers,  and  directed  the 
citizens  to  exhibit  to  him  their  titles  and  claims  to  the  lands 
which  they  held,  that  they  might  be  confirmed  in  their 
possessions. 

As  many  of  the  events  of  Illinois  will  appear  more  in  de- 
tail, in  the  Appendix,  we  pass  to  the  annals  of  the  Indian 
wars  of  this  period. 

The  most  important  and  interesting  events  connected  with 
the  West,  from  the  commencement  of  1790  to  the  close  of 
1795,  were  those  growing  out  of  these  wars.  In  order  to 
present  them  in  one  unbroken  and  intelligible  story,  we  shall 
abandon  for  a  time  our  division  by  single  years,  and  relate  the 
events  of  the  six  referred  to  as  composing  one  period.  But  to 
render  the  events  of  that  period  distinct,  we  must  recall  to 
our  readers  some  matters  thai  happened  long  before. 

And  in  the  first  place,  we  would  remind  them  that  the 
French  made  no  large  purchases  from  the  western  Indians ;  so 
that  the  treaty  of  Paris,  in  1763,  transferred  to  England  only 
small  grants  about  the  various  forts,  Detroit,  Vincennes,  Kas- 
kaskia,  &c.  Then  followed  Pontiac's  war  and  defeat;  and 
then  the  grant  by  the  Iroquois  at  Fort  Stanwix,  in  1768,  of 
the  land  south  of  the  Ohio  ;  and  even  this  grant,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, was  not  respected  by  those  who  actually  hunted 
on  the  grounds  transferred.^Next  came  the  war  of  1774,  Dun- 
more's  war,  which  termirrated  without  any  transfer  of  the 
Indian  possessions  to  the  whites  J and  when,  at  the  close  of 
the  Revolution,  in  1783,  Britain  nfade  over  her  western  claims 
to  the  United  States,  she  made  over  nothing  more  than  she 
had  received  from  Prance,  save  the  title  of  the  Six  Nations  and 
the  southern  savages  to  a  portion  of  the  territory  south  of  the 
Ohio  :  as  against  the  Miamies,  western  Delawares,  Shawa- 
nese,  Wyandots  or  Hurons,  and  the  tribes  still  farther  north 
and  west,  she  transferred  nothing.  [Mr.  Perkins  has  over- 
looked the  cession  by  the  Iroquois  to  Great  Britain,  of  a  large 
portion  of  the  North-Western  Territory  in  1701,  which  they 
claimed  by  right  of  conquest.]  But  this,  apparently,  was 
not  the  view  taken  by  the  Congress  of  the  time  ;  and  they, 
conceiving  that  they  had^under  the  treaty  with  England,  a 
full  right  to  all  the  lands  thereby  ceded,  and  regarding  the  In- 
dian title  as  forfeited  by  the  hostilities  of  the  Revolution,  pro- 
ceeded, not  to  buy  the  lands  of  the  savages,  but  to  grant  them 


350  Mode  of  acquiring  Indian  lands.  1790-95. 

peace,  and  dictate  their  own  terms  as  to  boundaries.*  In 
October,  1784,  the  United  States  acquired  in  this  way  what- 
ever title  the  Hd^fipl^ossessed  to  the  western  country,  both 
north  and  south  of  the  OhioJby  the  second  treaty  of  Fort 
Stanwix ;  a  treaty  openly  ana  fairly  made,  but  one,  the  va- 
lidity of  which,  many  of  the  Iroquois  always  disputed.  The 
ground  of  their  objection  appears  to  have  been,  that  the  treaty 
was  with  a  part  only  of  the  Indian  nations,  whereas  the  wish 
of  the  natives  was,  that  every  act  of  the  States  with  them, 
should  be  as  with  a  confederacy,  embracing  all  the  tribes  bor- 
dering upon  the  great  lakes.  Our  readers  may  remember  that 
the  instructions  given  the  Indian  Commissioners  in  October, 
1783,  provided  for  one  convention  with  all  the  tribes ;  and 
that  this  provision  was  changed  in  the  following  March  for 
one,  by  which  as  many  separate  conventions  were  to  be  had, 
if  possible,  as  there  were  separate  tribes.  In  pursuance  of 
this  last  plan,  the  Commissioners,  in  October,  1784,  refused  to 
listen  to  the  proposal  which  is  said  then  to  have  been  made 
for  one  general  congress  of  the  northern  tribes,  and  in  oppo- 
sition to  Brant,  Red  Jacket  and  other  influential  chiefs  of  the 
Iroquois,  concluded  the  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix.  Then  came 
the  treaty  of  Fort  Mclntosh,  in  January,  1785,  with  the  "  Wy- 
andot,  Delaware,  Chippewa  and  Ottawa  nations  " — open  to 
the  objections  above  recited,  but  the  validity  of  which,  so  far 
as  we  know,  was  never  disputed,  at  least  by  the  Wyandots 
and  Delawares ;  /although  the  general  council  of  north-west- 
ern Indians,  representing  sixteen  tribes,  asserted  in  1793,  that 
the  treaties  of  Fort  Stanwix,  Fort  Mclntosh  and  Fort  Finney, 
(mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,}  were  not  onty  held  with  separate 
tribes,  but  were  obtained  by  intimidation,  the  red-men  having 
been  asked  to  make  treaties  of  peace,  and  forced  to  make 
cessions  of  territory ._J  The  third  treaty  made  by  the  United 
States  was  with  the  Shawanese  at  Fort  Finney,  in  January, 
1786  ;  which,  it  will  be  remembered,  the  Wabash  tribes  re- 
fused to  attend.  The  fourth  and  fifth,  which  were  acts  of  con- 
.firmation,  were  made  at  Fort  Harmar,  in  1789,  one  with  the 
Six  Nations,  and  the  other  with  the  Wyandots  and  their  asso- 

*  See  in  proof,  the  Report  to  Congress  of  October  15,  1783,  (Old  Journals,  IT.  294;)  the 
instructions  to  the  Indian  Commissioners,  October  15th,  1783,  (Secret  Journals,  i.  257;)  the 
various  treaties  of  1784,  '85,  and  '86  (ante);  General  Knox's  Report  of  June  15,  1789, 
(American  State  Papers,  v.  13);  and  the  distinct  acknowledgment  of  the  commissioner!  in 
1793,  (American  State  Papers,  v.  353.) 


1790-95.  Treaty  of  Fort  Harmar.  351 

• 

elates,  namely,  the  Delawares,  Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Pota- 
watamies,  and  Sacs.  This  last,  fifth  treaty,  the  confederated 
nations  of  the  lake  especially,  refused  to  acknowledge  as 
binding:  their  council  using  in  relation  to  it,  in  1793,  these 
words : 

Brothers  :  A  general  council  of  all  the  Indian  confederacy 
was  held,  as  you  well  know,  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1788,  at 
this  place  ;  and  that  general  council  was  invited  by  your  com- 
missioner, Governor  St.  Clair,  to  meet  him  for  the  purpose  of 
holding  a  treaty,  with  regard  to  the  lands  mentioned  by  you 
to  have  been  ceded  by  the  treaties  of  Fort  Stanwix  and  Fort 
Mclntosh. 

Brothers :  We  are  in  possession  of  the  speeches  and  letters 
which  passed  on  that  occasion,  between  those  deputed  by  the 
confederate  Indians,  and  Governor  St.  Clair,  the  commissioner 
of  the  United  States.  These  papers  prove  that  your  said 
commissioner,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1789,  after  having 
been  informed  by  the  general  council,  of  the  preceding  fall, 
that  no  bargain  or  sale  of  any  part  of  these  Indian  lands 
would  be  considered  as  valid  or  binding,  unless  agreed  to  by 
a  general  council,  nevertheless  persisted  in  collecting  together 
a  few  chiefs  of  two  or  three  nations  only,  and  with  them  held 
a  treaty  for  the  cession  of  an  immense  country,  in  which  they 
were  no  more  interested,  than  as  a  branch  of  the  general  con- 
federacy, and  who  were  in  no  manner  authorized  to  make  any 
grant  or  cession  whatever. 

Brothers:  How  then  was  it  possible  for  you  to  expect  to  en- 
joy peace,  and  quietly  to  hold  these  lands,  when  your  com- 
missioner was  informed,  long  before  he  held  the  treaty  of  Fort 
Harmar,  that  the  consent  of  a  general  council  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  convey  any  part  of  these  lands  to  the  United 
States.* 

And  in  1795,  at  Greenville,  Massas,  a  Chippewa  chieftain, 
who  signed  the  treaty  at  Fort  Harmar,  said  : 

Elder  Brother:  When  you  yesterday  read  to  us  the  treaty 
of  Muskingum,  I  understood  you  clearly :  at  that  treaty  we 
had  not  good  interpreters,  and  we  were  left  partly  unac- 
quainted with  many  particulars  of  it. /I  was  surprised  when 
1  heard  your  voice,  through  a  good  interpreter,  say  that  we 
had  received  presents  and  compensation  for  those  lands  which 
were  thereby  ceded.  I  tell  you,  now,  that  we,  the  three  fires, 
never  were  informed  of  it.  If  our  uncles,  the  Wyandots,  and 
grandfathers,  the  Delawares,  have  received  such  presents,  they 
have  kept  them  to  themselves.  I  always  thought  that  we, 
the  Ottawas,  Chippewas,  and  Potawatamies,  were  the  true 

*  American  State  Papers,  r.  p.  356,  357. 


352  Indian  relations  in  1789.  1789. 

• 

owners  of  those  lands,  but  now  I  find  that  new  masters  have 
undertaken  to  dispose  of  them ;  so  that,  at  this  day,  we  do 
not  know  to  whom  they,  of  right,  belong.  We  never  received 
any  compensation  for  them.  I  don't  know  how  it  is,  but  ever 
since  that  treaty  we  have  become  objects  of  pity,  and  our 
fires  have  been  retiring  from  this  country.  Now,  elder  brother, 
you  see,  we  are  objects  of  compassion ;  and  have  pity  on  our 
weakness  and  misfortunes;  and,  since  you  have  purchased 
these  lands,  we  cede  them  to  you  :  they  are  yours. 

The  Wyandots,  however,  acknowledged  even  the  transfer 
made  on  the  Muskingum,  to  be  binding :  "  Brother,"  said 
Tarke,  who  signed  foremost  among  the  representatives  of  that 
tribe  at  Greenville,  and  who  had  also  signed  at  FortHarmar — 

You  have  proposed  to  us  to  build  our  good  work  on  the 
treaty  of  Muskingum  :  that  treaty  I  have  always  considered 
as  formed  upon  the  fairest  principles.  You  took  pity  on  us 
Indians.  You  did  not  do  as  our  fathers  the  British  agreed 
you  should.  You  might  by  that  agreement  have  taken  all  our 
lands;  but  you  pitied  us,  and  let  us  hold  part.  I  always 
looked  upon  that  treaty  to  be  binding  upon  the  United  States 
and  us  Indians.* 

The  truth  in  reference  to  this  treaty  of  Fort  Harmar  seems 
to  have  been,  that  the  confederated  nation,  as  a  whole,  did 
not  sanction  it,  and  in  their  council  of  1778  could  not  agree 
one  with  another  in  relation  to  it.  "  I  have  still  my  doubts," 
says  Brant,  before  the  council  met — 

I  have  still  my  doubts  whether  we  will  join  or  not,  some 
being  no  ways  inclined  for  peaceable  methods.  The  Hurons, 
Chippewas,  Ottawas,  Potawatomies,  and  Delawares,  will  join 
with  us  in  trying  lenient  steps,  and  having  a  boundary  line 
fixed ;  and,  rather  than  enter  headlong  into  a  destructive  war, 
will  give  up  a  small  part  of  their  country.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  Shawanese,  Miamies  and  Kickapoos,  who  are  now  so  much 
addicted  to  horse-stealing,  that  it  will  be  a  difficult  task  to 
break  them  of  it,  as  that  kind  of  business  is  their  best  harvest, 
will  of  course  declare  for  war,  and  not  giving  up  any  of  their 
country,  which,  I  am  afraid,  will  be  the  means  of  our  sepa- 
rating. They  are,  I  believe,  determined  not  to  attend  the 
treaty  with  the  Americans.  Still  I  hope  for  the  best.  As  the 
major  part  of  the  nations  are  of  our  opinions,  the  rest  maybe 
brought  to,  as  nothing  shall  be  wanting  on  my  part  to  con- 
vince them  of  their  error. j- 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  p.  570,  571. 
|  Stone,  ii,  278. 


1790-95.  Grounds  of  United  States  claims.  353 

Le  Gris,  the  great  chief  of  the  Miamies,  in  April,  1790,  said  to 
.Gamelin,  that  the  Muskingum  treaty  was  not  made  by  chiefs 
or  delegates,*  but  by  young  men  acting  without  authority, 
although  Tarke,  the  head  of  the  Wyandots,  signed  and  sanc- 
tioned it,  as  well  as  Captain  Pipe  of  the  Delawares,  while 
Brant  himself  was  present. f 

Thus  then  stood  the  relations  of  the  Indians  and  the  United 
States  in  1789.  Transfers  of  territory  had  been  made  by  the 
Iroquois,  the  Wyandots,  the  Delawares  and  the  Shawanese, 
\vhich  were  open  to  scarce  any  objection  ;  but  the  Chippewas, 
Ottawas,  Kickapoos,  Weas,  Piankeshaws,  Po  taw  atomies,  Eel 
River  Indians,  Kaskaskias,  and  above  all  the  Miamies,%were 
not  bound  by  any  existing  agreement  to  yield  the  lands  north 
of  the  Ohio.  [  If  the  story  of  a  confederacy  being  in  i-eality 
formed  between  these  nations,  and  their  statement  is  correct, 
which  we  doubt,  then,  as  they  afterwards  said,  they  had  for- 
bidden the  treaty  at  Fort  Harmar,  and  warned  Governor  St. 
Clair  that  it  would  not  be  binding.]  /They  wished  the  Ohio 
to  be  a  perpetual  boundary  between  the  white  and  red  men  -JT 
of  the  West,  and  would  not  sell  a  rod  of  the  region  north  of 
it.  So  strong  was  this  feeling  that  their  young  men,  they  said, 
could  not  be  restrained  from  warfare  upon  the  invading  Long 
Knives,  and  thence  resulted  the  unceasing  attacks  upon  the 
frontier  stations  and  the  emigrants.  1  [Probably  they  had  been 
put  up  to  take  this  ground  by  the  British  traders.  They  were 
interested  in  keeping  the  Americans  from  the  north  side  of 
the  Ohio  river,  and  did  much  to  disafFect  these  Indians.] 

Washington  expressed  doubts  as  to  the  justness  of  an  offen- 
sive war  upon  the  tribes  of  the  Wabash  and  Maumee ;  and 
had  the  treaty  of  Fort  Harmar  been  the  sole  ground  whereon 
the  United  States  could  have  claimed  of  the  Indians  the 
North-western  Territory,  it  may  be  doubted  whether  right 
would  have  justified  the  steps  taken  in  1790,  '91,  and  '94;  but 
the  truth  was,  that  before  that  treaty,  the  Iroquois,  Delawares, 
Wyandots,  and  Shawanese  had  yielded  the  south  of  Ohio,  the 
ground  on  which  they  had  long  dwelt;  and  neither  the  sale  to 
Putnam  and  his  associates,  nor  that  to  Symmes,  was  intended 
to  reach  beyond  the  lands  ceded.  Of  this  we  have  proof  in 
the  third  article  of  the  ordinance  of  1787,  passed  the  day 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  94.  t  Stone,  ii.  281.   - 


354  Gamdiri's  Mission.  1790. 

before  the  proposition  to  sell  to  the  Ohio  Company  was  for 
the  first  time  debated  ;  which  article  declares  that  the  lands, 
of  the  Indians  shall  never  be  taken  from  them  without  their 
consent.  It  appears  to  us,  therefore,  that  the  United  States 
were  fully  justified  in  taking  possession  of  the  north-west 
shore  of  the  Belle  Riviere,  and  that  without  reference  to  the 
treaty  at  Fort  Harmar,  which  we  will  allow  to  have  been,  if 
the  Indians  spoke  truly,  (and  they  were  not  contradicted  by 
the  United  States  commissioners,)  morally  worthless.  But  it 
also  appears  to  us,  that  in  taking  those  steps  in  1790  and 
1791,  which  we  have  presently  to  relate,  the  federal  govern- 
ment acted  unwisely  ;  and  that  it  should  then,  at  the  outset, 
have  done  what  it  did  in  1793,  after  St.  Glair's  terrible  defeat, 
— namely,  it  should  have  sent  commissioners  of  the  highest 
character  to  the  lake  tribes,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  British, . 
learnt  their  causes  of  complaint,  and  offered  fair  terms  of 
compromise.  That  such  a  step  was  wise  ajid  just,  the  govern- 
ment acknowledged  by  its  after-action  ;  and  surely  none  can 
question  the  position  that  it  was  more  likely  to  have  been 
effective  before  the  savages  had  twice  defeated  the  armfes  of 
the  confederacy  than  afterward.  The  full  bearing  of  these 
remarks  will  be  best  seen,  however,  when  the  whole  tale  is 
told,  and  to  that  we  now  proceed. 

In  June,  1789,  Major  Doughty,  with  a  hundred  and  forty 
men,  began  the  building  of  Fort  Washington  at  Cincinnati. 
Upon  the  29th  of  December,  General  Harmar  himself  came 
down  with  three  hundred  additional  troops.* 

[Having  learned  from  Major  Hamtramck,  commanding  at 
Vincennes,  the  hostile  feelings  of  the  Wabash  and  Maumee 
tribes,  he  left  Kaskaskia,  on  the  llth  of  June,  started  for 
Fort  Washington,  and  reached  that  point  upon  the  13th  day 
of  July.] 

The  feelings  alluded  to  had  been  obtained  in  the  following 
manner.  Washington  having  desired  that  great  pains  should 
be  taken  to  learn  the  real  sentiments  of  the  north-western  In- 
dians, Governor  St.  Clair  instructed  Major  Hamtramck  at 
Vincennes,  (Fort  Knox,)  to  send  some  experienced  persons  to 
ascertain  the  views  and  feelings  of  the  Miamis  and  their  con- 
federates. The  person  chosen  was  Anthony  Gamelin,  an  in- 

*  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  ii.  124. 


1790.  Gamelin's  Missicni.  355 

telligent  French  trader,  of  Vincennes,  who,  on  the  fifth  of 
April,  proceeded  upon  his  mission.  The  Piankeshaws,  Kicka- 
poos,  and  Ouiatenons,  (Ouias  or  Weas,)  all  referred  him  to 
their  elder  brethren,  the  Miamis,  so  that  he  had  to  journey  on 
to  the  point  where  the  Miamis,  Chaouanons,*  (Shawanese)  and 
Delawares  resided ;  upon  the  23d  of  April  he  reached  that 
point,  and  upon  the  24th  assembled  the  savages. 

I  gave  to  each  nation,  he  says,  two  branches  of  wampum, 
and  began  the  speeches,  before  the  French  and  English  tra- 
ders, being  invited  by  the  chiefs  to  be  present,  having  told 
them  myself  I  would  be  glad  to  have  them  present,  having 
nothing  to  say  against  any  body.  After  the  speech,  I  showed 
them  the  treaty  concluded  at  Muskingum,  (Fort  Harmar.)  be- 
tween his  excellency  Governor  St.  Clair  and  sundry  nzftions, 
which  displeased  them.  I  told  them  that  the  purpose  of  this 
present  time  was  not  to  submit  them  to  any  condition,  but  to 
offer  them  the  peace,  which  made  disappear  their  pleasure.  The 
great  chief  told  me  that  he  was  pleased  with  the  speech  ;  that 
he  would  give  me  an  answer.  In  a  private  discourse  with  the 
great  chief,  he  told  me  not  to  mind  what  the  Shawanese 
would  tell  me,  having  a  bad  heart,  and  being  the  perturbators 
of  all  the  nations.  He  said  the  Miamies  had  a  bad  name,  on 
account  of  mischief  done  on  the  River  Ohio  ;  but  he  told  me 
it  was  not  occasioned  by  his  young  men,  but  by  the  Sha- 
wanese ;  his  young  men  going  out  only  for  to  hunt. 

The  25th  of  April,  Blue  Jacket,  chief  warrior  of  the  Sha- 
wanese, invited  me  to  go  to  his  house,  and  told  me,  "  My 
friend,  by  the  name  and  consent  of  the  Shawanese  and  Dela- 
wares I  will  speak  to  you.  We  are  all  sensible  of  your 
speech,  and  pleased  with  it :  but,  after  consultation,  we  can- 
not give  an  answer  without  hearing  from  our  father  at  De- 
troit ;  and  we  are  determined  to  give  you  back  the  two 
branches  of  wampum,  and  to  send  you  to  Detroit  to  see  and 
hear  the  chief,  or  to  stay  here  twenty  nights  for  to  receive  his 
answer.  From  all  quarters  we  receive  speeches  from  Ameri- 
cans, and  not  one  is  alike.  We  suppose  that  they  intend  to 
deceive  us.  Then  take  back  your  branches  of  wampum." 

The  26th,  five  Potawatomies  arrived  here  with  two  negro 
men,  which  they  sold  to  English  traders.  The  next  day  I 
went  to  the  great  chief  of  the  Miamies,  called  Les  Gris.  His 
chief  warrior  was  present.  I  told  him  how  I  had  been  served 
by  the  Shawanese.  He  answered  me  that  he  had  heard  of  it : 
that  the  said  nations  had  behaved  contrary  to  his  intentions. 
He  desired  me  not  to  mind  those  strangers,  and  that  he  would 
soon  give  me  a  positive  answer. 

*  The  old  French  orthography  used  by  CharleT«ix  and  all  others. 


356  Gamelin's  Journal.  1790. 

The  28th  April,  the  great  chief  desired  me  to  call  at  the 
French  trader's  and  receive  his  answer.  "  Don't  take  bad," 
said  he,  "  of  what  I  am  to  tell  you.  You  may  go  back  when 
you  please.  We  cannot  give  you  a  positive  answer.  We 
must  send  your  speeches  to  all  our  neighbors,  and  to  the  lake 
nations.  We  cannot  give  a  definitive  answer  without  con- 
sulting the  commandant  at  Detroit."  And  he  desired  me  to 
render  him  the  two  branches  of  wampum  refused  by  the 
Shawanese;  also,  a  copy  of  speeches  in  writing.  He  promised 
me  that,  in  thirty  nights,  he  would  send  an  answer  to  Post 
Vincennes,  by  a  }roung  man  of  each  nation.  He  was  well 
pleased  with  the  speeches,  and  said  to  be  worthy  of  attention, 
and  should  be  communicated  to  all  their  confederates,  having 
resolved  among  them  not  to  do  anything  without  an  unani 
mousLconsent.  I  agreed  to  his  requisitions,  and  rendered  him 
the  two  branches  of  wampum,  and  a  copy  of  the  speech. 
Afterwards,  he  told  me  that  the  Five  Nations,  so  called,  or 
Iroquois,  were  training  something ;  that  five  of  them,  and 
three  Wyandots,  were  in  this  village  with  branches  of  wam- 
pum. He  could  not  tell  me  presently  their  purpose  ;  but  he 
said  I  would  know  of  it  very  soon. 

The  same  day,  Blue  Jacket,  chief  of  the  Shawanese,  invited 
me  to  his  house  for  supper  ;  and,  before  the  other  chiefs,  told 
me  that,  after  another  deliberation,  they  thought  necessary 
that  I  should  go  myself  to  Detroit,  for  to  see  the  commandant, 
who  would  get  all  his  children  assembled  for  to  hear  my 
speech.  I  told  them  I  would  not  answer  them  in  the  night  : 
that  I  was  not  ashamed  to  speak  before  the  sun. 

The  29th  April  I  got  them  all  assembled.  I  told  them  that 
I  was  not  to  go  to  Detroit :  that  the  speeches  were  directed  to 
the  nations  of  the  river  Wabash  and  the  Miami ;  and  that,  for 
to  prove  the  sincerity  of  the  speech,  and  the  heart  of  Governor 
St.  Clair,  I  have  willingly  given  a  copy  of  the  speeches,  to  be 
shown  td  the  commandant  of  Detroit :  and,  according  to  a 
letter  wrote  by  the  commandant  of  Detroit  to  the  Miamies, 
Shawanese,  and  Delawares,  mentioning  to  you  to  be  peacea- 
ble with  the  Americans,  I  would  go  to  him  very  willingly,  if  it 
was  in  my  directions,  being  sensible  of  his  sentiments.  I  told 
them  t  had  nothing  to  say  to  the  commandant;  neither  him  to 
me.  You  must  immediately  resolve,  if  you  intend  to  take 
me  to  Detroit,  or  else  I  am  to  go  back  as  soon  as  possible. 
Blue  Jacket  got  up  and  told  me,  "  My  friend,  we  are  well 
pleased  with  what  you  say.  Our  intention  is  not  to  force  you 
to  go  to  Detroit  :  it  is  only  a  proposal,  thinking  it  for  the  best. 
Our  answer  is  the  same  as  the  Miamies.  We  will  send,  in 
thirty  nights,  a  full  and  positive  answer,  by  a  young  man  of 
each  nation,  by  writing,  to  Post  Vincennes."  In  the  evening, 
Blue  Jacket,  chief  of  the  Shawanese,  having  taken  me  to  sup- 
per with  him,  told  me,  in  a  private  manner,  that  the  Sha- 


1790.  Gamclirfs  Journal.  357 

wanese  nation  was  in  doubt  of  the  sincerity  of  the  Big  Knives, 
so  called,  having  been  already  deceived  by  them.  That  they 
had  first  destroyed  their  lands,  put  out  their  fire,  and  sent 
away  their  young  men,  being  a  hunting,  without  a  mouthful 
of  meat :  also,  had  taken  away  their  women  ;  wherefore, 
many  of  them  would,  with  a  great  deal  of  pain,  forget  these 
affronts.  Moreover,  that  some  other  nations  were  apprehend- 
ing that  offers  of  peace  would,  may  be,  tend  to  take  away, 
by  degrees,  their  lands ;  and  would  serve  them  as  they  did  be- 
fore :  a  certain  proof  that  they  intend  to  encroach  on  our 
lands,  is  their  new  settlement  on  the  Ohio.  If  they  don't  keep 
this  side  (of  the  Ohio)  clear,  it  will  never  be  a  proper  recon- 
cilement with  the  nations  Shawanese,  Iroquois,  Wyandots, 
and,  perhaps  many  others.  Le  Gris,  chief  of  the  Miamies, 
asked  me,  in  a  private  discourse,  what  chief  had  made  a 
treaty  with  the  Americans  at  Muskingum,  (Fort  Harmar.)  I 
answered  him,  that  their  names  were  mentioned  in  the  treaty. 
He  told  me  he  had  heard  of  it  some  time  ago  ;  but  they  are 
not  chiefs,  neither  delegates,  who  made  that  treaty  :  they  are 
only  young  men,  who  without  authority  and  instructions  from 
their  chiefs,  have  concluded  that  treaty,  which  will  not  be  ap- 
proved? They  went  to  the  treaty  clandestinely,  and  they  in- 
tend to  make  mention  of  it  in  the  next  council  to  be  held.* 

On  the  8th  of  May,  Gamelin  returned  to  Fort  Knox,  and 
on  the  llth,  some  traders  from  the  Upper  Wabash  arrived, 
bringing  news  that  parties  from  the  north  had  joined  the 
Wabash  savages ;  that  the  whole  together  had  already  gone 
to  war  upon  the  Americans ;  and  that  three  days  after  Game- 
lin left  the  Miamis,  an  American  captive  had  been  burned  in 
their  village  :f  all  which  things  so  plainly  foretold  trouble  on 
the  frontier,  that  St.  Clair,  as  we  have  stated,  hastened  to 
Fort  Washington  to  concert  with  General  Harmar  a  campaign 
into  the  country  of  the  hostile  tribes. 

Before  we  proceed  with  the  history  of  Harmar's  campaign, 
however,  it  seems  proper  to  give  in  one  view  all  that  we 
know  relative  to  the  agency  of  the  British  in  keeping  up  In- 
dian hostility  after  the  peace  of  1783. 

•Most  of  the  tribes,  as  our  readers  have  seen,  adhered  to 
England  during  the  Revolutionary  struggle.  When  the  war 
ceased,  however,  England  made  no  provision  for  them,  and 
transferred  the  Northwest  to  the  United  States,  without  any 
stipulation  as  to  the  rights  of  the  natives.  The  United  States, 

*  American  State  Papers,  y.  p.  93. 
f  American  State  Papers,  v.  87. 


358  Agency  of  Britain.  1790. 

regarding  the  lands  of  the  hostile  tribes  as  conquered  and  for- 
feited, proceeded  to  give  peace  to  the  savages,  and  to  grant 
them  portions  of  their  own  lands.  This  produced  discontent, 
and  led  to  the  formation  of  the  confederacy  headed  by  Brant.* 
To  assist  the  purposes  of  this  union,  it  was  very  desirable  that 
the  British  should  still  hold  the  posts  along  the  lakes,  and  sup- 
ply the  red  men  with  all  needful  things.  The  forts  they 
claimed  a  right  to  hold,  because  the  Americans  disregarded 
the  treaty  of  1783  ;  the  trade  with  the  Indians,  even  though 
the  latter  might  be  at  war  with  the  United  States,  they 
regarded  as  perfectly  fair  and  just.  Having  thus  a  sort  of 
legal  right  to  the  position  they  occupied,  the  British  did,  un- 
doubtedly and  purposely,  aid  and  abet  the  Indians  hostile  to 
tlie  United  States.  In  1785,  after  the  formation  of  his  confed- 
eracy, Brantwent  to  England,  and  his  arrival  was  thus  an- 
nounced in  the  London  prints  : 

This  extraordinary  personage  is  said  to  have  presided  at 
the  late  grand  Congress  of  confederate  chiefs  of  the  Indian 
nations  in  America,  and  to  be  by  them  appointed  to  fhe  con- 
'  duct  and  chief  command  in  the  war  which  they  now  meditate 
against  the  United  States  of  America.  He  took  his  departure 
for  England  immediately  as  that  assembly  broke  up ;  and  it 
is  conjectured  that  his  embassy  to  the  British  Courtis  of  great 
importance.  This  country  owes  much  to  the  services  of 
Colonel  Brant  during  the  late  war  in  America.  He  was  edu- 
cated at  Philadelphia ;  is  a  very  shrewd,  intelligent  person, 
possesses  great  courage  and  abilities  as  a  warrior,  and  is  in- 
violably attached  to  the  British  nation. f 

On  the  4th  of  January,  1786,  he  visited  Lord  Sidney,  the 
Colonial  Secretary,  and  after  plainly  and  boldly  stating  the 
trouble  of  the  Indians  at  the  forgetfulncss  of  Britain — the  en- 
croachments of  the  Americans — and  their  fear  of  serious 
consequences,  i.  e.  war,  he  closed  with  these  words  : 

This  we  shall  avoid  to  the  utmost  of  our  power,  as  dearly 
as  we  love  our  lands.  But  should  it,  contrary  to  our  wishes, 
happen,  we  desire  to  know  whether  we  are  to  be  considered 
as  His  Majesty's  faithful  allies,  and  have  that  support  and 
countenance  such  as  old  and  true  friends  expect. J 

The  English  minister  returned  a  perfectly  non-committal 
answer;  arid  when  the  Mohawk  chieftain,  upon  his  return, 
met  the  confederated  natives  in  November,  1786,  he  could 

*  Heckewelder's  Narrative,  379.    Stone's  Life  of  Brant,  ii.  24T.  240. 
t  Stone,  ii.  249.  J  Ibid,  254. 


1790. .  Brant's  Movements.  359 

give  them  no  distinct  assurances  of  aid  from  England.  But 
while  all  definite  promises  were  avoided,  men  situated  as 
John  Johnson,  the  Indian  superintendent,  did  not  hesitate  to 
write  to  him — 

Do  not  suffer  an  idea  to  hold  a  place  in  your  mind,  that 
it  will  be  for  your  interest  to  sit  still  and  see  the  Ameri- 
cans attempt  the  posts.  It  is  for  your  sakes  chiefly,  if  not 
entirely,  that  we  hold  them.  If  you  become  indifferent 
about  them,  they  may  perhaps  be  given  up ;  what  security 
would  you  then  have  ?  You  would  be  left  at  the  mercy 
of  a  people  whose  blood  calls  aloud  for  revenge ;  whereas, 
by  supporting  them,  you  encourage  us  to  hold  them,  and  en- 
courage the  new  settlements,  already  considerable,  and  every 
day  increasing  by  numbers  coming  in,  who  find  they  can't 
live  in  the  States.  Many  thousands  are  preparing  to  come 
in.  This  increase  of  his  Majesty's  subjects  will  serve  as  a 
protection  for  you,  should  the  subjects  of  the  States,  by  en- 
deavoring to  make  further  encroachments  on  you,  disturb 
your  quiet.* 

This  letter  was  written  in  March,  1787  ;  and  two  months 
afterwards,  Major  Matthews,  who  had  been  in  the  suite  of 
the  Government  of  Canada,  Lord  Dorchester,  after  being  ap- 
pointed to  command  at  Detroit,  speaks  still  more  explicitly, 
and  in  the  Governor's  name  also :  "  His  Lordship  was  sorry  to 
learn,"  he  says — 

That  while  the  Indians  were  soliciting  his  assistance  in  their 
preparations  for  war,  some  of  the  Six  Nations  had  sent  depu- 
ties to  Albany  to  treat  with  the  Americans,  who,  it  is  said, 
have  made  a  treaty  with  them,  granting  permission  to  make 
roads  for  the  purpose  of  coming  to  Niagara ;  but  that,  not- 
withstanding these  things,  the  Indians  should  have  their 
presents,  as  they  are  marks  of  the  King's  approbation  of  their 
former  conduct.  In  future  his  lordship  wishes  them  to  act  as 
is  best  for  their  interest;  he  cannot  begin  a  war  with  the 
Americans,  because  some  of  their  people  encroach  and  make 
depredations  upon  parts  of  the  Indian  country ;  but  they  must 
see  it  is  his  lordship's  intention  to  defend  the  posts  ;  and  that 
while  these  are  preserved,  the  Indians  must  find  great  secur- 
ity therefrom,  and  consequently  the  Americans  greater  diffi- 
culty in  taking  possession  of  their  lands;  but  should  they  once 
become  masters  of  the  posts,  they  will  surround  the  Indians, 
and  accomplish  their  purpose  with  little  trouble.  From  a 
consideration  of  all  which,  it  therefore  remains  with  the  In- 
dians to  decide  what  is  most  for  their  own  interest,  and  to  let 
his  lordship  know  their  determination,  that  he  may  take  his 

*  Stone,  ii,  268, 


360  British   Views.  1790. 

measures  accordingly ;  but,  whatever  their  resolution  is,  it 
should  be  taken  as  by  one  and  the  same  people,  by  which 
means  they  will  be  respected  and  become  strong ;  but  if  they 
divide,  and  act  one  part  against  the  other,  they  will  become 
weak,  and  help  to  destroy  each  other.  This  is  a  substance  of 
what  his  lordship  desired  me  to  tell  you,  and  I  request  you 
will  give  his  sentiments  that  mature  consideration  which  their 
justice,  generosity,  and  desire  to  promote  the  welfare  and 
happiness  of  the  Indians,  must  appear  to  all  the  world  to 
merit. 

In  your  letter  to  me,  you  seem  apprehensive  that  the  Eng- 
lish are  not  very  anxious  about  the  defence  of  the  posts.  You 
will  soon  be  satisfied  that  they  have  nothing  more  at  heart, 
provided  that  it  continues  to  be  the  wish  of  the  Indians,  and 
that  they  remain  firm  in  doing  their  part  of  the  business,  by 
preventing  the  Americans  from  coming  into  their  country, 
and  consequently  from  marching  to  the  posts.  On  the  other 
hand,  if  the  Indians  think  it  more  for  their  interest  that  the 
Americans  should  have  possession  of  the  posts,  and  be  estab- 
lished in  their  country,  they  ought  to  declare  it,  that  the  Eng- 
lish need  no  longer  be  put  to  the  vast  and  unnecessary  expense 
and  inconvenience  of  keeping  posts,  the  chief  object  of  which 
is  to  protect  their  Indian  allies,  and  the  loyalists  who  have 
suffered  with  them.  It  is  well  known  that  no  encroachments 
ever  have  or  ever  will  be  made  by  the  English  upon  the  lands 
or  property  of  the  Indians  in  consequence  of  possessing  the 
posts;  how  far  that  will  be  the  case  if  ever  the  Americans  get 
into  them,  may  very  easily  be  imagined,  from  their  hostile 
perseverance,  even  without  that  advantage,  in  driving  the 
Indians  off  their  lands  and  taking  possession  of  them.* 

These  assurances  on  the  part  of  the  British,  and  the  delay  of 
Congress  in  replying  to  the  address  of  the  confederated  na- 
tions, dated  December,  1786,  led  to  the  general  council  of 
1788  ;  but  the  divisions  in  that  body,  added  to  the  uncertain 
support  of  the  English  government,  at  length  caused  Brant 
for  a  time  to  give  up  his  interest  in  the  efforts  of  the  western 
natives,  among  whom  the  Miatnies  thenceforth  took  the  lead ; 
although,  as  our  extracts  from  Gamelin's  journal  show,  a  true 
spirit  of  union  did  not,  even  in  1790,  prevail  among  the 
various  tribes.  [Some  of  the  Delawares  and  Miamies  so  far 
quarrelled,  that  the  former  left  the  Miami  country,  and  settled 
in  Upper  Louisiana.]  At  that  time,  however,  the  British  in- 
fluence over  the  Miamies  and  their  fellows,  was  in  no  degree 
lessened,  as  is  plain  from  the  entire  reference  of  their  affairs, 

*  See  Stone,  in.  271. 


1790.  British  Agents  urge  Indians  to   War.  361 

when  Gamelin  went  to  them,  to  the  commandant  at  Detroit. 
Nor  can  we  wonder  at  the  hold  possessed  over  the  red  men  by 
the  English,  when  such  wretches  as  McKee,  Elliott  and  Girty,* 
were  the  go-betweens,  the  channels  of  intercourse. 

In  1773,  the  Rev.  D.  Jones  found  Alexander  McKee  living 
about  three  miles  from  Paint  Creek,  Ohio,  among  the  Shaw- 
anese.  (See  his  Journal  in  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  i.  262.) 
On  the  29th  of  February,  1776,  Col.  Butler,  the  refugee  hero 
of  Wyoming  and  Indian  agent  for  England,  wrote  to  McKee, 
then  residing  as  Indian  agent  at  Fort  Pitt,  to  come  to  Niagara ; 
in  consequence  of  which  the  committee  of  Western  Augusta, 
obliged  him  to  bind  himself  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  the 
Indians  on  account  of  Great  Britain ;  and  this  parole  Con- 
gress accepted.  (American  Archives,  fourth  series,  v.  818, 
820,  1692.— Old  Journals,  ii.  67.)  In  1778,  however,  he  left 
Pittsburgh  with  Simon  Girty,  Matthew  Elliott  and  others,  to 
join  the  British.  (Heckewelder's  Narrative,  170.)  He  be- 
came a  Colonel,  and  was  a  leader  among  the  north-west  In- 
dians from  that  time  till  his  death.  He  had  stores  at  the 
Falls  of  the  Maumee.  (See  American  State  papers,  v.  243. 
351.)  Some  of  his  letters  were  taken  at  Proctor's  defeat  in 
1813.  (See  Armstrong's  Notices,  i.  appendix  No.  2  ,  188. — 
Brown's  History  of  War  of  1812,  ii.  appendix.)  Matthew 
Elliott  had  been  a  trader  ;  in  1776  he  was  taken  by  the  Brit- 
ish and  joined  them,  for  which  he  received  a  Captain's  com- 
mission. In  1790-95  he  lived  at  the  mouth  of  Detroit  river, 
and  carried  on  trade  and  farming.  (See  Heckewelder's  Nar- 
rative, 147,  170.) 

It  is  hard  to  say  how  far  the  British  agents  aided  the  savages 
in  1790  and  1791.  The  following  is  from  a  certificate  by 
Thomas  Rhea,  taken  by  the  Indians  in  May,  1781,  and  who 
escaped  in  June.  He  is  stated  to  have  been  untrustworthy, 
(American  State  Papers,  v.  196,)  but  his  account  is  in  part 
confirmed  by  other  evidence. 

At  this  place,  the  Miami,  were  Colonels  Brant  and  McKee, 
with  his  son  Thomas ;  and  Captains  Bunbury  and  Silvie,  of 
the  British  troops.  These  officers,  &c.,  were  all  encamped  on 
the  south  side  of  the  Miami,  or  Ottawa  river,  at  the  rapids 
above  Lake  Erie,  about  eighteen  miles ;  they  had  clever 
houses,  built  chiefly  by  the  Potawatomies  and  other  Indians ; 
in  these  they  had  stores  of  goods,  with  arms,  ammunition,  and 
provision,  which  they  issued  to  the  Indians  in  great  abun- 
dance, viz:  corn,  pork,  peas,  &c.  The  Indians  came  to  this 
place  in  parties  of  one,  two,  three,  four,  and  five  hundred  at 
a  time,  from  different  quarters,  and  received  from  Mr.  McKee 
and  the  Indian  officers,  clothing,  arms,  ammunition,  provisions, 

*  Girty  we  have  already  spoken  of.    Alexander  McKee,  (sometimes  written  McKay  and'. 
McGee)  was  an  Indian  agent  before  the  Revolution. 

23 


362  British  Supply  Indians.  1790. 

&c.,  and  set  out  immediately  for  the  upper  Miami  towns, 
where  they  understood  the  forces  of  the  United  States  were 
bending  their  course,  and  in  order  to  supply  the  Indians 
from  other  quarters  collected  there,  pirogues,  loaded  with  the 
above  mentioned  articles,  were  sent  up  the  Miami  river, 
wrought  by  French  Canadians.  About  the  last  of  May,  Cap- 
tain Silvie  purchased  me  from  the  Indians,  and  I  staid  with 
him  at  this  place  till  the  4th  of  June,  (the  King's  birth  day,) 
when  I  was  sent  to  Detroit.  Previous  to  leaving  the  Miami 
river,  I  saw  one  Mr.  Dick,  who,  with  his  wife,  was  taken 
prisoner  near  Pittsburgh,  in  the  Spring — I  believe,  by  the 
Wyandots.  Mr.  McKee  was  about  to  purchase  Mr.  Dick  from 
the  Indians,  but  found  it  difficult.  Mrs.  Dick  was  separated 
from  him,  and  left  at  a  village  at  some  distance  from  this 
place.  I  also  saw  a  young  boy,  named  Brittle,  (Brickell,  pro- 
bably, see  his  narrative,  American  Pioneer,  i.  43,)  who  was 
taken  in  the  spring,  from  near  a  mill,  (Capt.  O'Hara's,)  near 
Pittsburgh,  his  hair  was  cut,  and  he  \vas  dressed  and  armed 
for  war ;  could  not  get  speaking  to  him.  About  the  5th  of  June, 
in  the  Detroit  river,  I  met  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  canoes, 
in  three  parties,  containing  a  large  party  of  Indians,  who  ap- 
peared to  be  very  wild  and  uncivilized ;  they  were  dressed 
chiefly  in  buffalo  and  other  skin  blankets,  with  otter  skin  and 
other  fur  breech  cloths,  armed  with  bows  and  arrows,  and 
spears ;  they  had  no  guns,  and  seemed  to  set  no  store  by  them, 
or  know  little  of  their  use,  nor  had  they  any  inclination  to  re- 
ceive them,  though  offered  to  them.  They  said  they  were 
three  moons  on  their  way.  The  other  Indians  called  them 
Manitocs.  About  this  time  there  was  a  field  day  of  the  troops 
at  Detroit,  which  I  think  is  from  five  to  six  hundred  in  num- 
ber; the  next  day  a  field  day  of  the  French  militia  took 
place,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  Canadians,  with  some 
others,  turned  out  volunteers  to  join  the  Indians,  and  were  to 
set  off  the  8th  for  the  Miami  village,  with  their  own  horses, 
after  being  plentifully  supplied  with  arms  and  ammunition, 
clothing,  and  provisions,  &c.,  to  fit  them  for  the  march.  While 
I  was  at  the  Miami  or  Ottawa  river,  as  they  call  it,  I  had 
mentioned  to  Col.  McKee,  and  other  officers,  that  I  had  seen 
Col.  Procter  on  his  way  to  Fort  Franklin ;  that  I  understood 
that  he  was  on  his  way  to  the  Miami,  or  Sandusky,  with  some 
of  the  Senecas,  and  that  he  expected  the  Cornplanter  would 
accompany  him,  in  order  to  settle  matters  with  the  hostile 
nations;  and  that  he  expected  to  get  shipping  at  Fort  Erie,  to 
bring  him  and  those  people  to  the  Miami,  or  Sandusky,  &c. 
That  the  officers,  in  their  conversation  with  each  other,  said, 
if  they  were  at  Fort  Erie,  he  should  get  no  shipping  there  &c. 
That  the  Mohawks  and  other  Indians,  that  could  speak  English, 
declare  that  if  he  (meaning  Col.  Procter,)  or  any  other  Yan- 
kee messenger,  came  there,  they  should  never  carry  messages 


1790.  Views  of  the  Indians.  363 

back.  This  was  frequently  expressed  by  the  Indians ;  and 
Simon  Girty,  and  a  certain  Patt  Hill,  declared  Procter  should 
not  return,  if  he  had  a  hundred  Senecas  with  him;  and  many 
other  such  threats  were  used,  and  every  movement,  appear- 
ance, and  declaration,  seemed  hostile  to  the  United  States. 
And  I  understood  that  Col.  McKee,  and  the  other  officers,  in- 
tended only  to  stay  at  the  Miami  till  they  had  furnished  the 
war  parties  of  Indians  with  the  necessaries  mentioned  above, 
to  fit  them  for  war,  and  then  would  return  to  Detroit.  That 
Elliott  had  returned  to  Detroit,  and  Simon  Girty,  and  that 
Girty  declared  he  would  go  and  join  the  Indians,  and  that 
Capt.  Elliott  told  him  he  was  going  the  next  day,  with  a  boat 
load  of  goods  for  the  Indians,  and  that  Girty  might  have  a 
passage  with  him.  That  on  the  7th  of  June,  the  ship  Dun- 
more  sailed  for  Fort  Erie,  in  which  I  got  a  passage.  We  ar- 
rived there  in  four  days.  About  the  12th  of  June  I  saw  taken 
into  this  vessel,  a  number  of  cannon,  eighteen  pounders,  with 
other  military  stores,  and  better  than  two  companies  of  artil- 
lery troops,  destined,  as  I  understood,  for  Detroit  and  the  up- 
per posts ;  some  of  the  artillery-men  had  to  remain  behind, 
for  want  of  room  in  the  vessel.  I  have  just  recollected  that, 
while  I  was  at  the  Ottawa  river,  I  saw  a  party  of  warriors 
come  in  with  the  arms,  accoutrements,  clothing,  &c.,  of  a 
sergeant,  corporal,  and,  they  said,  twelve  men,  whom  they  had 
killed  in  some  of  the  lower  posts  on  the  Ohio  ;  that  a  man  of 
the  Indian  department  offered  me  a  coat,  which  had  a  number 
of  bullet  and  other  holes  in  it,  and  was  all  bloody,  which  I  re- 
fused to  take,  and  Col.  McKee  then  ordered  me  clothes  out  of 
the  Indian  store."  (Amer.  State  papers,  v.  196.) 

"You  invite  us,"  said  one  of  the  war-chiefs  to  Gamelin,  "to 
stop  our  young  men.  It  is  impossible  to  do  it,  being  con- 
stantly encouraged  by  the  British." 

"We  confess,"  said  another  Indian,  "that  we  accepted  the 
axe,  but  it  is  by  the  reproach  we  continually  receive  from  the 
English  and  other  nations,  which  received  the  axe  first,  calling 
us  women;  at  the  present  time,  they  invite  our  young  men  to 
war;  as  to  the  old  people, they  are  wishing  for  peace."* 

Every  peaceful  message  from  the  officers  of  the  crown 
was  stopped  on  its  way  to  the  excited  children  of  the  forest;  but 
every  word  of  a  hostile  character,  exaggerated  and  added  to. 

At  the  time  of  Gamelin's  mission,  the  spring  of  1790,  before 
any  act  of  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  had  made 
reconciliation  impossible,  before  the  success  of  the  savages 
had  made  their  demands  such  as  could  not  be  granted,  we  can- 
not but  think  it  would  have  been  true  wisdom  to  have  sent  to 
the  northern  tribes,  not  an  Indian  trader,  but  such  a  represen- 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  93. 


364  Stale  of  the  Kentucky  Troops.  1790. 

tation  as  was  sent  three  years  later.  Such,  however,  was  not 
the  course  pursued.  Governor  St.  Clair,  under  the  acts  of 
Congress  passed  the  previous  year,  on  the  15th  of  July,  called 
upon  Virginia  for  one  thousand,  and  upon  Pennsylvania  for 
five  hundred  militia.  Of  these,  three  hundred  were  to  meet 
at  Fort  Steuben  (Jeffersonville)  to  aid  the  troops  from  Fort 
Knox  (Vincennes)  against  the  Weas  and  Kickapoos  of  the 
Wabash ;  seven  hundred  were  to  gather  at  Fort  Washington, 
(Cincinnati)  ;  and  five  hundred  just  below  Wheeling  ;  the  two 
latter  bodies  being  intended  to  march  with  the  federal  troops, 
from  Fort  Washington,  under  General  Harmar,  against  the 
towns  at  the  junction  of  the  St.  Mary  and  St.  Joseph.*  The 
Kentucky  militia  men  began  to  come  in  at  Fort  Washington 
about  the  middle  of  September,  the  15th  being  the  day  named. 
Of  their  fitness  for  service,  we  may  judge  by  Major  Ferguson's 
evidence: 

They  were  very  illy  equipped,  being  almost  destitute  of 
camp  kettles  and  axes ;  nor  could  a  supply  of  these  essential 
articles  be  procured.  Their  arms  were,  generally,  very  bad, 
and  unfit  for  service ;  as  I  was  the  commanding  officer  of  ar- 
tillery, they  came  under  my  inspection,  in  making  what  repairs 
the  time  would  permit;  and  as  a  specimen  of  their  badness, 
I  would  inform  the  court,  that  a  rifle  was  brought  to  be  re- 
paired without  a  lock,  and  another  without  a  stock.  I  often 
asked  the  owners  what  induced  them  to  think  that  those  guns 
could  be  repaired  at  that  time  ?  And  they  gave  me  for  an- 
swer, that  they  were  told  in  Kentucky  that  all  repairs  would 
be  made  at  Fort  Washington.  Many  of  the  officers  told  me, 
that  they  had  no  idea  of  there  being  half  the  number  of  bad 
arms  in  the  whole  district  of  Kentucky,  as  was  then  in  the 
hands  of  their  men.  As  soon  as  the  principal  part  of  the 
Kentucky  militia  arrived,  the  General  began  to  organize  them  ; 
in  this  he  had  many  difficulties  to  encounter.  Colonel  Trotter 
aspired  to  the  command,  although  Colonel  Hardin  was  the 
eldest  officer,  and  in  this  he  was  encouraged  both  by  men  and 
officers,  who  openly  declared,  unless  Colonel  Trotter  com- 
manded them,  they  would  return  home.  After  two  or  three 
days  the  business  was  settled,  and  they  [i.  e.  the  Kentucky 
men]  were  formed  into  three  battalions,  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  Trotter,  and  Colonel  Hardin  had  the  command  of 
all  the  militia,  [both  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia.]  As  soon  as 
they  were  arranged,  they  were  mustered ,  crossed  the  Ohio, 
and,  on  the  26th,  marched,  and  encamped  about  ten  miles 
from  Fort  Washington.  The  last  of  the  Pennsylvania  militia 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  94, 92. 


1790.  Expedition  against  the  Miami  Villages.  365 

arrived  on  the  25th  September.  They  were  equipped  nearly 
as  the  Kentucky  militia,  but  were  worse  armed ;  several  were 
without  any.  The  General  ordered  all  the  arms  in  store  to 
be  delivered  to  those  who  had  none,  and  to  those  whose  guns 
could  not  be  repaired.  Amongst  the  militia  were  a  great 
many  hardly  able  to  bear  arms,  such  as  old,  infirm  men,  and 
young  boys ;  they  were  not  such  as  might  be  expected  from  a 
frontier  country,  that  is,  the  smart  active  woodsman,  well  ac- 
customed to  arms,  eager  and  alert  to  revenge  the  injuries  done 
them  and  their  connexions.  No,  there  were  a  great  number 
of  them  substitutes,  who  probably  had  never  fired  a  gun. 
Major  Paul,  of  Pennsylvania,  told  me,  that  many  of  his  men 
were  so  awkward,  that  they  could  not  take  their  gun  locks  off 
to  oil  them,  and  put  them  on  again,  nor  could  they  put  in  their 
flints  so  as  to  be  useful;  and  even  of  such  materials,  the  num- 
bers came  far  short  of  what  was  ordered,  as  may  be  seen  by 
the  returns.* 

Trouble  had  been  anticipated  from  the  aversion  of  the 
frontier  men  to  act  with  regular  troops;  General  Harmar  had 
been  warned  on  the  subject  by  the  Secretary  of  War — and 
every  pains  had  been  taken  to  avoid  the  evils  apprehended. 
Notice  had  also  been  given  to  the  British  that  the  troops  col- 
lected were  to  be  used  against  the  Indians  alone,  so  that  no 
excuse  might  be  given  McKee  &  Co.,  for  co-operation  ;f  and 
when  upon  the  30th  September  Harmar  left  Fort  Washing- 
ton every  step  seemed  to  have  been  taken  which  experience 
or  judgment  could  suggest  to  secure  the  success  of  the  expedi- 
tion. The  same  seems  to  have  been  true  of  the  march,  the 
Court  of  Inquiry  held  in  1791,  having  approved  every  ar- 
rangement. On  the  13th  of  October,  the  army  being  then 
thirty  or  thirty-five  miles  from  the  Miami  villages,  it  was  de- 
termined, in  consequence  of  information  given  by  a  captured 
Indian,  to  send  forward  Colonel  John  Hardin  with  a  detach- 
ment of  six  hundred  militia  men,  and  one  company  of  regu- 
lars, to  surprise  the  enemy,  and  keep  them  in  their  forts  until 
the  main  body  could  come  up  with  the  artillery. 

The  troops  were  organized  and  moved  forward,  as  follows : 

"  The  Kentuckians  composed  three  battalions,  under  the 
the  Majors  Hall,  McMullen  and  Bay,  with  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Commandant  Trotter  at  their  head.  The  Pennsylvanians 
were  formed  into  one  battalion,  under  Lieutenant  Colonel 
Trubley  and  Major  Paul,  the  whole  to  be  commanded  by 

*  American  State  Papers,  xii.  20. 
I  American  State  Papers,  v.  96. 100. 


366  Expedition  against  the  Miami   Villages.  1790. 

Colonel  John  Hardin,  subject  to  the  orders  of  General  Har- 
mar.  The  30th,  the  General  having  got  forward  all  the  sup- 
plies that  he  expected,  he  moved  out  with  the  federal  troops, 
formed  into  two  small  battalions,  under  the  immediate  com- 
mand of  Major  Wyllys  and  Major  Doughty,  together  with 
Captain  Ferguson's  company  of  artillery,  and  three  pieces  of 
ordnance.  On  the  3d  of  October,  General  Harmar  joined 
the  advanced  troops  early  in  the  morning ;  the  remaining 
part  of  the  day  was  spent  in  forming  the  line  of  march,  the 
order  of  encampment  and  battle,  and  explaining  the  same  to 
the  militia  field  officers.  General  Harmar's  orders  will  show 
the  several  formations.  On  the  4th,  the  army  took  up  the 
order  of  march  as  is  described  in  the  orders.  On  the  5th,  a 
reinforcement  of  horsemen  and  mounted  infantry  joined  from 
Kentucky.  The  dragoons  were  formed  into  two  troops  ;  the 
mounted  riflemen  made  a  company,  and  this  small  battalion 
of  light  troops  were  put  under  the  command  of  Major 
Fontaine. 

The  whole  of  General  Harmar's  command  then  may  be 
stated  thus  : 

3  battalions  of  Kentucky                     militia,  ^ 

1  do.             Pennsylvania                   do.     >  1133 

1  do.  Light  troops  mounted    do.     ; 

2  do.  Federal  troops,                  -     -      320 


Total,  -      1453 

(American  State  Papers,  xii.  24.  30.  to  33.) 
On  the  14th  this  party  marched  forward,  and  upon  the  next 
day  about  three  o'clock  reached  the  villages,  but  they  were 
deserted.  On  the  morning  of  the  17th,  the  main  army  arriv- 
ed, and  the  work  of  destruction  commenced  ;  by  the  21st,  the 
chief  town,  five  other  villages,  and  nearly  twenty  thousand 
bushels  of  corn  in  ears,  had  been  destroyed.  When  Harmar 
reached  the  Maumee  towns  and  found  no  enemy,  he  thought 
of  pushing  forward  to  attack  the  Wea  and  other  Indian  set- 
tlements upon  the  Wabash,  but  was  prevented  by  the  loss  both 
of  pack  horses  and  cavalry  horses,  which  the  Indians  seem  to 
have  stolen  in  quantities  to  suit  themselves,  in  consequence  of 
the  wilful  carelessness  of  the  owners,  who  made  the  United 
States  pay  first  for  the  use  of  their  nags,  then  for  the  nags 
themselves.  The  Wabash  plan  being  dropped,  Colonel  Trot- 
ter was  dispatched  with  three  hundred  men  to  scour  the 
woods  in  search  of  an  enemy,  as  the  tracks  of  women  and 
children  had  been  seen  near  by  ;  and  we  cannot  give  a  better 


1790.        Destruction,  of  Villages  and  other  Property.          367 

idea  of  the  utter  want  of  discipline  in  the  army,  than  by  some 
extracts  from  the  evidence  of  Lieutenant  (afterwards  Captain) 
Armstrong  ;  this  gentleman  was  with  Trotter  during  the  18th 
of  October,  and  also  with  Hardin,  who,  on  the  19th,  took  the 
command,  General  Harmar  being  much  dissatisfied  with 
Trotter's  ineffective  Indian  chase  of  the  previous  day.* 

After  we  had  proceeded  about  a  mile,  says  Armstrong,  the 
cavalry  gave  chase  to  an  Indian,  who  was  mounted,  him  they 
overtook  and  killed.  Before  they  returned  to  the  column  a 
second  appeared,  on  which  the  four  field  officers  left  their 
commands  and  pursued,  leaving  the  troops  near  half  an  hour 
without  any  directions  whatever.  The  cavalry  came  across 
the  second  Indian,  and,  after  he  had  wounded  one  of  their 
party,  killed  him  also.  When  the  infantry  came  up  to  this 
place  they  immediately  fell  into  confusion,  upon  which  I 
gained  permission  to  leave  them  some  distance  on  the  road, 
where  I  formed  an  ambuscade.  After  I  had  been  some  time  at 
my  station,  a  fellow  on  horseback  came  to  me,  who  had  lost 
the  party  in  pursuit  of  the  first  Indian ;  he  was  much  frighten- 
ed, and  said  he  had  been  pursued  by  fifty  mounted  Indians. 
On  my  telling  this  story  to  Colonel  Trotter,  notwithstanding 
my  observations  to  him,  he  changed  his  route,  and  marched  in 
various  directions  until  night,  when  he  returned  to  camp. 

On  our  arrival  in  camp,  General  Harmar  sent  for  me,  and 
after  asking  me  many  questions,  ordered  one  subaltern  and 
twenty  militia  to  join  my  command.  With  these  I  reached  the 
river  St.  Joseph  about  ten  at  night,  and  with  a  guide  proceed- 
ed to  an  Indian  town,  about  two  miles  distant,  where  I  con- 
tinued with  my  party  until  the  morning  of  the  nineteenth. 
About  nine  o'clock  I  joined  the  remainder  of  the  detachment 
under  Colonel  Hardin.  We  marched  on  the  route  Colonel 
Trotter  had  pursued  the  day  before,  and  after  passing  a 
morass  about  five  miles  distant,  we  came  to  where  the  enemy 
had  encamped  the  day  before.  Here  we  made  a  short  halt, 
and  the  commanding  officer  disposed  of  the  parties  at  a  dis- 
tance from  each  other  ;  after  a  halt  of  half  an  hour,  we  were 
ordered  to  move  on,  and  Captain  Faulkner's  company  was 
left  on  the  ground  ;  the  Colonel  having  neglected  giving  him 
orders  to  move  on.  After  we  had  proceeded  about  three 
miles,  we  fell  in  with  two  Indians  on  foot,  who  threw  off  their 
packs,  and  the  brush  being  thick,  made  their  escape.  I  then 
asked  Colonel  Hardin  where  Captain  Faulkner  was  ?  He 
said  he  was  lost,  and  then  sent  Major  Fontaine  with  part  of 
the  cavalry  in  search  of  him,  and  moved  on  with  the  remain- 
der of  the  troops.  Some  time  after,  I  informed  Colonel  Har- 
din a  gun  had  fired  in  our  front,  which  might  be  considered  as 

*  See  the  statements  of  Major  Ferguson  and  Lieutenant  Denny,  in  American  State 
Papers,  xii.  21,  25;  also,  Cist's  Miscellany,  i.  195, 196. — Ed. 


368         Ferguson's  Account  of  Harmar' s  Fjrst  Action.     1790. 

an  alarm  gun,  and  that  I  saw  where  a  horse  had  come  down 
the  road,  and  returned  again;  but  the  Colonel  still  moved  on, 
giving  no  orders,  nor  making  any  arrangements  for  an  attack. 
Some  time  after,  I  discovered  the  enemy's  fires  at  a  distance, 
and  informed  the  Colonel,  who  replied,  that  they  would  not 
fight,  and  rode  in  front  of  the  advance,  until  fired  on  from 
behind  the  fires  ;  when  he,  the  Colonel,  retreated,  and  with 
him  all  the  militia  except  nine,  who  continued  with  me,  and 
were  instantly  killed,  with  twenty-four  of  the  federal  troops  ; 
seeing  my  last  man  fall,  and  being  surrounded  by  the  savages, 
I  threw  myself  into  a  thicket,  and  remained  there  three  hours 
in  day-light ;  during  that  time  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
the  enemy  pass  and  re-pass,  and  conceived  their  numbers  did 
not  amount  to  one  hundred  men  ;  some  were  mounted,  others 
armed  with  rifles,  and  the  advance  with  tomahawks  only.  I 
am  of  opinion  that  had  Colonel  Trotter  proceeded,  on  the 
18th,  agreeably  to  his  orders,  having  killed  the  enemy's  sen- 
tinel's, he  would  have  surprised  their  camp,  and  with  ease  de- 
feated them;  or  had  Colonel  Hardin  arranged  his  troops,  or 
made  any  military  disposition,  on  the  19th,  that  he  would 
have  gained  a  victory.  Our  defeat  I,  therefore,  ascribe  to 
two  causes;  the  unofficer-like  conduct  of  Colonel  Hardin, 
(who,  I  believe,  was  a  brave  man,)  and  the  cowardly  be- 
havior of  the  militia ;  many  of  them  threw  down  their  arms 
loaded,  and  I  believe  that  none,  except  the  party  under  my 
command,  fired  a  gun.* 

At  this  time,  probably,  the  jealousy  between  the  regulars 
and  militia  which  had  been  anticipated,  and  which  had 
threatened  trouble  at  Fort  Washington,  began  effectually  to 
work  mischief;  the  regular  troops  disliked  to  be  commanded 
by  Trotter  and  Hardin,  the  army  officers  despised  the  militia, 
and  the  militia  hating  them,  were  impatient  under  the  con- 
trol of  Harmar  and  his  staff".  Again,  the  rivalry  between 
Trotter  and  Hardin  was  calculated  to  make  the  elements  of 
discord  and  disobedience  yet  more  wide-spread ;  so  that  all 
true  confidence  between  the  officers  and  men  was  destroyed, 
and  with  it,  of  necessity,  all  true  strength. 

But  though  the  troops  had  been  disappointed  and  defeated, 
the  houses  and  crops  had  been  burned  a"hd  wasted,  and  upon 
the  21st  of  October,  the  army  commenced  its  homeward 
march.  But  Hardin  was  not  easy  under  his  defeat,  and  the 
night  of  the  21st  being  favorable,  he  proposed  to  Harmar  to 
send  back  a  detachment  to  the  site  of  the  villages  just  de- 
stroyed, supposing  the  savages  would  have  already  returned 

*  American  State  Papers,  xiL  p.  26. 


1790.         Jealousy  between  the  Regulars  and  Militia.  369 

thither.  The  General  was  not  very  willing  to  try  farther  ex- 
periments, but  Hardin  urged  him,  and  at  last  obtained  an 
order  for  three  hundred  and  forty  militia,  of  which  forty 
were  mounted,  and  sixty  regular  troops ;  the  former  under 
Hardin  himself,  the  latter  under  Major  Wyllys.  How  they 
fared  shall  be  told  by  Captain  Asheton,  an  actor  in  the  affray. 
The  detachment  marched  in  three  columns,  the  federal 
troops  in  the  centre,  at  the  head  of  which  I  was  posted,  with 
Major  Wyllys  and  Colonel  Hardin  in  my  front;  the  militia 
formed  the  columns  to  the  right  and  left.  From  delays,  oc- 
casioned by  the  militia's  halting,  we  did  not  reach  the  banks 
of  the  Omee  [Maurnee]  till  some  time  after  sunrise.  The 
spies  then  discovered  the  enemy,  and  reported  to  Major 
Wyllys,  who  halted  the  federal  troops,  and  moved  the  militia 
on  some  distance  in  front,  where  he  gave  his  orders  and  plan 
of  attack  to  the  several  commanding  officers  of  corps.  Those 
orders  were  not  communicated  to  me.  Major  Wyllys  reserv- 
ed the  command  of  the  federal  troops  to  himself.  Major 
Hall,  with  his  battalion,  was  directed  to  take  a  circuitous 
route  round  the  bend  of  the  Omee  River,  cross  the  Pickaway 
Fork,  (or  St.  Mary's)  which  brought  him  directly  in  the  rear 
of  the  enemy,  and  there  wait  until  the  attack  should  com- 
mence with  Major  McMullen's  battalion,  Major  Fontaine's 
cavalry,  and  Major  Wyllys  with  the  federal  troops,  who  all 
crossed  the  Omee  at,  and  near,  the  common  fording  place. 
After  the  attack  commenced,  the  troops  were  by  no  means  to 
separate,  but  were  to  embody,  or  the  battalions  to  support 
each  other,  as  circumstances  required.  From  this  disposition 
it  appeared  evident,  that,  it  was  the  intention  of  Major  Wyllys 
to  surround  the  enemy,  and  that  if  Colonel  Hall,  who  had 
gained  his  ground  undiscovered,  had  not  wantonly  disobeyed 
his  orders,  by  firing  on  a  single  Indian,  the  surprise  must  have 
been  complete.  The  Indians  then  fled  with  precipitation,  the 
battalions  of  militia  pursuing  in  different  directions.  Major 
Fontaine  made  a  charge  upon  a  small  party  of  savages — he 
fell  the  first  fire,  and  his  troops  dispersed.  The  federal  troops, 
who  were  then  left  unsupported,  became  an  easy  sacrifice  to 
much  the  largest  party  of  Indians  that  had  been  seen  that 
day.  It  was  my  opinion  that  the  misfortunes  of  that  day 
were  owing  to  the  separation  of  troops,  and  disobedience  of 
orders.  After  the  federal  troops  were  defeated,  and  the  firing 
in  all  quarters  nearly  ceased,  Colonel  Hall  and  Major  Mc- 
Mullen,  with  their  battalions,  met  in  the  town,  and  after  dis- 
charging, cleaning,  and  fresh  loading  their  arms,  which  took 
up  about  half  an  hour,  proceeded  to  join  the  army  unmolest- 
ed. I  am  convinced  that  the  detachment,  if  it  had  been  kept 
embodied,  was  sufficient  to  have  answered  the  fullest  expecta- 
tions of  the  General,  and  needed  no  support;  but  I  was  in- 


370  Harmar's  Second  Action.  1790. 

formed  a  battalion  under  Major  Ray  was  ordered  out  for  that 
purpose.* 

When  Hardin  returned  to  camp  after  this  skirmish,  he 
wished  the  General  either  to  send  another  party,  or  take  the 
whole  army  to  the  battle  ground,  but  Harmar  would  not  favor 
either  plan.  He  did  not  wish,  he  said,  to  divide  his  troops; 
he  had  little  food  for  his  horses ;  and  he  thought  the  Indians 
had  received  "  a  very  good  scourging  ;"  upon  the  next  morn- 
ing, accordingly,  the  army  took  up  its  line  of  march  for  Fort 
Washington,  in  a  regular,  soldier-like  way.  Two  men,  says 
Hardin,  wished  to  have  another  tussle  with  the  Miamis  ; — of 
the  whole  army,  only  two  !f  Before  reaching  Fort  Washing- 
ton, however,  new  trouble  occurred. 

At  old  Ohillicothe,  on  Little  Miami,  says  Colonel  Hardin,  a 
number  of  the  militia,  contrary  to  orders,  fired  off  their  guns. 
I  endeavored  to  put  a  stop  to  such  disorderly  behavior,  and 
commanded  that  those  offenders  that  could  be  taken  should 
be  punished  agreeably  to  general  orders ;  and  having  caught 
a  soldier  myself  in  the  very  act  of  firing  his  gun,  ordered  a  file  of 
men  to  take  him  immediately  and  carry  him  to  the  six  poun- 
der, and  for  the  drummer  to  tie  him  up  and  give  him  six  lashes  ; 
I  was  shortly  after  met  by  Colonel  Trotter  and  Major  McMul- 
len,  and  a  number  of  militia  soldiers,  who  in  an  abrupt  man- 
ner asked  me  by  what  authority  I  ordered  that  soldier  whipped  ; 
I  replied  in  support  of  general  orders  ;  on  which  a  very  warm 
dispute  ensued  between  Colonel  Trotter,  Major  McMullen,  and 
myself.  The  General  being  informed  of  what  had  happened, 
came  forward,  and  gave  Colonel  Trotter  and  Major  McMullen 
a  very  severe  reprimand,  ordered  the  federal  troops  to  parade, 
and  the  drummer  to  do  his  duty,  swearing  he  would  risk  his 
life  in  support  of  his  orders :  the  man  received  the  number  of 
lashes  ordered,  and  several  that  were  confined  were  set  at 
liberty;  numbers  of  the  militia  seemed  much  pleased  with 
what  was  done.  This  intended  mutiny  being  soon  quashed, 
the  army  proceeded  in  good  order  to  Fort  Washington.  When 
the  army  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  Licking,  the  General  in- 
formed me  he  had  determined  to  arrest  some  of  the  militia 
officers  for  their  bad  conduct,  and  send  them  home  with  dis- 
grace ;  but  I  opposed  his  intention,  alleging  that  it  would  be  a 
disgrace  to  the  whole  militia;  that  he  would  perhaps  stand  in 

*  See  American  State  Papers,  xii.  28. — Sea  account  in  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  i. 
1S3 ;— also,  McClung'a  Sketches  of  Western  Adventure,  p.  241,  and  others.  We  prefer 
that  of  an  eye-witness. — We  have  verbally  changed  Asheton's  statement,  -which  is  given 
in  the  third  person.  See  also  Hardin's  deposition,  American  State  Papers,  xii.  34. 

t  See  in  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  i.  105,  an  account  of  Harmar's  Campaign,  by  ono 
present. 


1790-95.         Indian  view  of  Harmar' s  Campaign.  371 

need  of  their  assistance  on  some  future  occasion,  and  it  would 
sour  their  minds  and  cause  them  to  turn  out  with  reluctance ; 
and  that  his  discharging  them  generally  with  honor,  perhaps, 
would  answer  a  better  purpose:  the  General  readily  indulged 
my  request.* 

To  this  last  act,  which  caused  much  discontent  among  the 
frontier  men ;  to  the  two  defeats  of  the  19th  and  22d  of  Oc- 
tober (for  such  they  were;)  and  to  the  want  of  any  efficiency 
on  the  part  of  Harmar,  who,  though  guilty  of  no  breach  of 
military  care  or  common  skill,  acted  like  an  old  woman,  com- 
pared with  such  men  as  Clark,  and  "  Mad  Anthony,"  must 
be  ascribed  the  great  unpopularity  of  this  campaign.  The 
army,  as  a  wb,ole,  effected  all  that  the  popular  expeditions  of 
Clark  in  1782,  and  of  Scott  and  Wilkinson  in  1791,  did:  we 
mean  the  annihilation  of  towns  and  corn,  and  was  by  Harmar 
and  St.  Clair  considered  very  successful  ;f  but  in  reality,  in  the 
view  of  the  Indians,  it  was  an  utter  failure  and  defeat.  Their 
account  of  it  was  this : 

There  have  been  two  engagements  about  the  Miami  towns, 
between  the  Americans  and  the  Indians,  in  which  it  is  said, 
the  former  had  about  five  hundred  men  killed,  and  that  the 
rest  have  retreated.  The  loss  was  only  fifteen  or  twenty  on 
the  side  of  the  Indians.  The  Shawanese,  Miamies,  and  Pota- 
watomies  were,  I  understand,  the  principal  tribes  who  were 
engaged;  but  I  do  not  learn  that  any  of  the  nations  have  re- 
fused their  alliance  or  assistance,  and  it  is  confidently  re- 
ported that  they  are  now  marching  against  the  frontiers  on 
the  Ohio.J 

Nor  was  the  report  of  the  invasion  of  the  settlements  on 
the  Ohio  shore  far  from  the  truth,  as  may  be  seen  from  the 
following  letter : 

On  the  evening  of  the  2d  [Jan.  '91]  says  Rufus  Putnam, 
writing  to  the  President,  bet.veen  sunset  and  daylight-in, 
the  Indians  surprised  a  new  settlement  of  our  people,  at  a 
place  on  the  Muskingum,  called  the  Big  Bottom,  nearly  forty 
miles  up  the  river,  in  which  disaster  eleven  men,  one  woman, 
and  two  children,  were  killed :  three  men  are  missing,  and 
four  others  made  their  escape.  Thus,  sir,  the  war,  which  was 
partial  before  the  campaign  of  last  year,  is,  in  all  probability, 

*  American  State  Papers,  xii.  35. 

t  This  is  clear,  as  we  know,  fro:n  Harmar's  general  orders,  upon  October  21,  when  he 
took  up  his  march  for  Fort  Washington,  and  from  his  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War. 
(American  State  Papers,  T.  105,  104.) 

%  See  Stone,  ii.  294. 


372  Letter  from  Rufits  Putnam.  1791. 

become  general.  I  think  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that 
we  are  the  only  people  on  whom  the  savages  will  wreak 
their  vengeance,  or  that  the  number  of  hostile  Indians  have 
not  increased  since  the  late  expedition.  Our  situation  is  truly 
critical ;  the  Governor  and  Secretary  both  being  absent,  no 
assistance  from  Virginia  or  Pennsylvania  can  be  had.  The 
garrison  at  Fort  Harmar,  consisting  at  this  time  of  little  more 
than  twenty  men,  can  afford  no  protection  to  our  settlements, 
and  the  whole  number  of  men,  in  all  our  settlements,  capable 
of  bearing  arms,  including  all  civil  and  military  officers,  do 
not  exceed  two  hundred  and  eighty-seven,  and  these,  many  of 
them,  badly  armed.  We  are  in  the  utmost  danger  of  being 
swallowed  up,  should  the  enemy  push  the  war  with  vigor  du- 
ring the  winter ;  this  I  believe  will  fully  appear,  by  taking  a 
short  view  of  our  several  settlements,  and  I  hope  justify  the 
extraordinary  measures  we  have  adopted,  for  want  of  a  legal 
authority  in  the  territory  to  apply  for  aid  in  the  business.  The 
situation  of  our  people  is  nearly  as  follows  : 

At  Marietta  are  about  eighty  houses,  in  the  distance  of  one 
mile,  with  scattering  houses  about  three  miles  up  the  Ohio. 
A  set  of  mills  at  Duck  Creek,  four  miles  distant,  and  another 
mill  two  miles  up  the  Muskingum.  Twenty-two  miles  up 
this  river  is  a  settlement,  consisting  of  about  twenty  families; 
about  two  miles  from  them  on  Wolf  Creek,  are  five  families 
and  a  set  of  mills.  Down  the  Ohio,  and  opposite  the  Little 
Kanawha,  commences  the  settlement  called  Belle  Prairie, 
which  extends  down  the  river,  with  little  interruption,  about 
twelve  miles,  and  contains  between  thirty  and  forty  houses. 
Before  the  late  disaster,  we  had  several  other  settlements, 
which  are  already  broken  up.  I  have  taken  the  liberty  to  en- 
close the  proceedings  of  the  Ohio  company  and  justices  of 
the  sessions  on  this  occasion,  and  beg  leave,  with  the  greatest 
deference,  to  observe,  that,  unless  Government  speedily  send 
a  body  of  troops  for  our  protection,  we  are  a  ruined  people. 
The  removal  of  the  women  and  children,  etc.,  will  reduce 
many  of  the  poorer  sort  to  the  greatest  straits;  but  if  we  add 
to  this  the  destruction  of  their  corn,  forage  and  cattle,  by  the 
enemy,  which  is  very  probable  to  ensue,  I  know  of  no  way 
they  can  be  supported;  but,  if  this  should  not  happen,  where 
these  people  are  to  raise  bread  another  year,  is  not  easy  to 
conjecture,  and  most  of  them  have  nothing  left  to  buy  with. 
But  my  fears  do  not  stop  here ;  we  are  a  people  so  far  de- 
tached from  all  others,  in  point  of  situation,  that  \ve  can  hope 
for  no  timely  relief,  in  case  of  emergency,  from  any  of  our 
neigbors ;  and  among  the  number  that  compose  our  present 
military  strength,  almost  one-half  are  young  men,  hired  into 
the  country,  intending  to  settle  by  and  by ;  these,  under  pre- 
sent circumstances,  will  probably  leave  us  soon,  unless  pros- 
pects should  brighten  ;  and,  as  to  new  settlers,  we  can  expect 


1791.  Plan  of  another  Campaign,  373 

none  in  our  present  situation ;  so  that,  instead  of  increasing 
in  strength,  we  are  likely  to  diminish  daily ;  and,  if  we  do 
not  fall  a  prey  to  the  savages,  we  shall  be  so  reduced  and  dis- 
couraged as  to  give  up  the  settlement,  unless  Government 
shall  give  us  timely  protection.  It  has  been  a  mystery  with 
some,  why  the  troops  have  been  withdrawn  from  this  quarter, 
and  collected  at  the  Miami ;  that  settlement  is,  I  believe, 
within  three  or  four  days'  march  of  a  very  populous  part  of 
Kentucky,  from  whence,  in  a  few  days,  they  might  be  rein- 
forced with  several  thousand  men,  whereas,  we  are  not  with- 
in two  hundred  miles  of  any  settlement,  that  can  probably 
more  than  protect  themselves.* 

The  spirit  thus  manifested  by  the  tribes  which  had  just 
been  attacked,  and  the  general  feelings  along  the  frontier- in 
relation  to  Harmar's  expedition,  made  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment sensible  that  their  first  step  in  the  conduct  of  back- 
woods warfare,  had  been  a  failure,  and  that  prompt  and 
strong  measures,  calculated  either  to  win,  or  force  a  state  of 
peace,  must  be  adopted. f  The  plan  which  was  resorted  to 
was  a  three-fold  one  : 

1st.  To  send  a  messenger  to  the  western  Indians  with  of- 
fers of  peace,  to  be  accompanied  by  some  of  the  Iroquois 
chieftains  favorable  to  America. 

2d.  At  the  same  time  to  organize  expeditions  in  the  West, 
to  strike  the  Wea,  Miami  and  Shawanee  towns,  in  case  it 
should  be  clear  the  peace  messenger  would  fail  in  his  mis- 
sion ;  and 

3d.  To  prepare  a  grand  and  overwhelming  force  with 
which  to  take  possession  of  the  country  of  the  enemies  and 
build  forts  in  their  midst. 

[The  act  for  protecting  the  frontier  was  signed  March  3d. 
1791,  and  Governor  St.  Clair  was  appointed  to  the  command 
on  the  4th.  American  State  Papers,  xii.  36.] 

The  person  selected  to  convey  messages  of  peace  was  Col. 
Thomas  Procter,  who  received  his  commission  upon  the  10th 
or  llth  of  March,  1791,  and  upon  the  12th  left  Philadelphia 
for  the  settlement  of  Cornplanter,  or  Captain  O'Beel  or  Abeel, 
the  chief  warrior  of  the  Senecas,  and  the  firm  friend  of  Wash- 
ington and  the  Union.  This  chief,  with  others  of  similar  sen- 

*See  American  State  Papers,  T.  121. — See  a  full  account  of  the  settlement  on  Big  Bot- 
tom, and  the  attack  upon  it,  by  Dr.  Hildreth,  American  Pioneer,  ii.  101. 

•j-See  Knox's  Report,  American  State  Papers,  v.  112. 


374  Views  of  the  British  in  1791.  1791. 

timents,  had  been  in  Philadelphia  in  the  previous  December, 
and  had  promised  to  use  all  their  influence  to  secure  peace.* 
To  them  Procter  was  sent,  in  the  hope  that  they  would  go 
with  him  westward,  and  be  the  means  of  preventing  further 
bloodshed.  In  this  hope,  however,  Washington  and  Knox 
were  disappointed ;  for,  when,  with  great  difficulty,  the  Amer- 
ican messenger  had  prevailed  upon  certain  of  the  Iroquois  to 
accompany  him,  provided  a  water  passage  could  be  had,  the 
British  commandant  at  Niagara  would  not  allow  an  English 
vessel  to  be  hired  to  convey  the  ambassadors  up  Lake  Erie ; 
and  as  no  other  could  be  obtained,  the  whole  enterprise 
failed. 

But  in  order  to  understand  the  difficulties  which  Procter  met 
with,  we  must  look  at  the  views  of  the  British,  and  of  those 
Indians  who  remained  firm  to  the  British  at  this  period.  Af- 
ter Harmar's  campaign,  the  tribes  of  the  north- west  sent  a  dep- 
utation to  Lord  Dorchester  to  learn  what  aid  England  would 
give  them  in  the  contest  now  fairly  opened.  What  answer 
precisely  was  given  by  the  Governor  we  do  not  know,  but  his 
wishes  seem  to  have  been  that  peace  might  be  restored  and 
preserved.  Colonel  Gordon,  the  British  commandant  at 
Niagara,  who  afterwards  stopped  Procter,  was  also  an  advo- 
cate of  peace ;  and  on  the  4th  of  March  wrote  to  Brant  in 
these  words : 

I  hope  you  will  embrace  the  present  opportunity  of  the 
meeting  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Five  Nations  in  your  neighbor- 
hood, to  use  your  endeavors  to  heal  the  wounds  between  the 
Indians  and  Americans.  I  dare  say  the  States  wish  to  make 
peace  on  terms  which  will  secure  to  the  Indians  their  present 
possessions  in  the  Miami  country,  provided  the  young  men 
are  restrained  from  committing  depredations  in  future. f 

[It  is  evident  from  their  whole  course  of  procedure  that 
the  British  authorities  did  their  utmost  to  prevent  American 
settlements  from  being  made  in  the  North-western  Territory. 
They  wished  to  h,ave  their  Indian  allies  continue  in  possession. 
This  was  their  chief  motive  for  retaining  the  western  posts.] 

Brant  himself,  on  the  7th  of  March,  writing  to  McKee,  (the 
agent  among  the  Miamies,)  says  : 

*American  State  Papers,  v.  140-145.  Cornplanter,  like  Brant,  was  a  half-breed;  his 
father's  name  was  O'Beel :  See  a  particular  account  of  him  in  Day's  Historical  Collec- 
tions of  Pennsylvania,  655 ;  also  Stone's  Life  of  Red  Jacket. 

fStone,  ii.  296,  297,  298. 


1791.        Reasons  of  Indian  and  British  Dissatisfaction.       375 

I  have  received  two  letters  from  the  States,  from  gentlemen 
who  have  lately  been  in  Philadelphia  :  by  which  it  appears 
the  Americans  secretly  wish  to  accommodate  the  matter — 
which  I  should  by  all  means  advise,  if  it  could  be  effected 
upon  honorable  and  liberal  terms,  and  a  peace  become 
general.* 

With  these  views  prevailing,  why  did  Brant,  Gordon  and 
the  other  officers  of  Britain  do  so  little  afterwards  to  preserve 
pacific  relations  ?  First,  it  would  seem  that  the  Mohawk 
chieftain  was  offended  by  the  favor  shown  Cornplanter,  his 
deadly  foe,f  and  by  the  attempt  of  the  Americans  to  divide 
the  Iroquois ;  and  in  regard  to  the  latter  point,  at  least, 
the  British  sympathized  with  him.  Secondly,  it  is  clear  that 
the  representatives  of  England,  in  Canada,  were  offended, 
and  we  think  naturally,  at  the  entire  disregard  shown  by  the 
American  government  of  their  influence  over  the  savages 
of  the  north-west.  Those  tribes  were  closely  connected 
with  the  British  agents,  and  under  their  control,  and  Lord 
Dorchester,  Colonel  Gordon  and  Brant  looked  for  an  appeal 
to  them  as  mediators  in  the  quarrel  about  to  burst  forth  ;  or 
at  any  rate,  for  an  acceptance  by  the  Americans  of  their  me- 
diation, if  asked  by  the  Indians ; — an  acceptance  of  the  kind 
given  in  1793,  after  St.  Glair's  defeat;  and  which  was  not,  of 
course,  dishonorable  or  degrading.  Thirdly,  both  the  In- 
dians and  English  were  puzzled  and- excited  by  the  seeming 
(though  our  readers  will  know,  in  no  degree,  actual)  want  of 
good  faith  on  the  part  of  the  States;  which,  at  the  same 
moment  almost,  commissioned  Scott  to  war  upon  the  Miamies, 
Procter  to  treat  of  peace  with  them,  St.  Clair  to  invade  and 
take  possession  of  their  lands,  and  Pickering  to  hold  a  council 
with  their  brethren  for  burying  the  fatal  hatchet,  and  quench- 
ing the  destructive  brand. 

From  the  inconsistent  proceedings  of  the  Americans — says 
Colonel  Gordon  to  Brant,  upon  the  llth  of  June — I  am  per- 
fectly at  a  loss  to  understand  their  full  intentions.  Whilst 
they  are  assembling  councils  at  different  quarters  with  the 
avowed  purpose  of  bringing  about  a  peace,  the  Six  Nations 
have  received  a  speech  from  General  St.  Clair,  dated  at  Pitts- 
burgh, 23d  April,  inviting  them  to  take  up  the  hatchet  against 
their  brothers,  the  western  nations. 

*Seo  Stone,  ii.  298. 

IjAmerican  State  Papers,  v.  167;  stated  by  General  Knox. 


376  Branfs  Movements  in  1791.  1791. 

Can  any  thing  be  more  inconsistent  ?  or  can  they  possibly 
believe  the  Indians  are  to  be  duped  by  such  shallow  artifices? 
This,  far  from  being  the  case ;  the  Indians  at  Buffalo  Creek 
saw  the  business  in  its  proper  light,  and  treated  the  invitation 
with  the  contempt  it  deserved.  It  must  strike  you  very 
forcibly,  that  in  all  the  proceedings  of  the  different  Commis- 
sioners from  the  American  States,  they  have  cautiously  avoided 
applying  for  our  interference,  as  a  measure  they  affect  to  think 
perfectly  unnecessary:  wishing  to  impress  the  Indians  with  the 
ideas  of  their  own  consequence,  and  of  the  little  influence,  they 
would  willingly  believe  we  are  possessed  of.  This,  my  good 
friend,  is  not  the  way  to  proceed.  Had  they,  before  matters 
were  pushed  to  extremity,  requested  the  assistance  of  the  British 
government  to  bring  about  a  peace  on  equitable  terms,  I  am 
convinced  the  measure  would  have  been  fully  accomplished 
long  before  this  time. 

I  would,  however,  willingly  hope  they  will  yet  see  the  pro- 
priety of  adopting  this  mode  of  proceeding ;  and  that  peace, 
an  object  so  much  to  be  desired,  will  at  length  be  perma- 
nently settled. 

I  am  the  more  sanguine  in  the  attainment  of  my  wishes,  by 
your  being  on  the  spot,  and  that  you  will  call  forth  the  exer- 
tion of  your  influence  and  abilities  on  the  occasion.* 

The  Americans  also  were  desirous  to  enlist  Brant  as  a 
peace-maker,  and  Governor  Clinton,  of  New  York,  was  writ- 
ten to  by  General  Knox,  in  the  hope  that  he  might  influence 
the  Mohawk  leader  ;  but  the  chieftain  was  beyond  his  reach, 
in  the  far  west,  among  the  tribes  who  were  likely  to  be  fore- 
most in  the  contest ;  nor  could  any  learn  whether  he  went 
thither  as  a  peace-maker  or  promoter  of  war.  Early  in  May 
the  United  States  Government  was  informed  that  he  had  re- 
vived his  plan  of  a  great  Indian  confederacy;  and  about  the 
19th  of  that  month  Procter,  at  Buffalo,  heard  from  the  West 
that  Brant  was  there  not  to  pacify,  but  to  inflame  the  Miamies 
and  their  allies ;  but  yet,  as  the  chiefs  of  the  Six  Nations  re- 
presented his  purpose  to  be  that  of  a  messenger  sent  to  learn 
the  feelings  of  the  western  tribes,  and  asked  Procter  again 
and  again  to  wait  his  return ;  the  impression  produced  upon 
the  American  Government  was  that  he  had  nothing  in  view 
but  the  cessation  of  hostilities. f 

Before  Procter,  (his  mission  proving  in  vain,)  left  Buffalo 
creek,  which  he  did  upon  the  21st  of  May,  measures  had  been 

*  Stone,  ii,  300. 

f  American  State  Papers,  v.  117;  also,  161, 168,  and  181. 


1791.  Expedition  of  General  Scott.  377 

taken  to  secure  a  council  of  the  Six  Nations  on  the  16th  of 
June,  at  the  Painted  Post,  near  the  junction  of  the  Coshocton 
and  Tioga  rivers  The  purpose  of  this  council  was  to  secure 
the  neutrality  of  the  Iroquois  by  presents  and  fine  words;  and 
the  plan  appears  to  have  succeeded.  "  Treaty,"  says  Knox, 
writing  to  St.  Glair  on  the  4th  of  August,  "  closed  on  the  15th 
(of  July,)  and  the  Indians  returned  satisfied.  Colonel  Picker- 
ing did  not  attempt  to  persuade  any  of  them  to  join  our  army, 
as  he  found  such  a  proposal  would  be  very  disagreeable  to 
them."* 

It  had  been  calculated  when  Procter  left  Philadelphia  upon 
the  12th  of  March,  that  he  would  either  succeed  or  distinctly 
fail  in  his  enterprise,  in  time  to  reach  Fort  Washington  by 
the  5th  of  May.  This  expectation,  as  we  have  seen,  was  en- 
tirely defeated,  as  he  was  so  delayed  that  he  did  not  reach 
Buffalo  creek  until  the  27th  of  April,  and  did  not  make  his 
first  application  for  a  vessel  to  cross  Lake  Erie  until  May  5th. 
But  upon  the  above  calculation,  mistaken  as  it  proved,  were 
based  the  arrangements  of  the  United  States  for  carrying  into 
effect  the  second  part  of  the  plan  for  the  campaign, — "  the 
desultory  operations"  (as  they  were  termed)  for  annoying  the 
enemy  in  case  Procter  failed.  These  operations  were  to  be 
carried  out  by  the  backwoodsmen  under  their  own  comman- 
ders. 

The  inhabitants  of  Kentucky,  in  December,  1790,  after 
Harmar's  return,  had  petitioned  Congress  for  permission  to 
fight  the  Indians  in  their  own  way,  and  upon  the  9th  of  March, 
1791,  orders  were  issued  to  Brigadier  General  Charles  Scott, 
authorizing  him,  in  conjunction  with  Harry  Innis,  John  Brown, 
Benjamin  Logan,  and  Isaac  Shelby,  to  organize  an  expedition 
of  mounted  volunteers  against  the  nations  upon  the  Wabash, 
to  start  upon  May  10th,  unless  countermanded. f  These  or- 
ders in  substance  were  obe}red.  The  troops  were,  however, 
delayed  for  news  from  the  north;  but  by  the  23d  of  May,  no 
news  of  peace  arriving,  the  detachment  took  up  its  line  of 
march  from  the  Ohio  ;  Colonel  John  Hardin,  who  burned  to 
retrieve  his  fame,  acting  as  a  volunteer,  without  commission, 
and  having  the  post  of  commander  of  the  advanced  party  and 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  181. 

t  American  State  Papers,  v.  129.    St.  Glair  was  empowered  to  postpone  the  expedition,, 
and  did  to.    See  his  Narrative,  p.  7. 

24 


378  Expedition  of  General  Scott.  1791. 

director  of  the  guides.  On  the  1st  of  June,  the  towns  of  the 
enemy  were  discovered ;  of  the  after-movements  no  fairer 
view  can  probably  be  given  than  by  General  Scott  himself. 
Having  noticed  the  villages, — 

I  immediately  detached  Colonel  John  Hardin,  says  he,  with 
sixty  mounted  infantry,  and  a  troop  of  light-horse  under  Cap- 
tain McCoy,  to  attack  the  villages  to  the  left,  and  moved  on 
briskly  with  my  main  body,  in  order  of  battle,  towards  the 
town,  the  smoke  of  which  was  discernible.  My  guides  were 
deceived  with  respect  to  the  situation  of  the  town ;  for,  in- 
stead of  standing  at  the  edge  of  the  plain  through  which  I 
marched,  I  found  it  on  the  low  ground  bordering  on  the  Wa- 
bash  :  on  turning  the  point  of  woods,  one  house  presented  in 
my  front.  Captain  Price  was  ordered  to  assault  that  with  forty 
men.  He  executed  the  command  with  great  gallantry,  and 
killed  two  warriors. 

When  I  gained  the  summit  of  the  eminence  which  over- 
looks the  villages  on  the  banks  of  the  Wabash,  I  discovered 
the  enemy  in  great  confusion,  endeavoring  to  make  their  es- 
cape over  the  river  in  canoes.  1  instantly  ordered  Lieutenant 
Colonel-commandant  Wilkinson  to  rush  forward  with  the  first 
battalion.  The  order  was  executed  with  promptitude,  and 
this  detachment  gained  the  bank  of  the  river  just  as  the  rear 
of  the  enemy  had  embarked  ;  and,  regardless  of  a  brisk  fire 
kept  up  from  a  Kickapoo  town  on  the  opposite  bank,  they, 
in  a  few  minutes,  by  a  well  directed  fire  from  their  rifles,  de- 
stroyed all  the  savages  with  which  five  canoes  were  crowded. 
To  my  great  mortification,  the  Wabash  was  many  feet  beyond 
fording  at  this  place:  I  therefore  detached  Col.  Wilkinson  to  a 
ford  two  miles  above,  which  my  guides  informed  me  was  more 
practicable.  [Wilkinson  moved  the  first  battalion  up  to  the 
fording  place,  found  the  river  impassable,  and  returned  to 
Ouiatenon.] 

The  enemy  still  kept  possession  of  Kickapoo  town  :  I  de- 
termined to  dislodge  them ;  and  for  that  purpose  ordered 
Captain  King's  and  Logsdone's  companies  to  march  down  the 
river  below  the  town,  and  cross,  under  the  conduct  of  Major 
Barboe.  Several  of  the  men  swam  the  river,  and  others  pass- 
ed in  a  small  canoe.  This  movement  was  unobserved  ;  and 
my  men  had  taken  post  on  the  bank  before  they  were  discover- 
ed by  the  enemy,  who  immediately  abandoned  the  village. 
About  this  time  word  was  brought  to  me  that  Colonel  Hardin 
was  encumbered  with  prisoners,  and  had  discovered  a  stronger 
village  further  to  my  left  than  those  I  had  observed,  which  he 
was  proceeding  to  attack.  I  immediately  detached  Captain 
Brown  with  his  company,  to  support  the  Colonel:  but  the 
distance  being  six  miles,  before  the  Captain  arrived  the  busi- 
ness was  done,  and  Colonel  Hardin  joined  me  a  little  before 


1791.  Expedition  of  Wilkinson.  379 

sun-set,  having  killed  six  warriors,  and  taken  fifty-two 
prisoners.  Captain  Bull,  the  warrior  who  discovered  me  in 
the  morning,  had  gained  the  main  town,  and  given  the  alarm, 
a  short  time  before  me ;  but  the  villages  to  my  left  were  un- 
informed of  my  approach,  and  had  no  retreat. 

The  next  morning  I  determined  to  detach  my  Lieutenant 
Colonel-commandant,  with  five  hundred  men,  to  destroy  the 
important  town  of  Keth-tip-e-ca-nunk,*  eighteen  miles  from 
my  camp,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Wabash ;  but,  on  examina- 
tion, I  discovered  my  men  and  horses  to  be  so  crippled  and 
worn  down  by  a  long,  laborious  march,  and  the  active  exer- 
tions of  the  preceding  day,  that  three  hundred  and  sixty  men 
only  could  be  found  in  a  capacity  to  undertake  the  enterprise, 
and  they  prepared  to  march  on  foot.  Col.  Wilkinson  marched 
with  this  detachment  at  half  after  five  in  the  evening,  and 
returned  to  my  camp  the  next  day  at  one  o'clock,  having 
marched  thirty-six  miles  in  twelve  hours,  and  destroyed  the 
most  important  settlement  of  the  enemy  in  that  quarter  of  the 
federal  territory. 

Many  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  [Ouiatenon]  were 
French,  and  lived  in  a  state  of  civilization.  By  the  books, 
letters,  and  other  documents  found  there,  it  is  evident  that 
place  was  in  close  connection  with,  and  dependent  on,  Detroit. 
A  large  quantity  of  corn,  a  variety  of  household  goods,  pel- 
try, and  other  articles,  were  burned  with  this  village,  which 
consisted  of  about  seventy  houses,  many  of  them  well  fin- 
ished.f 

As  the  expedition  under  Scott,  although  successful,  had  not 
reached  the  higher  towns  upon  the  Wabash,  Governor  St. 
Clair  thought  it  best  to  send  another,  (the  Secretary  of  War 
having  authorized  such  a  step,)  against  the  villages  of  Eel 
river;  and  Wilkinson  was  appointed  to  command.  He  march- 
ed from  near  fort  Washington,  upon  the  first  of  August,  and 
on  the  7th  reached  the  Wabash,  just  above  the  mouth  of  the 
river  he  was  in  search  of.  While  reconnoitering,  however,  in 
the  hope  of  surprising  the  natives,  word  was  brought  him  that 
they  were  alarmed  and  flying  ;  a  general  charge  was  imme- 
diately ordered. 

The  men,  says  Wilkinson,  forcing  their  way  over  every  ob- 
stacle, plunged  through  the  river  with  vast  intrepidity.  The 
enemy  was  unable  to  make  the  smallest  resistance.  Six  war- 
riors, and  (in  the  hurry  and  confusion  of  the  charge)  two 
squaws  and  a  child  were  killed,  thirty-four  prisoners  were  ta- 
ken, and  an  unfortunate  captive  released,  with  the  loss  of  two 
men  killed  and  one  wounded. 

*  This,  in  modern  orthography,  has  been  corrupted  into  Tipptcanoe. — Ed. 
•f  American  S;ate  Paper?,  v.  131. 


£80  Wilkinson's  Expedition.  1791. 

I  found  this  town  scattered  along  Eel  river  for  full  three 
miles,  on  an  uneven,  scrubby  oak  barren,  intersected  alter- 
nately by  bogs  almost  impassable,  and  impervious  thickets  of 
plum,  hazel,  and  blackjacks.  Notwithstanding  these  difficul- 
ties, if  I  may  credit  the  report  of  the  prisoners,  very  few  who 
were  in  town  escaped.  Expecting  a  second  expedition,  their 
goods  were  generally  packed  up  and  buried.  Sixty  warriors 
had  crossed  the  Wabash  to  watch  the  paths  leading  from  the 
Ohio.  The  head  chief,  with  all  the  prisoners,  and  a  number  of 
families,  were  out  digging  a  root  which  they  substitute  in  the 
place  of  the  potato ;  and  about  one  hour  before  my  arrival, 
all  the  warriors,  except  eight,  had  mounted  their  horses,  and 
rode  up  the  river  to  a  French  store  to  purchase  ammunition. 
This  ammunition  had  arrived  from  the  Miami  village  that  very 
day,  and  the  squaws  informed  me  was  stored  about  two  miles 
from  the  town.  I  detached  Major  Caldwell  in  quest  of  it; 
but  he  failed  to  make  any  discovery,  although  he  scoured  the 
country  for  seven  or  eight  miles  up  the  river. 

I  encamped  in  the  town  that  night,  and  the  next  morning  I 
cut  up  the  corn,  scarcely  in  the  milk,  burnt  the  cabins,  mounted 
the  young  warriors,  squaws,  and  children,  in  the  best  manner 
in  my  power,  and  leaving  two  infirm  squaws  and  a  child,  with 
a  short  talk,  I  commenced  my  march  for  the  Kickapoo  town  in 
the  prairie.* 

The  Kickapoo  prairie  metropolis  was  not  reached ;  the 
horses  were  too  sore,  and  the  bogs  too  deep  ;  but  as  General 
Wilkinson  said,  four  hundred  acres  of  corn  were  destroyed, 
and  a  Kickapoo  town  given  to  the  flames;  for  which  the 
General  was  duly  thanked  by  his  country.  Meantime,  while 
Procter  was  attempting  to  hurry  the  slow-moving  Iroquois, 
who  told  him  it  took  them  a  great  while  to  think  ;  and  Wil- 
kinson was  floundering  up  to  his  arm-pits  in  mud  and  water, 
among  the  morasses  of  the  Wabash;  the  needful  preparations 
were  constantly  going  forward  for  the  great  expedition  of  St. 
Clair,  which,  by  founding  posts  throughout  the  western  coun- 
try, from  the  Ohio  to  Lake  Erie,  and  especially  at  the  head  of 
the  Maumee,  was  to  give  the  United  States  a  sure  means  of 
control  over  the  savages.  At  a  very  early  period  (1785)  the 
admirable  position  of  the  Miami  village  at  the  junction  of  the 
St.  Mary  and  St.  Joseph,  had  struck  Washington's  sagacious 
mind,  as  we  know  from  his  correspondence  ;f  and  when  Har- 
mar's  expedition  was  undertaken,  one  purpose  of  it  would, 
doubtless,  have  been  the  founding  of  a  military  post  at  the 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  134. 
t  Sparks'  Washington,  ix.  109. 


1791.  Instructions  to  St.  Clair.  381 

Miami  town,  had  it  been  compatible  with  the  public  finances.* 
But  Harmar's  defeat  having  proved  the  necessity  of  some 
strong  check  upon  the  northern  savages,  it  became  the  main 
purpose  of  the  effort  of  1791,  to  build  a  fort  at  a  point  desig- 
nated, which  was  to  be  connected  by  other  intermediate  sta- 
tions, with  Fort  Washington'and  the  Ohio.  Of  this  we  have 
proof  in  the  language  of  the  government  after  St.  Glair's  de- 
feat :  "the  great  object  of  the  late  campaign,"  says  General 
Knox,  in  his  official  report,  dated  December  26,  1791,  "was 
to  establish  a  strong  military  post  at  the  Miami  village  j" 
and  this  language  is  used  more  than  once.f  This  object,  too, 
was  to  be  attained,  if  possible,  even  at  the  expense  of  a  con- 
test which  might  be  otherwise  avoided ;  [for  the  posts  were  to 
be  established,  whether  the  Indians  remained  hostile  or  made 
peace,]  but  the  instructions  to  St.  Clair  upon  this  and  other 
points,  we  prefer  to  give  in  the  clear  and  condensed  lan- 
guage of  Knox  himself,  omitting  such  portions  only,  as  have 
not  a  bearing  upon  the  general  subject,  and  treat  of  details 
merely. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  having,  by  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  appointed  you  a  Major 
General  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  and  of  conse- 
quence invested  you  with  the  chief  command  of  the  troops 
to  be  employed  upon  the  frontiers  during  the  ensuing  cam- 
paign, it  is  proper  that  you  should  be  possessed  of  the  views  of 
the  government  respecting  the  objects  of  your  command.  I 
am,  therefore,  authorized  and  commanded,  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  to  deliver  you  the  following  instructions,  in 
order  to  serve  as  the  general  principles  of  your  conduct. 

But,  it  is  only  general  principles  which  can  be  pointed  out. 
In  the  execution  of  the  duties  of  your  station,  circumstances 
which  cannot  now  be  foreseen  may  arise  to  render  material 
deviations  necessary.  Such  circumstances  will  require  the 
exercise  of  your  talents.  The  Government  possesses  the  se- 
curity of  your  character  and  mature  experience,  that  your 
judgment  will  be  proper  on  all  occasions.  You  are  well  in- 
formed of  the  unfavorable  impressions  which  the  issue  of  the 
last  expedition  has  made  on  the  public  mind,  and  you  are 
also  aware  of  the  expectations  which  are  formed  of  the  suc- 
cess of  the  ensuing  campaign. 

An  Indian  war,  under  any  circumstances,  is  regarded  by  the 
great  mass  of  the  people  of  the  United  States  as  an  event 
which  ought,  if  possible,  to  be  avoided.  It  is  considered  that 

*  See  Knox's  letter  to  St.  Clair,  September  12,  1790.    American  State  Papers,  v.  100. 
•f  Americano  Stat  Papers,  v.  197,  198. 


382  Instructions  to  St.  Clair.  1791. 

the  sacrifice  of  blood  and  treasure  in  such  a  war  exceed  any 
advantages  which  can  possibly  be  reaped  by  it.  The  great 
policy,  therefore,  of  the  General  Government,  is  to  establish 
a  just  and  liberal  peace  with  all  the  Indian  tribes  within  the 
limits  and  in  the  vicinity  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States. 
Your  intimations  to  the  hostile  Indians,  immediately  after  the 
late  expedition,  through  the  Wyandots  and  Delawares;  the 
arrangements  with  the  Senecas  who  were  lately  in  this  city, 
that  part  of  the  Six  Nations  should  repair  to  the  said  hostile 
Indians,  to  influence  them  to  pacific  measures;  together  with 
the  recent  mission  of  Colonel  Procter  to  them  for  the  same 
purpose,  will  strongly  evince  the  desire  of  the  General  Gov- 
ernment to  prevent  the  effusion  of  blood,  and  to  quiet  all  dis- 
turbances. And  when  you  shall  arrive  upon  the  frontiers,  if 
any  other  or  further  measures  to  effect  the  same  object  should 
present,  you  will  eagerly  embrace  them,  and  the  reasonable 
expenses  thereof  shall  be  defrayed  by  the  public.  But,  if  all 
the  lenient  measures  taken,  or  which  may  be  taken,  should 
fail  to  bring  the  hostile  Indians  to  a  just  sense  of  their  situa- 
tion, it  will  be  necessary  that  you  should  use  such  coercive 
means  as  you  shall  possess,  for  that  purpose.  You  are  in- 
formed that,  by  an  act  of  Congress,  passed  the  2d  inst., 
another  regiment  is  to  be  raised,  and  added  to  the  military  es- 
tablishment, and  provision  made  for  raising  two  thousand 
levies,  for  the  term  of  six  months,  for  the  service  of  the  fron- 
tiers. It  is  contemplated  that  the  mass  of  the  regulars  and 
levies  may  be  recruited  and  rendezvous  at  Fort  Washington, 
by  the  10th  of  July.  In  this  case,  you  will  have  assembled  a 
force  of  three  thousand  effectives  at  least,  besides  leaving 
small  garrisons  on  the  Ohio,  in  order  to  perform  your  main 
expedition,  hereinafter  mentioned.  But,  in  the  mean  time,  if 
the  Indians  refuse  to  listen  to  the  messengers  of  peace  sent  to 
them,  it  is  most  probable  they  will,  unless  prevented,  spread 
themselves  along  the  line  of  frontiers,  for  the  purpose  of  com- 
mitting all  the  depredations  in  their  power.  In  order  to  avoid 
so  calamitous  an  event,  Brigadier  General  Charles  Scott,  of 
Kentucky,  has  been  authorized  by  me,  on  the  part  of  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  to  make  an  expedition  against 
the  Wea,  or  Ouiatenon  towns,  with  mounted  volunteers,  or 
militia  from  Kentucky,  not  exceeding  the  number  of  seven 
hundred  and  fifty,  officers  included.  You  will  perceive,  by 
the  instructions  to  Brigadier  General  Scott,  that  it  is  confided 
to  your  discretion,  whether  there  should  be  more  than  one  of 
the  said  expeditions  of  mounted  volunteers  or  militia.  Your 
nearer  view  of  the  objects  to  be  effected,  by  a  second  desul- 
tory expedition,  will  enable  you  to  form  a  better  judgment 
than  can  at  present  be  formed,  at  this  distance.  The  pro- 
priety of  a  second  operation  would,  in  some  degree,  depend 
on  the  alacrity  and  good  composition  of  the  troops  of  which 


1791.  Instructions  to  St.  Clair.  383 

the  first  may  have  been  formed ;  of  its  success  ;  of  the  proba- 
ble effects  a  second  similar  blow  would  have  upon  the  Indians, 
with  respect  to  its  influencing  them  to  peace ;  or,  if  they 
should  be  still  hostilely  disposed,  of  preventing  them  from 
desolating  the  frontiers  by  their  parties. 

You  will  observe,  in  the  instructions  to  Brigadier  General 
Scott,  which  are  to  serve  as  a  basis  for  the  instructions  of  the 
commanders  who  may  succeed  him,  that  all  captives  are  to  be 
treated  with  great  humanity.  It  will  be  sound  policy  to  at- 
tract the  Indians  by  kindness,  after  demonstrating  to  them  our 
power  to  punish  them,  on  all  occasions.  While  you  are 
making  such  use  of  desultory  operations  as  in  your  judgment 
the  occasion  may  require, you  will  proceed  vigorously,  in  every 
operation  in  your  power,  for  the  purpose  of  the  main  expedi- 
tion ;  and  having  assembled  your  force,  and  all  things  being  in 
readiness,  if  no  decisive  indications  of  peace  should  have  been 
produced,  either  by  the  messenger,  or  by  the  desultory  opera- 
tions, you  will  commence  your  march  for  the  Miami  village, 
in  order  to  establish  a  strong  and  permanent  military  post  at 
that  place.  Jn  your  advance,  you  will  establish  such  posts  of 
communication  with  Fort  Washington,  on  the  Ohio,  as  you 
may  judge  proper.  The  post  at  the  Miami  village  is  intended 
for  the  purpose  of  awing  and  curbing  the  Indians  in  that 
quarter,  and  as  the  only  preventive  of  future  hostilities.  It 
ought,  therefore,  to  be  rendered  secure  against  all  attempts 
and  insults  of  the  Indians.  The  garrison  which  should  be  sta- 
tioned there  ought  not  only  to  be  sufficient  for  the  defence  of 
the  place,  but  always  to  afford  a  detachment  of  five  or  six 
hundred  men,  either  to  chastise  any  of  the  Wabash,  or  other 
hostile  Indians,  or  to  secure  any  convoy  of  provisions.  The 
establishment  of  such  a  post  is  considered  as  an  important 
object  of  the  campaign,  and  is  to  take  place  in  all  events.  In 
case  of  a  previous  treaty,  the  Indians  are  to  be  conciliated 
upon  this  point,  if  possible  ;  and  it  is  presumed,  good  argu- 
ments may  be  offered,  to  induce  their  acquiescence.  The 
situation,  nature,  and  construction  of  the  works  you  may  di- 
rect, will  depend  upon  your  own  judgment.  Major  Ferguson, 
of  the  artillery,  will  be  fully  capable  of  the  execution.  He 
will  be  furnished  with  three  five  and  a  half  inch  howitzers, 
three  six  pounders,  and  three  three-pounders,  all  brass,  with  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  shot  and  shells,  for  the  purpose  of  the 
expedition.  The  appropriation  of  these  pieces  will  depend 
upon  your  orders. 

Having  commenced  your  march,  upon  the  main  expedition, 
and  the  Indians  continuing  hostile,  you  will  use  every  possible 
exertion  to  make  them  feel  the  effects  of  your  superiority ; 
and  after  having  arrived  at  the  Miami  village,  and  put  your 
works  in  a  defensible  state,  you  will  seek  the  enemy  with  the 
whole  of  your  remaining  force,  and  endeavor,  by  all  possible 


384  Instructions  to  St.  Clair.  1891. 

means,  to  strike  them  with  great  severity.  It  will  be  left  to 
your  discretion  whether  to  employ,  if  attainable,  any  Indians 
of  the  Six  Nations,  and  the  Chickasaws  or  other  southern  Na- 
tions. Most  probably  the  employment  of  abcut  fifty  of  each, 
under  the  direction  of  some  discreet  and  able  chief,  would  be 
advantageous,  but  these  ought  not  to  be  assembled  before  the 
line  of  march  is  taken  up,  because  they  are  soon  tired  and 
will  not  be  detained.  The  force  contemplated  for  the  garri- 
sons of  the  Miami  village,  and  the  communications,  has  been 
from  a  thousand  to  twelve  hundred  non-commissioned  officers 
and  privates.  This  is  mentioned  as  a  general  idea,  to  which 
you  will  adhere,  or  from  which  you  will  deviate,  as  circum- 
stances may  require.  The  garrison  stationed  at  the  Miami 
village,  and  its  communications,  must  have  in  store  at  least 
six  months  good  salted  meat,  and  flour  in  proportion. 

It  is  hardly  possible,  if  the  Indians  continue  hostile,  that  you 
will  be  suffered  quietly  to  establish  a  post  at  the  Miami  vil- 
lage ;  conflicts,  therefore, "may  be  expected;  and  it  is  to  be 
presumed  that  disciplined  valor  will  triumph  over  the  undisci- 
plined Indians.  In  this  event  it  is  probable  that  the  Indians 
will  sue  for  peace  ;  if  this  should  be  the  case,  the  dignity  of 
the  United  States  will  require  that  the  terms  should  be  liberal. 
In  order  to  avoid  future  wars,  it  might  be  proper  to  make  the 
Wabash,  and  thence  over  to  the  Miami,  and  down  the  same 
to  its  mouth  at  Lake  Erie,  the  boundary,  excepting  so  far  as 
the  same  should  relate  to  the  Wyandots  and  Delawares,  on 
the  supposition  of  their  continuing  faithful  to  the  treaties. 
But,  if  they  should  join  in  the  war  against  the  United  States, 
and  your  army  be  victorious,  the  said  tribes  ought  to  be  re- 
moved without  the  boundary  mentioned.  You  will  also  judge 
whether  it  would  be  proper  to  extend  the  boundary,  from  the 
mouth  of  the  River  au  Panse  of  the  Wabash,  in  a  due  west 
line  to  the  Mississippi.  Few  Indians,  besides  the  Kickapoos, 
would  be  affected  by  such  a  line  ;  this  ought  to  be  tenderly 
managed.  The  modification  of  the  boundary  must  be  confid- 
ed to  your  discretion,  with  this  single  observation,  that  the 
policy  and  interest  of  the  United  States  dictate  their  being  at 
peace  with  the  Indians.  This  is  of  more  value  than  millions 
of  uncultivated  acres,  the  right  to  which  may  be  conceded  by 
some,  and  disputed  by  others.  The  establishment -of  a  post 
at  the  Miami  village  will  probably  be  regarded,  by  the  British 
officers  on  the  frontiers,  as  a  circumstance  of  jealousy :  it  may, 
therefore,  be  necessary  that  you  should,  at  a  proper  time, 
make  such  intimations  as  may  remove  all  such  dispositions. 
This  intimation  had  better  follow  than  precede  the  possession 
of  the  post,  unless  circumstances  dictate  otherwise.  As  it  is 
not  the  inclination  or  interest  of  the  United  States  to  enter 
into  a  contest  with  Great  Britain,  every  measure  tending  to 
any  discussion  or  altercation  must  be  prevented.  The  delicate 


1791.  Instructions   to   St.    Clair.  385 

situation  of  affairs  may,  therefore,  render  it  improper,  at  pre- 
sent, to  make  any  naval  arrangement  upon  Lake  Erie.  After 
you  shall  have  effected  all  the  injury  to  the  hostile  Indians  of 
which  your  force  may  be  capable,  and  after  having  established 
the  posts  and  garrisons  at  the  Miami  village  and  its  communi- 
cations, and  placing  the  same  under  the  orders  of  an  officer 
worthy  of  such  high  trust,  you  will  return  to  Fort  Washington 
on  the  Ohio.  » 

It  is  proper  to  observe,  that  certain  jealousies  have  ex'sted 
among  the  people  of  the  frontiers,  relative  to  a  supposed  in- 
terference between  their  interest,  and  those  of  the  marine 
States;  that  these  jealousies  are  ill-founded,  with  respect  to 
the  present  Government,  is  obvious.  The  United  States  em- 
brace, with  equal  care,  all  parts  of  the  Union ;  and,  in  the 
present  case,  are  making  expensive  arrangements  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  frontiers,  and  partly  in  the  modes,  too,  which 
appear  to  be  highly  favored  by  the  Kentucky  people. 

The  high  stations  you  fill,  of  commander  of  the  troops,  and 
Governor  of  the  Western  Territory,  will  afford  you  frequent 
opportunities  to  impress  the  frontier  citizens  of  the  entire 
good  disposition  of  the  General  Government  towards  them  in 
all  reasonable  things,  and  you  will  render  acceptable  service, 
by  cordially  embracing  all  such  opportunities.* 

Under  these  instructions  St.  Clair  proceeded  to  organize  his 
army.  At  the  close  of  April  he  was  in  Pittsburgh,  toward 
which  point  troops  from  all  quarters,  horses,  stores  and  am- 
munition, were  going  forward.  The  forces,  it  was  thought, 
would  be  assembled  by  the  last  of  July  or  first  of  August. 
By  the  middle  of  July,  however,  it  was  clear  that  the  early 
part  o-f  September  would  be  as  soon  as  the  expedition  could 
get  under  way ;  but  the  commander  was  urged  to  press  every 
thing,  and  act  with  the  utmost  promptness  and  decision.  But 
this  was  more  easily  urged  than  accomplished.  On  the  15th  of 
May,  St.  Clair  had  reached  Fort  Washington,  and  at  that  time, 
the  United  States'  troops  in  the  West  amounted  to  but  two 
hundred  and  sixty-four  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates 
fit  for  duty;  [of  these  seventy-five  were  at  Fort  Washington, 
forty-five  at  Fort  Harmar,  sixty-one  at  Fort  Steuben,  and 
eighty-three  at  Fort  Knox.]  On  the  15th  of  July  this  number 
was  more  than  doubled,  however,  as  the  first  regiment,  con- 
taining two  hundred  and  ninety-nine  men,  on  that  day  reached 
Fort  Washington.  General  Butler,  who  had  been  appointed 
second  in  command,  was  employed  through  part  of  April  and 
May  in  obtaining  recruits;  but  when  obtained,  there  was  no 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  171. 


386  St.   Clair  marches  into  the  Interior.  1791. 

money  to  pay  them,  nor  to  provide  stores  for  them.  In  the 
quarter-master's  department,  meantime,  everything  went  on 
slowly  and  badly  ;  tents,  pack-saddles,  kettles,  knapsacks,and 
cartridge  boxes  were  all  "deficient  in  quantity  and  quality." 
Worse  than  this,  the  powder  was  poor  or  injured,  the  arms 
and  accoutrements  out  of  repair,  and  not  even  proper  tools 
to  mend  them.*  [Of  six  hundred  and  seventy  five  stand 
of  arms  at  Fort  Washington,  (designed  by  St.  Clair  for  the 
militia)  scarcely  any  were  in  order ;  and  with  two  travel- 
ing forges  furnished  by  the  quarter-master,  there  were 
no  anvils.  See  American  State  Papers,  xii.  36,  37.]  And 
as  the  troops  gathered  slowly  at  Fort  Washington,  after 
wearisome  detentions  at  Pittsburgh  and  up^on  the  river, 
a  new  source  of  troubles  arose,  in  the  habits  of  intemperance 
indulged  and  acquired  by  the  idlers ;  to  withdraw  them  from 
temptation,  St.  Clair  was  forced  to  remove  his  men,  now 
numbering  two  thousand,  to  Ludlow's  station,  about  six  miles 
from  the  Fort :  by  which,  however,  he  more  than  doubled  his 
cost  of  providing  for  the  troops. t  Here  the  army  continued 
until  September  17th,  when,  being  two  thousand  three  hun- 
dred strong,  (including  the  garrisons  of  Forts  Washington  and 
Hamilton)  exclusive  of  militia,  it  moved  forward  to  a  point 
upon  the  Great  Miami,  where  Fort  Hamilton  was  built,  the 
first  in  the  proposed  chain  of  fortresses.  This  being  completed, 
the  troops  moved  on  forty- four  miles  farther,  and  on  the  12th 
of  October  commenced  Fort  Jefferson,  about  six  miles  south 
of  the  town  of  Greenville,  Darke  county.  On  the  24th  the 
toilsome  march  through  the  wilderness  began  again.  At 
this  time  the  commander-in-chief,  whose  duties  through  the 
summer  had  been  very  severe,  was  suffering  from  an  indispo- 
sition which  was  by  turns  in  his  stomach,  lungs  and  limbs  ; 
provisions  were  scarce,  the  roads  wet  and  heavy,  the  troops 
going  with  "much  difficulty,"  seven  miles  a  day;  the  militia 
deserting  sixty  at  a  time.J  Thus  toiling  along,  the  army, 
rapidly  lessening  by  desertion,  sickness,  and  troops  sent  to 
arrest  deserters,  on  the  3d  of  November  reached  a  stream 
twelve  yards  wide,  which  St.  Clair  supposed  to  be  the 

•Proofs  of  all  these  facts  are  found  in  the  American  State  Papers,  vol.  T.  26,  37,  42 
HI,  176,  179, 180.— [Ed. 

•(•American  State  Papers,  xii.  37. 

JSt.  Glair's  Journal.    (American  State  Papers,  T.  136-7.) 


1791.  Defeat  of  St.  Glair.  387 

St.  Mary  of  the  Maumee,  but  which  was  in  reality  a  branch 
of  the  Wabash,  just  south  of  the  head  waters  of  the  stream 
for  which  the  commander  mistook  it.  Upon  the  banks  of 
this  creek,  the  army,  now  about  fourteen  hundred  strong,  en- 
camped in  two  lines. 

The  right  wing,  says  St.  Clair,  in  his  letter  to  the  Secretary 
of  War,  after  the  battle,  composed  of  Butler's,  Clark's  and 
Patterson's  battalions,  commanded  by  Major  General  Butler, 
formed  the  first  line  ;  and  the  left  wing,  consisting  of  Bedin- 
ger's  and  Gaither's  battalions,  and  the  second  regiment,  com- 
manded by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Darke,  formed  the  second  line, 
with  an  interval  between  them  of  about  seventy  yards, 
which  was  all  the  ground  would  allow.  The  right  flank  was 
pretty  well  secured  by  the  creek;  a  steep  bank,  and  Faulk- 
ner's corps,  some  of  the  cavalry,  and  their  picquets,  covered 
the  left  flank.  The  militia  were  thrown  over  the  creek,  and 
advanced  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  and  encamped  in  the 
same  order.  There  were  a  few  Indians  who  appeared  on 
the  opposite  side  of  the  creek,  but  fled  with  the  utmost  pre- 
cipitation, on  the  advance  of  the  militia.  At  this  place, 
which  I  judged  to  be  about  fifteen  miles  from  the  Miami  vil- 
lage, I  determined  to  throw  up  a  slight  work,  the  plan  of 
which  was  concerted  that  evening  with  Major  Ferguson, 
wherein  to  have  deposited  the  men's  knapsacks,  and  every 
thing  else  that  was  not  of  absolute  necessity,  and  to  have 
moved  on  to  attack  the  enemy  as  soon  as  the  first  regiment  was 
come  up.  But  they  did  not  permit  me  to  execute  either;  for, 
on  the  4th,  about  half  an  hour  before  sunrise,  and  when  the 
men  had  just  been  dismissed  from  parade,  (for  it  was  a  con- 
stant practice  to  have  them  all  under  arms  a  considerable 
time  before  day-light,)  an  attack  was  made  upon  the  militia. 
Those  gave  way  in  a  very  little  time  and  rushed  into  camp 
through  Major  Butler's  battalion,  (which,  together  with  a  part 
of  Clark's  they  threw  into  considerable  disorder,  and  which, 
notwithstanding  the  exertions  of  both  those  officers,  was 
never  altogether  remedied,)  the  Indians  following  close  at 
their  heels.  The  fire,  however,  of  the  front  line  checked 
them ;  but  almost  instantly  a  very  heavy  attack  began  upon 
that  line  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  it  was  extended  to  the  second 
likewise.  The  great  weight  of  it  was  directed  against  the 
centre  of  each,  where  the  artillery  was  placed,  and  from 
which  the  men  were  repeatedly  driven  with  great  slaughter. 
Finding  no  great  effect  from  our  fire,  and  confusion  beginning 
to  spread  from  the  great  number  of  men  who  were  falling  in 
all  quarters,  it  became  necessary  to  try  what  could  be  done  by 
the  bayonet.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Darke  was  accordingly  or- 
dered to  make  a  charge  with  a  part  of  the  second  line,  and  to 


388  Defeat  of  St.  Clair.  1791. 

turn  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy.  This  was  executed  with 
great  spirit.  The  Indians  instantly  gave  way,  and  were 
driven  back  three  or  four  hundred  yards ;  but  for  want  of  a 
sufficient  number  of  riflemen  to  pursue  this  advantage,  they 
soon  returned,  and  the  troops  were  obliged  to  give  back  in 
their  turn.  At  this  moment  they  had  entered  our  camp  by 
the  left  flank,  having  pushed  back  the  troops  that  were  posted 
there.  Another  charge  was  made  here  by  the  second  regi- 
ment, Butler's  and  Clark's  battalions,  with  equal  effect,  and 
it  was  repeated  several  times  and  always  with  success;  but 
in  all  of  them  many  men  were  lost,  and  particularly  the  offi- 
cers, which,  with  so  raw  troops,  was  a  loss  altogether  irreme- 
diable. In  that  I  just  spoke  of,  made  by  the  second  regiment 
and  Butler's  battalion,  Major  Butler  was  dangerously  wound- 
ed, and  every  officer  of  the  second  regiment  fell  except 
three,  one  of  which,  Mr.  Greaton,  was  shot  through  the  body. 

Our  artillery  being  now  silenced,  and  all  the  officers  killed 
except  Captain  Ford,  who  was  very  badly  wounded,  and  more 
than  half  of  the  army  fallen,  being  cut  off  from  the  road,  it 
became  necessary  to  attempt  the  regaining  it,  and  to  make  a 
retreat  if  possible.  To  this  purpose  the  remains  of  the  army 
was  formed  as  well  as  circumstances  would  admit,  towards 
the  right  of  the  encampment,  from  which,  by  the  way  of 
the  second  line,  another  charge  was  made  upon  the  enemy, 
as  if  with  the  design  to  turn  their  right  flank,  but  in  fact,  to 
gain  the  road.  This  was  effected,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  open, 
the  militia  took  along  it,  followed  by  the  troops;  Maj.  Clark, 
with  his  battalion,  covering  the  rear. 

The  retreat,  in  those  circumstances,  was,  as  you  may  be 
sure,  a  very  precipitate  one.  It  was,  in  fact,  a  flight.  The 
camp  and  the  artillery  were  abandoned ;  but  that  was  una- 
voidable ;  for  not  a  horse  was  left  alive  to  have  drawn  it  off", 
had  it  otherwise  been  practicable.  But  the  most  disgraceful 
part  of  the  business  is,  that  the  greatest  part  of  the  men  threw 
away  their  arms  and  accoutrements,  even  after  the  pursuit, 
which  continued  about  four  miles,  had  ceased.  I  found  the 
road  strewed  with  them  for  many  miles,  but  was  not  able  to 
remedy  it  ;  for,  having  had  all  my  horses  killed,  and  being 
mounted  upon  one  that  could  not  be  pricked  out  of  a  walk,  I 
could  not  get  forward  myself;  and  the  orders  I  sent  forward 
either  to  halt  the  front,  or  to  prevent  the  men  from  parting 
with  their  arms,  were  unattended  to.  The  rout  continued 
quite  to  Fort  Jefferson,  twenty-nine  miles,  which  was  reached 
a  little  after  sun-setting.  The  action  began  about  half  an 
hour  before  sunrise,  and  the  retreat  was  attempted  at  half  an 
hour  after  nine  o'clock.  I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  get  re- 
turns of  the  killed  and  wounded  ;  but  Major  General  Butler, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Oldham,  of  the  militia,  Major  Ferguson, 
Major  Hart,  and  Major  Clark,  are  among  the  former  :  Colo- 


1791.  Defeat  of  St.  Glair.  389 

nel  Sargent,  my  Adjutant  General,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Darke, 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Gibson,  Major  Butler,  and  the  Viscount 
Malartie,  who  served  me  as  Aid-de-camp,  are  among  the  lat- 
ter; and  a  great  number  of  captains  and  subalterns  in  both. 
I  have  now,  sir,  finished  my  melancholy  tale — a  tale  that 
will  be  felt  sensibly  by  every  one  that  has  sympathy  for  pri- 
vate distress,  or  for  public  misfortune.  1  have  nothing,  sir,  to 
lay  to  the  charge  of  the  troops,  but  their  want  of  discipline, 
which,  from  the  short  time  they  had  been  in  service,  it  was 
impossible  they  should  have  acquired,  and  which  rendered  it 
very  difficult,  when  they  were  thrown  into  confusion,  to  reduce 
them  again  to  order,  and  is  one  reason  why  the  loss  has  fallen 
so  heavy  on  the  officers,  who  did  every  thing  in  their  power  to 
effect  it.  Neither  were  my  own  exertions  wanting  :  but,  worn 
down  with  illness,  and  suffering  under  a  painful  disease,  un- 
able either  to  mount  or  dismount  a  horse  without  assistance, 
they  were  not  so  great  as  they  otherwise  would,  and  perhaps 
ought  to  have  been.  We  were  overpowered  by  numbers;  but 
it  is  no  more  than  justice  to  observe,  that,  though  composed 
of  so  many  different  species  of  troops,  the  utmost  harmony 
prevailed  through  the  whole  army  during  the  campaign.  At 
Fort  Jefferson  I  found  the  first  regiment,  which  had  returned 
from  the  service  they  had  been  sent  upon,  without  either  over- 
taking the  deserters,  or  meeting  the  convoy  of  provisions.  I 
am  not  certain,  sir,  whether  I  ought  to  consider  the  absence  of 
this  regiment  from  the  field  of  action,  as  fortunate  or  other- 
wise. I  incline  to  think  it  was  fortunate  :  for,  I  very  much 
doubt  whether,  had  it  been  in  the  action,  the  fortune  of  the 
day  had  been  turned;  and,  if  it  had  not,  the  triumph  of  the 
enemy  would  have  been  more  complete,  and  the  country 
would  have  been  destitute  of  every  means  of  defence.  Taking 
a  view  of  the  situation  of  our  broken  troops  at  Fort  Jefferson, 
and  that  there  was  no  provisions  in  the  Fort,  I  called  upon  the 
field  officers,  viz :  Lieutenant  Colonel  Darke,  Major  Ham- 
tramck,  Major  Zeigler,  and  Major  Gaither,  together  with  the 
Adjutant  General,  [Winthrop  Sargent,]  for  their  advice  what 
would  be  proper  further  to  be  done  ;  and  it  was  their  unani- 
mous opinion,  that  the  addition  of  the  first  regiment,  un- 
broken as  it  was,  did  not  put  the  army  on  so  respectable  a 
foot  as  it  was  in  the  morning,  because  a  great  part  of  it  was  now 
unarmed ;  that  it  had  been  found  unequal  to  the  enemy,  and 
should  they  come  on,  which  was  possible,  would  be  found  so 
again  ;  that  the  troops  could  not  be  thrown  into  the  fort,  both 
because  it  was  too  small,  and  that  there  were  no  provisions  in 
it;  that  provisions  were  known  to  be  on  the  road,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  one,  or  at  most  tftvo  marches ;  that,  therefore,  it  would 
be  more  proper  to  move  without  loss  of  time,  to  meet  the  pro- 
visions, when  the  men  might  have  the  sooner  an  opportunity 
of  some  refreshment,  and  that  a  proper  detachment  might  be 


390  Defeat  of  St.  Clair.  1791. 

sent  back  with  it,  to  have  it  safely  deposited  in  the  fort.  This 
advice  was  accepted,  and  the  army  was  put  in  motion  at  ten 
o'clock,  and  marched  all  night,  and  the  succeeding  day  met 
with  a  quantity  of  flour.  Part  of  it  was  distributed  immedi- 
ately, part  taken  back  to  supply  the  army  on  the  march  to 
Fort  Hamilton,  and  the  remainder,  about  fifty  horse  loads, 
sent  forward  to  Fort  Jefferson.  The  next  day  a  drove  of 
cattle  was  met  with  for  the  same  place,  and  I  have  informa- 
tion that  both  got  in.  The  wounded,  who  had  been  left  at 
that  place,  were  ordered  to  be  brought  to  Fort  Washington 
by  the  return  horses. 

I  have  said,  sir,  in  a  former  part  of  this  letter,  that  we  were 
overpowered  by  numbers.  Of  that,  however,  I  have  no  other 
evidence  but  the  weight  of  the  fire,  which  was  always  a  most 
deadly  one,  and  generally  delivered  from  the  ground — few  of 
the  enemy  showing  themselves  afoot,  except  when  they  were 
charged  ;  and  that,  in  a  few  minutes  our  whole  camp,  which 
extended  above  three  hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  length,  was 
entirely  surrounded  and  attacked  on  all  quarters.  The  loss, 
sir,  the  public  has  sustained  by  the  fall  of  so  many  officers, 
particularly  General  Butler  and  Major  Ferguson,  cannot  be 
too  much  regretted;  but  it  is  a  circumstance  that  will  alle- 
viate the  misfortune  in  some  measure,  that  all  of  them  fell 
most  gallantly  doing  their  duty.  I  have  had  very  particular 
obligations  to  many  of  them,  as  well  as  to  the  survivors, 
but  to  none  more  than  Colonel  Sargent.  He  has  discharged 
the  various  duties  of  his  office  with  zeal,  with  exactness,  and 
with  intelligence,  and  on  all  occasions  afforded  me  every  as- 
sistance in  his  power,  which  I  have  also  experienced  from  my 
Aid-de-camp,  Lieutenant  Denny,  and  the  Viscount  Malartie, 
who  served  with  me  in  the  station  as  a  volunteer.* 

[  To  this  official  account  of  the  commander,  we  add  the  fol- 
lowing sketch  by  Benjamin  Van  Cleve,  who  was  in  the  Quar- 
ter-master General's  service  on  the  occasion ;  so  that  he 
fought  as  a  volunteer.  Mr.  Van  Cleve  was  a  resident  of  Cin- 
ciunati,  early  in  1790;  removed  to  Dayton  in  1797,  and  during 
the  principal  part  of  his  life,  kept  a  journal  or  memoranda  of 
the  events  that  transpired.  This  sketch  vividly  portrays  the 
confusion  of  the  battle  and  flight  f] 

On  the  fourth  [of  November]  at  daybreak,  I  began  to  pre- 
pare for  returning,  [to  Fort  Washington]  and  had  got  about 
half  my  luggage  on  my  horse,  when  the  firing  commenced. 
We  were  encamped  just  within  the  lines,  on  the  right.  The 
attack  was  made  on  the  Kentucky  militia.  Almost  instanta- 

*  American  State  Papers,  T.  137. 
t  American  Pioneer,  ii.  143 — 153. 


1791.  Defeat  of  St .  Clair.  39 1 

neously  the  small  remnant  of  them  that  escaped  broke 
through  the  line  near  us,  and  this  line  gave  way.  Followed 
by  a  tremendous  fire  from  the  enemy,  they  passed  me.  I 
threw  my  bridle  over  a  stump,  from  which  a  tent  pole  had 
been  cut,  and  followed  a  short  distance,  when  finding  the 
troo'ps  had  halted,  I  returned  and  brought  my  horse  a 
little  farther.  I  was  now  between  the  fires,  and  finding  the 
troops  giving  way  again,  was  obliged  to  leave  him  a  second 
time.  As  I  quitted  him  he  was  shot  down,  and  1  felt  rather 
glad  of  it,  as  I  concluded  that  now  I  should  be  at  liberty  to 
share  in  the  engagement.  My  inexperience  prompted  me  to 
calculate  on  our  forces  being  far  superior  to  any  that  the  sav- 
ages could  assemble,  and  that  we  should  soon  have  the 
pleasure  of  driving  them.  Not  more  than  five  minutes  had 
yet  elapsed,  when  a  soldier  near  me  had  his  arm  swinging 
with  a  wound.  I  requested  his  arms  and  accoutrements,  as 
he  was  unable  to  use  them,  promising  to  return  them  to  him, 
and  commenced  firing.  The  smoke  was  settled  down  to 
about  within  three  feet  of  the  ground,  but  I  generally  put  one 
knee  on  the  ground,  and  with  a  rest  from  behind  a  tree, 
waited  the  appearance  of  an  Indian's  head  from  behind  his 
cover,  or  for  one  to  run  and  change  his  position.  Before  I 
was  convinced  of  my  mistaken  calculations,  the  battle  was 
half  over,  and  I  had  become  familiarized  to  the  scene.  Hear- 
ing the  firing  at  one  time  unusually  brisk  near  the  rear  of  the 
left  wing,  I  crossed  the  encampment.  Two  levy  officers  were 
just  ordering  a  charge.  I  had  fired  away  my  ammunition,  and 
some  of  the  bands  of  my  musket  had  flown  off.  I  picked  up 
another,  and  a  cartridge  box  nearly  full,  and  pushed  forvyard 
with  about  thirty  others.  The  Indians  ran  to  the  right,  where 
there  was  a  small  ravine  filled  with  logs.  I  bent  iry  course 
after  them,  and  on  looking  round,  I  found  I  was  with  only 
seven  or  eight  men,  the  others  having  kept  straight  forward, 
and  halted  about  thirty  yards  off.  We  halted  also,  and  being 
so  near  where  the  savages  lay  concealed,  the  second  fire  from 
them,  left  me  standing  alone.  My  cover  was  a  small  sugar 
tree  or  beech,  scarcely  large  enough  to  hide  me.  I  fired  away 
all  my  ammunition  ;  I  am  uncertain  whether  with  any  effect  or 
not.  I  then  looked  for  the  party  near  me,  and  saw  them  re- 
treating and  half  way  back  to  the  lines.  I  followed  them, 
running  my  best,  and  was  soon  in.  By  this  time  our  artillery 
had  been  taken,  I  do  not  know  whether  the  first  or  second 
time,  and  our  troops  had  just  retaken  it,  and  were  charging 
the  enemy  across  the  creek  in  front;  and  some  person  told  me 
to  look  at  an  Indian  running  with  one  of  our  kegs  of  pow- 
der, but  I  did  not  see  him.  There  were  about  thirty  of  our 
men  and  officers  lying  scalped  around  the  pieces  of  artillery. 
It  appeared  that  the  Indians  had  not  been  in  a  hurry,  for 
their  hair  was  all  skinned  off. 


392  Defeat  of  St.  Clair.  1791. 

Daniel  Bonham,  a  young  man  raised  by  my  uncle,  and 
brought  up  with  rne,  and  whom  I  regarded  as  a  brother,  had 
by  this  time  received  a  shot  through  his  hips,  and  was  unable 
to  walk.  I  procured  a  horse  and  got  him  on.  My  uncle  had 
received  a  ball  near  his  wrist  that  lodged  near  his  elbow. 
The  ground  was  literally  covered  with  dead  and  dying  men, 
the  commander  gave  orders  to  take  the  way — perhaps 
they  had  been  given  more  explicitly.  Happening  to  see 
my  uncle,  he  told  me  that  a  retreat  had  been  ordered,  and 
that  I  must  do  the  best  I  could,  and  take  care  of  myself. 
Bonham  insisted  that  he  had  a  better  chance  of  escaping 
than  I  had,  and  urged  me  to  look  to  my  own  safety  alone.  I 
found  the  troops  pressing  like  a  drove  of  bullocks  to  the 
right.  I  saw  an  officer  whom  I  took  to  be  Lieutenant  Mor- 
gan, an  aid  to  General  Butler,  with  six  or  eight  men,  start 
on  a  run  a  little  to  the  left  of  where  I  was.  I  immediately 
ran  and  fell  in  with  them.  In  a  short  distance  we  were  so 
suddenly  among  the  Indians,  who  were  not  apprised  of  our 
object,  that  they  opened  to  us,  and  ran  to  the  right  and  left 
without  firing.  I  think  about  two  hundred  of  our  men  passed 
through  them  before  they  fired,  except  a  chance  shot.  When 
\ve  had  proceeded  about  two  miles,  most  of  those  mounted 
had  passed  me.  A  boy  had  been  thrown  or  fell  off  a  horse, 
and  begged  my  assistance.  I  ran,  pulled  him  along  about  two 
miles  further,  until  I  had  become  nearly  exhausted.  Of  the 
last  two  horses  in  the  rear,  one  carried  two  men,  and  the 
other  three.  I  made  an  exertion  and  threw  him  on  behind 
the  two  men.  The  Indians  followed  but  about  half  a  mile  fur- 
ther. The  boy  was  thrown  off  some  time  after,  but  escaped 
and  got  in  safely.  My  friend  Bonham  I  did  not  see  on  the 
retreat,  but  understood  he  was  thrown  off  about  this  place, 
and  lay  on  the  left  of  the  trace,  where  he  was  found  in 
the  winter  and  was  buried.  I  took  the  cramp  violently  in 
my  thighs,  and  could  scarcely  walk  until  I  got  within  a 
hundred  yards  of  the  rear,  where  the  Indians  were  toma- 
hawking the  old  and  wounded  men  ;  and  I  stopped  here 
to  tie  my  pocket  handkerchief  round  a  wounded  man's  knee. 
I  saw  the  Indians  close  in  pursuit  at  this  time,  and  for  a  mo- 
ment rny  spirit  sunk,  and  I  felt  in  despair  for  my  safety.  I 
considered  whether  I  should  leave  the  road,  or  whether  I  was 
capable  of  any  further  exertion.  If  I  left  the  road,  the  In- 
dians were  in  plain  sight  and  could  easily  overtake  me.  I 
threw  the  shoes  off  my  feet,  and  the  coolness  of  the  ground 
seemed  to  revive  me.  I  again  began  a  trot,  and  recollect 
that  when  a  bend  in  the  road  offered,  and  I  got  before  half  a 
dozen  persons,  I  thought  it  would  occupy  some  time  for  the 
enemy  to  massacre  them,  before  my  turn  would  come.  By 
the  time  I  had  got  to  Stillwater,  about  eleven  miles,  I  had 
gained  the  centre  of  the  flying  troops,  and,  like  them  came  to 


1791.  Defeat  of  St.  Clair.  393 

a  walk.  I  fell  in  with  Lieutenant  Shaumburg,  who,  I  think, 
was  the  only  officer  of  artillery  that  got  away  unhurt,  with 
corporal  Mott,  and  a  woman  who  was  called  red-headed 
Nance.  The  latter  two  were  both  crying.  Mott  was  lament- 
ing the  loss  of  a  wife,  and  Nance  that  of  an  infant  child. 
Shaumburg  was  nearly  exhausted,  and  hung  on  Mott's  arm. 
1  carried  his  fusil  and  accoutrements,  and  led  Nance ;  and  in 
this  sociable  way  we  arrived  at  Fort  Jefferson  a  little  after 
sunset. 

The  commander-in-chief  had  ordered  Colonel  Darke  to 
press  forward  to  the  convoys  of  provisions,  and  hurry  them  on 
to  the  army.  Major  Truman,  Captain  Sedan  and  my  uncle 
were  setting  forward  with  him.  A  number  of  soldiers,  and 
pack-horsemen  on  foot,  and  myself  among  them,  joined  them. . 
We  came  on  a  few  miles,  when  all,  overcome  with  fatigue, 
agreed  to  halt.  Darius  Curtius  Orcutt,  a  pack-horse  master, 
had  stolen,  at  Jefferson,  one  pocket  full  of  flour  and  the  other 
full  of  beef.  One  of  the  men  had  a  kettle,  and  one  Jacob 
Fowler  and  myself  groped  about  in  the  dark,  until  we  found 
some  water,  where  a  tree  had  been  blown  out  of  root.  We 
made  a  kettle  of  soup,  of  which  I  got  a  small  portion  among 
the  many.  tlt  was  then  concluded,  as  there  was  a  bend  in  the 
road  a  few  miles  farther  on,  that  the  Indians  might  undertake 
to  intercept  us  there,  and  we  decamped  and  travelled  about 
four  or  five  miles  further.  I  had  got  a  rifle  and  ammunition 
at  Jefferson,  from  a  wounded  militia-man,  an  old  acquaint- 
ance, to  bring  in.  A  sentinel  was  set,  and  we  lay  down  and 
slept,  until  the  governor  came  up  a  few  hours  afterward.  I 
think  I  never  slept  so  profoundly.  I  could  hardly  get  awake, 
after  I  was  on  my  feet.  On  the  day  before  the  defeat,  the 
ground  was  covered  with  snow.  The  flats  were  now  filled 
with  water  frozen  over,  the  ice  as  thick  as  a  knife-blade.  I 
was  worn  out  with  fatigue,  with  my  feet  knocked  to  pieces 
against  the  roots  in  the  night,  and  splashing  through  the  ice 
without  shoes.  In  the  morning,  we  got  to  a  camp  of  pack- 
horsemen,  and  amongst  them  I  got  a  doughboy  or  water- 
dumpling,  and  proceeded.  We  got  within  seven  miles  of 
Hamilton  on  this  day,  and  arrived  there  soon  on  the  morning 
of  the  sixth. 

Thus  were  all  the  plans,  hopes,  and  labors  of  Washington, 
Knox  and  St.  Clair,  in  reference  to  the  Indian  campaign,  in 
one  day,  overthrown.  The  savages,  again  victorious,  coukl 
neither  be  expected  to  make  terms  or  exercise  forbearance  ;. 
and  along  the  whole  line  of  the  frontier  there  were  but  few 
that  did  not  feel  anxiety,  terror,  or  despair. 

We  give  in  illustration  the  following. — Representation  from 
tfte  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Pittsburg,  dated,  Pittsburgh  Dt~ 
25 


394  Effect  of  St.  Claims  Defeat.  1790 

cember  llth,  1791 — Sir:  In  consequence  of  the  late  intelli- 
gence of  the  fate  of  the  campaign  to  the  Westward,  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Pittsburg  have  convened,  and 
appointed  us  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of  addressing  your 
Excellency.  The  late  disaster  of  the  army  must  greatly  effect 
the  safety  of  this  place.  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the 
enemy  will  now  come  forward,  and  with  more  spirit,  and 
greater  numbers,  than  they  ever  did  before,  for  success  will 
give  confidence  and  secure  allies. 

We  seriously  apprehend  that  the  Six  Nations,  heretofore 
wavering,  will  now  avow  themselves ;  at  least,  their  young 
men  will  come  to  war.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the  Indians  at 
present  hostile,  are  well  acquainted  with  the  defenceless 
situation  of  this  town.  During  the  late  war  there  was  a  gar- 
rison at  this  place,  though,  even  then,  there  was  not  such  a 
combination  of  the  savage  nations,  nor  so  much  to  be  dreaded 
from  them.  At  present,  we  have  neither  garrison,  arms,  nor 
ammunition  to  defend  the  place.  If  the  enemy  should  be  dis- 
posed to  pursue  the  blow  they  have  given,  which  it  is  morally 
certain  they  will,  they  would,  in  our  situation,  find  it  easy  to 
destroy  us  ;  and,  should  this  place  be  lost,  the  whole  country 
is  open  to  them,  and  must  be  abandoned. — (A.  Tannehill  and 
others,  to  the  Governor  of  Pennsylvania.) 

Memorial  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  counties  of  Westmoreland, 
Washington,  Fayette,  and  Allegheny,  to  the  Governor  of  Penn- 
sylvania : — To  his  Excellency  Thomas  Mifflin,  Esq.,  Governor 
of  the  State  of  Pennsylvania : — Your  Excellency  is  well  aware 
of  the  great  extent  of  our  frontier ;  and,  when  you  consider 
the  high  degree  of  spirit  which  the  savages,  animated  by  two 
successive  victories,  entertain,  you  may  more  easily  conceive, 
than  we  can  describe,  the  fears  which  pervade  the  breasts  of 
those  men,  women  and  children,  who  are  more  immediately 
subject  to  their  barbarities  and  depredations.  Had  the  peo- 
ple a  sufficiency  of  arms  in  their  hands,  they  might,  in  some 
measure,  defend  themselves  until  the  General  Government,  to 
whose  care  the  common  defence  is  entrusted,  should  adopt 
efficient  steps  for  that  purpose.  At  the  same  time,  we  beg 
leave  to  state  to  your  Excellency,  what  occurs  to  us  as  the 
most  speedy  and  effectual  mode.  When  the  extent  of  coun- 
try to  be  protected  is  taken  into  view,  we  conceive  that  eight 
hundred  effective  men  will  not  be  deemed  more  than  suf- 
ficient. They  should  be  active  partisans,  under  experienced 
officers,  and  provided  with  good  rifles,  to  suit  the  grand  object 
of  meeting  the  enemy  upon  equal  terms ;  of  scouting,  and 
Diving  the  alarm  when  needful.  Such  a  body  should  have 
encouragement  proportioned  to  the  price  of  common  labor  in 
1his  country,  which  averages  fifty  shillings  per  month,  as  the 
pay  allowed  to  the  troops  of  the  United  States  would  not  be  a 


1790  Effect  of  St.  Claims  Defeat.  395 

sufficient  inducement  to  able-bodied  men,  possessing  the  requi- 
site qualifications.  We  suggest  these  general  ideas  from  our 
knowledge  of  local  circumstances,  which  they  who  are  at  a 
distance,  unacquainted  with  the  actual  situation  of  the  wes- 
tern country,  cannot  so  well  perceive.  It  is  not  our  wish  to 
enter  into  a  minute  detail,  being  convinced  that  your  Excel- 
lency is  not  only  fully  acquainted  with,  but  feelingly  alive  to, 
those  impressions,  which  a  state,  such  as  ours,  must  give  rise 
to  ;  nor  can  we  apply  to  any  person  more  proper  than  your- 
self to  procure  that  assistance  which  it  requires. 

From  the  Representatives  of  the  County  of  Ohio  to  the 
Governor  of  Virginia  : — Sir  :  The  alarming  intelligence  lately 
received,  of  the  defeat  of  the  army  in  the  western  country, 
fills  our  minds  with  dreadful  fears  and  apprehensions,  con- 
cerning the  safety  of  our  fellow-citizens  in  the  country  we  re- 
present, and  we  confidently  hope  will  be  an  excuse  to  your 
Excellency,  whose  zeal  has  been  so  frequently  evinced  in  be- 
half of  the  distressed  frontier  counties,  for  the  request  we  are 
now  compelled  to  make.  In  the  course  of  last  year,  upwards 
of  fifty  of  our  people  were  killed,  and  a  great  part  of  our 
country  plundered,  notwithstanding  the  aid  afforded  by  the 
Pennsylvanians,  who  joined  the  Virginians  in  our  defence. 
The  success  of  the  Indians  in  their  late  engagement  with  Gen- 
eral St.  Clair,  will,  no  doubt,  render  them  more  glaring  and 
bold  in  their  future  incursions  and  attacks  upon  our  defence- 
less inhabitants ;  those  adjoining  the  county  of  Harrison,  ex- 
tending a  hundred  miles  ;  covering  the  county  of  Monongalia ; 
and  we  conceive  that  not  less  than  sixty  or  seventy  men  will 
be  sufficient  to  defend  them.  Through  you,  sir,  we  beg  leave 
to  request  this  assistance.  (American  State  Papers,  v,  215. 
216.  222.) 

[In  Braddock's  defeat,  of  one  thousand,  two  hundred  men, 
there  were  seven  hundred  and  fourteen  killed  and  wounded. 
In  St.  Glair's  defeat,  out  of  fourteen  hundred  men,  eight  hun- 
dred and  ninety  were  killed  and  wounded.  Braddock's 
officers  were  eighty-six  in  number,  of  which  sixty-three  were 
killed  and  wounded.  St.  Clair  had  from  eighty-six  to  ninety 
officers,  of  which  sixteen  were  killed  and  wounded.  In  its 
effects,  this  was  like  a  second  Braddock's  defeat.  How  was  it 
in  its  causes  ?]  General  Knox  assigned  as  the  chief  reasons  of 
St.  Glair's  overthrow — first,  the  deficiency  of  good  troops  : 
second,  the  want  of  appropriate  training  among  those  he  (St. 
Clair)  had  :  third,  the  lateness  of  the  season.*  The  committee 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  which  examined  the  matter. 

.      *  American  State  Papers,  v.  198. 


396  Effect  of  St.  Claims  Defeat.  1791. 

upon  the  8th  of  May,  1792,  reported  the  causes  of  the  catas- 
trophe of  the  previous  November  to  have  been,  in  their  opin- 
ion— first,  the  delay  in  preparing  estimates,  &c.,  for  the  de- 
fence of  the  frontiers,  and  the  late  passage  of  the  Act  (March 
3d,)  for  that  purpose  :  second,  the  delay  caused  by  the  neglect 
in  the  Quartermaster's  department :  third,  the  lateness  of  the 
season  when  the  expedition  was  commenced  :  and,  fourth,  the 
want  of  discipline  and  experience  in  the  troops.  This  Com- 
mittee, also,  expressly  declared  General  St.  Clair  free  of  all 
blame  in  relation  to  everything,  both  before  and  during  the 
action.*  Will  the  causes  thus  assigned  fully  explain  the  de- 
feat ?  In  answer  it  may  be  observed,,  even  by  one  wholly 
ignorant  of  military  matters,  that  the  late  passage  of  an  act 
of  Congress — the  want  of  proper  measures  by  the  Quarter- 
master, and  the  lateness  of  the  season,  were  obviously  not 
among  the  leading  causes  of  the  rout  of  November  4th, 
1791  ;  these  things  might  have  prevented  the  accomplishment 
of  the  plan  for  erecting  a  fort  at  the  Miami  village,  even  had 
St.  Clair  been  victorious  on  that  day,  but  they  did  not  cause 
his  defeat.  Was  it,  then,  the  want  of  good  troops  ?  We  think 
a  re-perusal  of  the  General's  letter  will  show  that  his  troops 
were  not  worthless  by  any  means.  The  action  began  about 
half  an  hour  before  sun-rise,  on  the  fourth  of  November,  and 
lasted  until  half-past  nine  in  the  morning.  This  could  not 
have  been  the  case  with  undisciplined  troops,  unless  they  had 
possessed,  at  least,  the  raw  material  of  soldiers,  and  had  been 
men  who,  well  situated,  would  have  done  well.  However 
much,  then,  the  troops  may  have  been  wanting  in  a  proper 
training,  it  seems  clear  to  us  that  this  alone  would  not  explain 
the  fortune  of  the  day  unless  the  enemy  had  been  present  in 
overwhelming  numbers ;  and  such  was  not  probably  the  case, 
the  best  evidence  we  have  going  to  show  that  the  Indians 
were  but  about  one  thousand  in  number,f  while  the  Americans 
were  fourteen  hundred.  Leaving  then  the  reasons  officially 
assigned,  we  suggest  that,  to  the  reader  ignorant  of  military 
science,  it  seems  that  two  striking  causes  of  the  melancholy 
result  are  unnoticed  by  the  Secretary  of  War  and  the  Com- 

*  American  State  Papers,  xii.  38,  39. 

t  American  State  Papers,  xii.  37.— The  Secretary  of  War  in  December,  1791,  estimated 
the  Indians  at  three  thousand,  but  the  Committee  of  the  following  May,  having  his  and 
other  eTidence,cut  the  number  down  to  1040.— American  State  Papers,  v.  198.— American 
State  Papers,  xii,  44. 


1791.  Causes  of  St.  C lair's  Defeat.     »  397 

mittee  of  Congress,  viz. :  the  surprise  by  the  Indians,  who 
were  in  no  degree  expected  by  the  army  ;  and  the  confusion 
introduced  at  the  outset  by  the  flying  militia.  Had  the 
attack  been  expected,  the  troops  prepared,  all  chance  of  con- 
fusion avoided,  and  had  the  very  able  officers  who  command- 
ed been  obeyed — with  all  the  disadvantages  of  raw  troops, 
the  event  might  have  been,  probably  would  have  been,  wholly 
different.  We  are,  then,  led  to  ask,  how  it  happened  that  the 
troops  were  surprised — were  proper  measures  taken  to  guard 
against  surprise  ?  The  militia,  as  St.  Clair  says,  were  a  quar- 
ter of  a  mile  in  advance  of  the  main  army,  and  beyond  the 
creek ;  still  farther  in  advance  was  Captain  Slough,  who, 
with  a  volunteer  party  of  regulars,  went  out  to  reconnoitre  ; 
and  orders  had  been  given  Colonel  Oldham,  who  commanded 
the  militia,  to  have  the  woods  thoroughly  examined  by  the 
scouts  and  patrols,  as  Indians  were  known  to  be  hanging 
about  the  outskirts  of  the  army.  In  all  this  St.  Clair  seems  to 
have  done  his  entire  duty,  as  far  as  sickness  would  permit  him ; 
could  he  have  seen  in  person  to  the  essential  steps  it  would 
have  been  better.  During  the  night  Captain  Slough,  who 
was  a  mile  beyond  the  militia,  found  so  large  a  body  of  sava- 
ges gathering  about  him,  that  he  fell  back  and  reported  his 
observations  to  General  Butler.  But  the  General,  for  reasons 
unexplained,  made  no  dispositions  in  consequence  of  this  in- 
formation, and  did  not  report  it  to  the  Commander-in-chief. 
Colonel  Oldham  also  obeyed  his  orders,  the  woods  were 
searched,  and  the  presence  of  the  enemy  detected,  but  he,  too, 
reported,  through  Captain  Slough,  to  General  Butler,  beyond 
whom  the  information  did  not  go. 

[There  is  evidence  in  the  various  documents  that  there  was 
a  misunderstanding  between  Generals  St.  Clair  and  Butler 
during  the  campaign.  The  latter  was  killed  in  the  battle,  or 
that  part  of  his  conduct  which  is  involved  in  mystery  might 
have  been  explained.  Various  stories  have  obtained  circu- 
lation about  the  manner  and  circumstances  of  his  death. 

A  paper  from  John  Johnson,  published  in  Cist's  Miscellany, 
(ii.  299,)  states  that  he  was  killed  by  his  own  son,  a  half-breed 
Shawanee  chief,  which  we  think  is  more  than  improbable. 
Mr.  Stone,  in  his  life  of  Brant,  (ii.  310,)  says  he  was  badly 
wounded,  and  being  left  on  the  field,  implored  Simon  Girty  to 
kill  him,  but  he  refused,  and  an  Indian  put  him  out  of  pain; 


398  Causes  of  the  Defeat  of  St.  Clair.  1791. 

taking  his  scalp  and  heart  as  trophies.  Mann  Butler,  Esq., 
states  (History  of  Kentucky,  204,)  on  what  authority  we  do 
not  exactly  perceive,  that  an  Indian  "at  the  sacrifice  of  his 
own  life,  darted  into  the  camp  and  tomahawked  and  scalped 
Major  General  Butler  while  his  wounds  were  dressing,  though 
the  Indian  was  instantly  put  to  death."  Another  statement 
in  Cist's  Miscellany  (ii.  31)  by  J.  Matson,  is,  that  he  belonged 
to  a  party  sent  back  by  General  Wilkinson  the  following  win- 
ter to  the  battle  field,  where  they  found,  as  they  thought, 
Butler's  body  "in  the  thickest  of  the  carnage." 

In  the  "Narrative"  by  St.  Clair  (p.  221)  Colonel  Semple  de- 
poses, that  he  saw  four  soldiers  putting  General  Butler  in  a 
blanket  after  he  fell. 

When  such  conflicting  statements  exist  concerning  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  death  of  the  distinguished  officer  who  was 
second  in  command,  we  cannot  expect  accuracy  in  tracing  the 
causes  of  the  disastrous  defeat.  General  Butler  had  been  an 
Indian  trader  at  an  early  day.  It  appears  from  the  documen- 
tary testimony,  that  he  did  not  report  to  the  Commander-in- 
chief  (St.  Clair)  the  information  he  received  from  the  recon- 
noisance  of  Colonel  Oldham  and  Captain  Slough  during  the 
preceding  night.  Oldham,  too,  appears  to  have  been  diligent 
in  making  his  report,  but  he  also  was  among  the  slain.  St. 
Clair  said,  had  he  received  the  reports  of  Colonel  Oldham  and 
Captain  Slough,  he  would  have  attacked  the  Indians  in  the 
night.  (Narrative,  p.  135.) 

To  all  these  circumstances  we  repeat  the  fact,  that  General 
St.  Clair  was  suffering,  from  severe  indisposition,  and  for 
a  portion  of  the  march  had  to  be  carried  in  a  litter.  And  in 
the  morning  of  the  attack  the  army  was  taken  by  surprise  and 
unprepared.  Even  under  these  disadvantages  there  was  a 
great  chance  of  victory  for  the  American  army,  had  the  troops 
not  been  unexpectedly  attacked  and  thrown  into  disorder  at 
the  onset.  It  could  not  have  been  the  single  fact,  (as  many 
have  supposed)  that  they  were  militia  or  volunteers,  for  in  too 
many  instances  have  this  class  of  troops  from  this  western 
valley,  stood  their  ground  in  severe  and  deadly  conflicts  with 
Indians,  British  and  Mexicans.  Proofs  enough  of  firmness  and 
self  government  have  been  given  by  this  class  of  men,  to  put 
an  end  to  the  prejudices  heretofore  existing  against  volunteer 
troops. 


1791.  Causes  of  the  Defeat  of  St.  Clair.  399 

The  following  communication  from  Colonel  John  Armstrong, 
an  experienced  warrior  with  Indians,  and  the  hero  of  Kittan- 
ning,  deserves  attention.* 

"It  seems  probable,  that  too  much  attachment  to  regular  or 
military  rule,  or  a  too  great  confidence  in  the  artillery  (which 
it  seemed  formed  part  of  the  lines,  and  had  a  tendency  to  ren- 
der the  troops  stationary,)  must  have  been  the  motives,  which 
led  to  the  adopted  order  of  action.  I  call  it  adopted,  because 
the  General  does  not  speak  of  having  intended  any  other, 
whereby  he  presented  a  large  and  visible  object,  perhaps  in 
close  orders  too,  to  an  enemy  near  enough  to  destroy,  but  from 
their  known  modes  of  action  comparatively  invisible  ;  where- 
by we  may  readily  infer,  that  five  hundred  Indians  were  fully 
sufficient  to  do  us  all  the  injury  we  have  sustained,  nor  can  I 
conceive  them  to  have  been  many  more.  But  tragical  as  the 
event  has  been,  we  have  this  consolation,  that  during  the  ac- 
tion our  officers  and  troops  discovered  great  bravery,  and  that 
the  loss  of  a  battle  is  not  always  the  loss  of  the  cause.  In 
vain,  however,  may  we  expect  success  against  our  present  ad- 
versaries, without  taking  a  few  lessons  from  them,  which  I 
thought  Americans  had  learned  long  ago.  The  principles  of 
their  military  action  are  rational,  and  therefore  often  success- 
ful. We  must,  in  a  degree,  take  a  similar  method  in  order  to 
counteract  them." 

If  these  views  are  sound,  there  was  no  such  neglect  on  the 
part  of  St.  Clair  as  on  the  part  of  Braddock  in  his  defeat ;  no 
overwhelming  self-confidence,  or  disregard  of  sound  advice  ; 
there  was  nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  to  excuse  the  abuse  and 
persecution  to  which  he  was  afterwards  subjected ;  but  there 
was,  1st,  apparent  neglect  on  the  part  of  General  Butler  and 
Colonel  Oldham,  leading  to  a  surprise  ;  2d,  a  mistaken  position 
assigned  the  militia  by  St.  Clair,  in  accordance  with  the  max- 
ims of  most  officers  of  the  day :  and,  3d,  a  needless  adher- 
ence to  military  rules  on  the  part  of  the  Commander-in-chief, 
which  made  his  force  a  target  for  the  Indians  to  shoot  at. 

One  circumstance  connected  with  this  battle,  and  one  of  no 
inconsiderable  interest,  has  been  but  lately  brought  to  light, 
and  may  even  now,  perhaps,  be  doubted ;  it  is  the  presence 
of  Joseph  Brant,  Thayendanegea, — the  great  captain  of  the 
Mohawks.  Until  this  was  announced  in  1838,  by  Col.  Stone, 
in  his  life  of  that  chieftain,  the  Little  Turtle,  Mechecunaqua, 
Chief  of  the  Miamies,  had  been  universally  regarded  as  a 

*  Armstrong's  letter  to  Washington,  December  23d,  1791,  in  Sparks'  Washington,  x. 
223.— Note. 


Causes  of  the  Defeat  of  St.  Clair.  1791. 

leader  at  St.  Glair's,  as  he  had  been  at  Harmar's  defeat.  Mr. 
Stone's  information  was  derived  from  Brant's  family ;  but  as 
there  might  have  been  error  in  the  tradition, — as  it  is  very 
improbable  that  he  should  have  been  there,  and  no  whisper 
from  any  source  have  got  abroad  in  all  the  time  since  elapsed, 
— as  he  had  been  before  and  was  afterwards  a  messenger  and 
advocate  of  peace,— and  as  to  believe  him  at  St.  Glair's  defeat, 
would  be  to  believe  him  guilty  of  needless  disguise  and  de- 
ception,— we  cannot  but  doubt  the  correctness  of  the  tale  told 
by  Mr.  Stone.  But  whoever  led  the  savage  forces,  led  them 
with  ability  and  valor,  and  in  no  recorded  battle  did  the  sons 
of  the  forest  ever  show  themselves  better  warriors. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

«>!  '     •-»< 

INDIAN    WAR   CONTINUED. 

Project  of  General  Knox  for  further  action  against  the  Indians — Spies  sent  among  them 
— General  Wayne  chosen  commander— Mission  of  Putnam — Correspondence  with  Gov. 
Simcoe — Council  at  the  Maumee — Grand  Council  at  Sandusky — Its  failure — Inter- 
ference of  the  British — March  of  General  Wayne — The  Battle  and  Conquest  of  the  In- 
dians— The  Treaty  at  Greenville  and  Peace  Concluded — Appendix. 

It  was  on  the  4th  of  November  that  the  battle  causing  the 
defeat  of  St.  Glair  and  his  army  took  place. 

On  the  8th  the  remains  of  the  army  reached  Fort  Washing- 
ton ;  on  the  9th,  St.  Clair  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  War ;  on 
the  12th  of  December  the  information  was  communicated  to 
Congress;  and  on  the  26th  of  December  General  Knox  laid 
before  the  President  two  reports,  the  second  of  which  contained 
suggestions  as  to  future  operations.  After  noticing  the  policy 
of  the  Government  toward  the  native  tribes,  the  futility  of  all 
attempts  to  preserve  peace,  and  the  justice  of  the  United 
States  claim,  the  Secretary  proceeds — 


1791.  Plans  of  General  Knox.  401 

Hence  it  would  appear,  that  the  principles  of  justice  as 
well  as  policy,  and  it  may  be  added,  the  principles  of  economy, 
all  combine  to  dictate,  that  an  adequate  military  force  should 
be  raised  as  soon  as  possible,  placed  upon  the  frontiers, 
and  disciplined  according  to  the  nature  of  the  service,  and  in 
order  to  meet,  with  the  prospect  of  success,  the  greatest  pro- 
bable combination  of  the  Indian  enemy. 

Although  the  precise  manner  in  which  the  force  to  be  raised 
be  employed,  cannot  be  pointed  out  with  propriety  at  this  time, 
as  it  will  depend  on  the  circumstances  of  the  moment,  yet  it 
may  not  be  improper  to  observe,  that  upon  a  review  of  the 
merits  of  the  main  object  of  the  late  campaign,  to  wit:  the 
establishment  of  a  strong  military  post  at  the  Miami  village, 
with  the  necessary  posts  of  communication,  the  necessity  and 
propriety  thereof  remain  the  same;  that  this  necessity  will 
probably  continue  until  we  shall  be  possessed  of  the  posts 
upon  Lake  Michigan,  of  Detroit,  and  Niagara,  withheld  from 
us  by  Great  Britain,  contrary  to  treaty.  Without  remarking 
upon  the  principles  of  this  conduct,  it  may  be  observed  gen- 
erally, that  every  arrangement  in  the  power  of  the  United 
States,  for  establishing  the  tranquility  of  the  frontiers,  will  be 
inferior  to  the  possession  of  said  posts.  That  it  is,  however, 
considered,  that,  if  the  said  posts  were  in  our  possession,  we 
ought  also  to  have  a  strong  post  at  the  Miami  village,  in  or- 
der to  render  the  protection  effectual,  and  that  the  posts 
above  mentioned  will  require  garrisons  whensoever  they  shall 
be  given  up. 

The  subscriber  having  deliberately  contemplated  the  pres- 
ent state  of  affairs  upon  the  frontiers,  from  the  south  to  the 
north,  having  recurred  to  the  past  in  order  to  estimate  the 
probable  future  events,  finds  himself  constrained  by  his  pub- 
lic duty,  although  with  great  reluctance,  to  state,  as  the  re- 
sult of  his  judgment,  that  the  public  service  requires  an 
increase  of  the  military  force,  according  to  the  following  ar- 
rangement : 

That  the  military  establishment  of  the  United  States,  shall, 
during  the  pleasure  bf  Congress,  consist  of  live  thousand  one 
hundred  and  sixty  eight  non-commissioned  officers,  privates 
and  musicians. 

That  the  said  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  shall 
be  enlisted  to  serve  three  years,  unless  sooner  discharged. 

That  the  said  troops  be  organized  as  follows  : 

One  squadron  of  cavalry,  of  four  troops,  each  of 
seventy-six  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates,  304 

It  should  be  a  stipulation  in  the  engagements  of  these 
men,  that  they  should  serve  on  foot  whenever  the  ser- 
vice requires  the  measure. 

One  battalion  of  artillery,  of  four  companies  each,  to 


402  Plans  of  General  Knox.  1791. 

consist  of  seventy-six  non-commissioned  officers  and 
privates,  -  -  304 

Each  company  of  artillery  to  have,  as  part  of  its 
composition,  ten  artificers  each,  including  the  pay  of 
artillerists  to  have  ten  dollars  per  month. 

Five  regiments  of  infantry,  one  of  which  to  be  rifle- 
men entirely,  each  of  three  battalions  ;  each  battalion 
of  four  companies  ;  each  company  of  seventy-six  non- 
commissioned officers  and  privates,  amounting,  for  each 
regiment,  to  nine  hundred  and  twelve,  -  4,560 


5;168 

That,  in  addition  to  the  foregoing  arrangement,  it  would  be 
proper  that  the  President  of  the  United  States  should  be  au- 
thorized, besides  the  employment  of  militia,  to  take  such 
measures  for  the  defensive  protection  of  the  exposed  parts  of 
the  frontiers,  by  calling  into  service  expert  woodsmen,  as  pa- 
trols or  scouts,  upon  such  terms  as  he  may  judge  proper. 
That  he  be  further  authorized,  in  case  he  should  deem  the 
measure  expedient,  to  engage  mounted  militia  for  defensive 
operations,  for  such  time,  and  on  such  terms,  as  he  may  judge 
equitable.  That  he  be  further  authorized,  in  case  he  should 
deem  the  measure  expedient,  to  employ  a  body  of  Indians 
belonging  to  tribes  in  alliance  with  the  United  States,  to  act 
against  the  hostile  Indians ;  and  that  he  be  authorized  to 
stipulate  such  terms  as  he  shall  judge  right. 

That  it  does  not  seem  essential,  at  this  time,  that  there 
should  be  any  special  appropriations  for  the  defensive  protec- 
tion, the  mounted  militia,  or  the  employment  of  Indians, 
although  the  actual  expenses  for  those  objects  may  amount  to 
considerable  sums,  because  the  estimates,  before  mentioned, 
comprehend  the  entire  expense,  for  one  year,  of  the  proposed 
establishment  as  complete.  But,  let  the  exertions  to  complete 
it  be  ever  so  great,  yet  it  is  probable  a  deficiency  will  exist, 
which  will  of  course  occasion  a  less  expense.  The  moneys, 
therefore,  which  may  be  appropriated  to  the  establishment, 
and  not  expended,  may  be  applied  to  the,  extra  objects  above 
mentioned.  If,  however,  there  should  be  a  deficiency,  it  may 
hereafter  be  provided  for.  That  the  nett  pay  of  the  private 
soldier,  at  present,  free  of  all  deductions,  is  two  dollars  per 
month.  But.  as  the  experience  of  the  recruiting  service,  of  the 
present  year,  evinces  that  the  inducement  is  insufficient,  it  seems 
necessary  to  raise  the  pay  to  three  dollars  per  month,  free  of  all 
deductions ;  and  the  non-commissioned  officers  in  proportion. 
The  rifle  corps  will  require  more.  But  whether,  under  pres- 
ent circumstances,  even  the  additional  pay,  and  an  extension 
of  bounty  to  eight  dollars,  would  give  such  an  impulse  to  the 
recruiting  service,  as  to  fill  the  battalions  immediately,  re- 
mains to  be  tried.  Nothing  has  been  said  upon  an  increased 


1791.  Plans  of  General  Knox.  403 

pay  to  the  commissioned  officers,  because  a  memorial  upon 
that  subject  has  been  presented  to  Congress.  But  it  cannot 
be  doubted  that  a  small  increase  would  be  highly  grateful  to 
the  officers,  and  probably  beneficial  to  the  service.  The 
mounted  militia  is  suggested  to  be  used  during  the  prepara- 
tion for  the  main  expedition,  (and  afterwards,  if  circum- 
stances should  render  it  indispensable.)  The  effect  of  such 
desultory  operations  upon  the  Indians  will,  by  occupying  them 
for  their  own  safety,  and  that  of  their  families,  prevent  their 
spreading  terror  and  destruction  along  the  frontiers.  These 
sort  of  expeditions  had  that  precise  effect  during  the  last  sea- 
son, and  Kentucky  enjoyed  more  repose,  and  sustained  less 
injury,  than  for  any  year  since  the  war  with  Great  Britain. 
This  single  effect,  independent  of  the  injury  done  to  the  force 
of  the  Indians,  is  worth  greatly  more  than  the  actual  expense 
of  such  expeditions.  But,  while  it  is  acknowledged  that 
mounted  militia  may  be  very  proper  for  sudden  enterprises,  of 
short  duration,  it  is  conceived  that  militia  are  utterly  unsuit- 
able to  carry  on  and  terminate  the  war  in  which  we  are  en- 
gaged, with  honor  and  success.  And  besides,  it  would  be 
ruinous  to  the  purposes  of  husbandry,  to  keep  them  out  long, 
if  it  were  practicable  to  accomplish  it.  Good  troops,  enlisted 
for  a  considerable  period,  armed  and  well  disciplined  in  a 
suitable  manner,  for  the  nature  of  the  service,  will  be  equal, 
individually,  to  the  best  militia ;  but,  when  it  is  considered  to 
these  qualities  are  added  the  obedience,  the  patience,  the 
promptness,  the  economy  of  discipline,  and  the  inestimable 
value  of  good  officers,  possessing  a  proper  pride  of  reputation, 
the  comparison  no  longer  holds,  and  disciplined  troops  attain 
in  the  mind,  and  in  actual  execution,  that  ascendancy  over 
the  militia,  which  is  the  result  of  a  just  comparative  view  of 
their  relative  force,  and  the  experience  of  all  nations  and 
ages.  The  expediency  of  employing  the  Indians  in  alliance 
with  us,  against  the  hostile  Indians,  cannot  be  doubted.  It 
has  been  shown  before,  how  difficult,  and  even  impracticable, 
it  will  probably  be,  to  restrain  the  young  men  of  the  friendly 
tribes  from  action,  and  that,  if  we  do  not  employ  them,  they 
will  be  employed  against  us.  The  justice  of  engaging  them 
would  depend  upon  the  justice  of  the  war.  If  the  war  be 
just  on  our  part,  it  will  certainly  bear  the  test  of  examination, 
to  use  the  same  sort  of  means  in  our  defence,  as  are  used 
against  us.  The  subscriber,  therefore,  submits  it  as  his  opin- 
ion, that  it  would  be  proper  to  employ  judiciously,  as  to  time 
and  circumstances,  as  many  of  the  friendly  Indians  as  may  be 
obtained,  not  exceeding  one  thousand  in  number.* 

In  the  necessity  for  a   competent  army  all  seem  to  have 
agreed,  but  it  was  the  wish  of  Washington  that  before  this 

*American  State  Papers,  v.  198—199. 


404  Pacific  offers  to  the  Iroc/uois.  1791. 

army  was  organized,  every  effort  should  be  again  made  to  pre- 
vent bloodshed.  Colonel  Pickering,  in  his  meeting  of  June 
and  July  1791,  with  the  Iroquois  at  the  Painted  Post,  had, 
among  other  things,  proposed  that  certain  chiefs  should,  in 
the  following  January,  go  to  Philadelphia  while  Congress  was 
in  session,  and  shake  hands  with  their  newly  adopted  father. 
The  importance  of  the  proposed  visit  became  more  evident 
after  the  news  of  St.  Glair's  discomfiture,  for  the  fidelity  of 
the  New  York  Indians  even  was  doubted.  On  the  20th  of 
December,  1791,  accordingly,  we  find  Knox  writing  to  the 
Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland,  the  Iroquois  missionary,  pressing 
through  him  the  invitation  given  by  the  commissioner,  and 
especially  urging  the  presence  of  Brant.  To  aid  the  proposed 
peace-measures,  a  respectful  and  kind  message  was  sent  to 
the  Senecas  on  the  7th  of  January,  1792 ;  \yhile,  to  guard 
against  surprise,  means  were  adopted  to  learn  the  purpose  of 
a  great  council  called  at  Buffalo  creek,  and  also  to  ascertain 
the  intentions  of  the  tribes  on  the  Wabash  and  Miami.  This 
was  done  in  part  through  the  agency  of  the  Reverend  Mr. 
Kirkland,  and  partly  by  the  mission  of  Captain  Peter  Pond 
and  William  Stedman,  who,  on  the  9th  of  January,  two  days 
before  Knox's  two  plans  above  referred  to,  were  laid  before 
Congress,  received  their  instructions  as  secret  messengers  or 
spies  among  the  western  Indians;  from  those  instructions  we 
quote  a  few  paragraphs: 

Repair  to  Niagara  and  Detroit,  without  suffering  your  busi- 
ness to  escape  you,  until  the  proper  time.  When  at  Detroit, 
assume  the  character  of  traders  with  the  Indians — a  business 
Mr.  Pond  is  well  acquainted  with.  Mix  with  the  Miami  and 
Wabash  Indians.  Find  their  views  and  intentions,  through 
such  channels  as  your  discretion  shall  direct.  Learn  the 
opinions  of  the  more  distant  Indians.  Insinuate  upon  all  fa- 
vorable occasions,  the  humane  disposition  of  the  United  States ; 
and,  if  you  can  by  any  means  ripen  their  judgment,  so  as  to 
break  forth  openly,  and  declare  the  readiness  of  the  United 
States  to  receive,  with  open  arms,  the  Indians,  notwithstand- 
ing all  that  is  passed,  do  it.  If  such  declaration  should  be 
made,  at  the  Miami  or  Wabash,  and  be  well  received,  you 
might  persuade  some  of  the  most  influential  chiefs  to  repair  to 
our  posts  on  the  Ohio,  and  so,  from  post  to  post,  to  this 
place. 

But,  if  you  should  be  so  fortunate  as  to  succeed  in  persuad- 
ing the  Chiefs  of  the  Miami,  and  hostile,  and  any  other  neigh- 


1791.  Instructions  to  Pond  and  Stedman.  405 

boring  tribes,  to  repair  here,  every  possible  precaution  must 
be  taken  by  you,  and  by  the  commanding  officer  of  the  troops, 
who  is  hereby  required  to  afford  the  necessary  escorts,  in  or- 
der to  guard  the  Indians  from  being  injured  by  the  whites. 

While  among  the  Indians,  or  at  Niagara,  or  Detroit,  endea- 
vor to  find  out  the  numbers  and  tribes  of  the  Indians  who 
were  in  the  attack  of  General  St.  Clair,  and  their  loss,  killed 
and  wounded  ;  what  number  of  prisoners  they  took ;  and  what 
they  did  with  them;  what  disposition  they  made  of  the  can- 
non taken,  arms,  tents,  and  other  plunder;  what  are  their  in- 
tentions for  the  next  year;  the  numbers  of  the  association; 
how  they  are  supplied  with  arms,  ammunition,  and  provis- 
ions. 

You  will  readily  perceive,  that  the  information  required 
must  be  given  me  at  the  earliest  period  possible.  You  will, 
therefore,  let  me  know,  by  some  means  which  you  must  de- 
vise, your  arrival  at  Niagara,  Detroit,  and  the  Miami  village  ; 
and,  if  possible,  from  thence,  what  are  your  prospects.* 

Pond  and  his  companion,  however,  could  get  no  farther 
than  Niagara.  While  by  the  northern  route  this  was  attempt- 
ed, Wilkinson,  commanding  at  Fort  Washington,  on  the  10th 
of  February,  was  instructed  to  send  word  to  Maj.  Hamtramck, 
at  Vincennes,  that  the  Government  wished  to  secure  the 
agency  of  the  French  colonists  and  friendly  Indians  in  quell- 
ing the  war-spirit.  In  February  also,  further  friendly  messa- 
ges were  sent  to  the  Senecas,  and  an  invitation  forwarded  to 
Brant  from  the  Secretary  of  War  himself,  asking  him  to  come 
to  Philadelphia.  In  March  fifty  Iroquois  chiefs  reached  the* 
city  of  brotherly  love,  and  in  the  spirit  of  love  transacted 
their  business  with  the  American  rulers ;  and  during  April  and 
May,  Captain  Trueman  and  others  were  sent  from  the  Ohio  to 
the  hostile  tribes,  bearing  messages  of  friendship.  But  before 
we  relate  the  unhappy  issue  of  Trueman's  expedition,  we 
must  notice  the  steps  taken  by  the  Federal  Government  in 
reference  to  military  preparations,  which  were  to  be  looked  to 
in  case  all  else  should  fail.  St.  Clair  had  requested  a  court 
of  Inquiry  to  examine  the  reasons  of  his  defeat,  and  had  ex- 
pressed his  wish  to  surrender  his  post  as  commander  of  the 
western  forces  so  soon  as  the  examination  had  taken  place ; 
but  this  proposition  to  retain  his  commission  until  after  his 
trial,  was  rendered  nugatory  by  the  fact,  that  under  the  exist- 
ing system  no  court  of  inquiry  could  be  constituted  to  adjudge 

*  Amsrican  State  Papers,  v.  227. 


406  Wayne  Selected  to  the  Command.  1792. 

his  case,  and  Washington  accordingly  informed  him  that  it 
was  neither  possible  to  grant  him  the  trial  he  desired,  nor  al- 
low him  to  retain  his  position.  St.'Clair  having  withdrawn, 
it  became  a  very  difficult  question  for  the  Executive  to  hit 
upon  a  person  in  all  respects  suited  for  such  u  charge.  Gen. 
Morgan,  Gen.  Scott,  Gen.  Wayne,  Col.  Darke,  and  General 
Henry  Lee  were  all  thought  of  and  talked  of.  Of  these, 
Wayne  was  the  one  selected,  although  his  appointment  caused, 
as  Gen.  Lee,  then  Governor  of  Virginia,  wrote  Washington, 
"extreme  disgust"  among  all  orders  in  the  Old  Dominion.* 
But  the  President  had  selected  Wayne  not  hastily  nor  through 
"partiality  or  influence,"  and  no  idle  words  affected  him.  In 
June,  Gen.  Wayne  moved  westward  to  Pittsburgh,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  organize  the  army  which  was  to  be  the  ultimate  ar- 
gument of  the  American  with  the  Indian  confederation. 
Through  the  summer  of  1792.  the  preparation  of  the  soldiers 
was  steadily  attended  to ;  "train  and  discipline  them  for  the 
service  they  are  meant  for,"  said  Washington,  "and  do  not 
spare  powder  and  lead,  so  the  men  be  made  marksmen."  In 
December,  1792,  the  forces  now  recruited  and  trained,  were 
gathered  at  a  point  about  twenty-two  miles  below  Pittsburgh, 
on  the  Ohio,  called  Legionville ;  the  army  itself  having  been 
denominated  the  Legion  of  the  United  States,  divided  into 
four  sub-legions,  and  provided  with  legionary  and  sub-legion- 
ary officers.  Meantime,  at  Fort  Washington,  Wilkinson  had 
succeeded  St.  Clair  as  commandant,  and  in  January  had  or- 
dered an  expedition  to  examine  the  field  of  the  late  disastrous 
conflict.  This  body  reached  the  point  designated,  on  February 
1st,  and  from  the  letter  of  Capt.  Buntin  to  St.  Clair,  relative 
to  what  was  found  there,  we  take  the  following  passage  :f 

"In  my  opinion,  those  unfortunate  men  who  fell  in  the  ene- 
my's hands,  with  life,  were  used  with  the  greatest  torture — 
having  their  limbs  torn  off;  and  the  women  have  been  treated 
with  the  most  indecent  cruelty,  having  stakes  as  thick  as  a 
person's  arm  drove  through  their  bodies.  The  first,  I  observed 
when  burying  the  dead;  and  the  latter  was  discovered  by 
Colonel  Sargent  and  Doctor  Brown.  We  found  three  whole 
carriages  ;  the  other  five  were  so  much  damaged  that  they 
were  rendered  useless.  By  the  General's  orders,  pits  were 

*See  Amer.  State  Papers,  v.  228,  229,  235.    Sparks'  Washington,  x,  240,  244,    Not*. 

t  Sparks'  Washington,  x.  248,  257.    American  Pioneer,  i.  293.     American  State  Papers, 
xii.  40. 


1792.  Speech  to  Indians  sent  by  Trucman.  407 

dug  in  different  places,  and  all  the  dead  bodies  that  were  ex- 
posed to  view,  or  could  be  conveniently  found  (the  snow  being 
very  deep)  were  buried.  During  this  time,  there  was  sundry 
parties  detached,  some  for  our  safety,  and  others  in  examining 
the  course  of  the  creek  ;  and  some  distance  in  advance  of  the 
ground  occupied  by  the  militia,  they  found  a  large  camp,  not 
less  than  three  quarters  of  a  mile  long,  which  was  supposed 
to  be  that  of  the  Indians  the  night  before  the  action.  We  re- 
mained on  the  field  that  night,  and  next  morning  fixed  geared 

horses  to  the  carriages  and  moved  for  Fort  Jefferson. 

******* 

As  there  is  little  reason  to  believe  that  the  enemy  have  car- 
ried off  the  cannon,  it  is  the  received  opinion  that  they  are 
either  buried  or  thrown  into  the  creek,  and  I  think  the  latter 
the  most  probable  ;  but  as  it  was  frozen  over  with  a  thick  ice, 
and  that  covered  with  a  deep  snow,  it  was  impossible  to  make 
a  search  with  any  prospect  of  success.  In  a  former  part  of 
this  letter,  I  have  mentioned  the  camp  occupied  by  the  enemy 
the  night  before  the  action  :  had  Colonel  Oldham  been  able  to 
have  complied  with  your  orders  on  that  evening,  things  at  this 
day  might  have  worn  a  different  aspect."* 

While  Wayne's  army  were  gathering  and  target-shooting, 
the  peace  measures  of  the  United  States  were  pressed  with 
equal  perseverance.  In  the  first  place,  the  Iroquois,  through 
their  chiefs  who  came  to  Philadelphia,  were  led  to  act  as 
peace-makers:  in  addition  to  them,  on  the  3d  of  April,  Col. 
Trueman  received  his  instructions  to  repair  to  the  Miami  vil- 
lage with  friendly  messages,  offering  all  reasonable  terms : 

Brothers  : — The  President  of  the  United  States  entertains 
the  opinion,"that  the  war  which  exists  is  founded  in  error  and 
mistake  on  your  parts.  That  you  believe  the  United  States 
want  to  deprive  you  of  your  lands,  and  drive  you  out  of  the 
country.  Be  assured  this  is  not  so  :  on  the  contrary,  that  we. 
should  be  greatly  gratified  with  the  opportunity  of  imparting 
to  you  all  the  blessings  of  civilized  life ;  of  teaching  you  to 
cultivate  the  earth,  and  raise  corn ;  to  raise  oxen,  sheep,  and 
other  domestic  animals;  to  build  comfortable  houses,  and  to 
educate  your  children,  so  as  ever  to  dwell  upon  the  land. 

Brothers  : — The  President  of  the  United  States  requests  you 
to  take  this  subject  into  your  serious  consideration,  and  to  re- 
flect how  abundantly  more  it  will  be  for  your  interest  to  be  at 
peace  with  the  United  States,  and  to  receive  all  the  benefit 
thereof,  than  to  continue  a  war,  which,  however  flattering  it 
may  be  to  you  for  a  moment,  must,  in  the  end,  prove  ruinous. 

This  desire  of  peace  has  not  arisen  in  consequence  of  the 
late  defeat  of  the  troops  under  Major  General  St.  Clair ; 

*  Ejillon,  i.  308.    See  also  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  ii.  30. 


408  Instructions  to  Rufus  Putnam.  1792. 

because,  in  the  beginning  of  the  last  year,  a  similar  message 
was  sent  you  by  Colonel  Procter,  but  who  was  prevented  from 
reaching  you  by  some  insurmountable  difficulties.  All  the 
Senecas,  at  Buffalo  Creek,  can  witness  for  the  truth  of  this  as- 
sertion, as  he  held,  during  the  month  of  April  last,  long  con- 
ferences with  them,  to  devise  the  means  of  getting  to  you  in 
safety. 

War,  at  all  times,  is  a  dreadful  evil  to  those  who  are  en- 
gaged therein,  and  more  particularly  so  where  a  few  people 
engage  to  act  against  so  great  numbers  as  the  people  of  the 
United  States. 

Brothers : — Do  not  suffer  the  advantages  you  have  gained 
to  mislead  your  judgment,  and  to  influence  you  to  continue 
the  war  ;  but  reflect  upon  the  destructive  consequences  which 
must  attend  such  a  measure. 

The  President  of  the  United  States  is  highly  desirous  of 
seeing  a  number  of  your  principal  chiefs,  and  convincing  you, 
in  person,  how  much  he  wishes  to  avoid  the  evils  of  war  for 
your  sake,  and  the  sake  of  humanity. 

Consult,  therefore,  upon  the  great  object  of  peace  ;  call  in 
your  parties,  and  enjoin  a  cessation  of  all  other  depredations  : 
and  as  many  of  the  principal  chiefs  as  shall  choose,  repair  to 
Philadelphia,  the  seat  of  the  General  Government,  and  there 
make  a  peace,  founded  upon  the  principles  of  justice  and 
humanity.  Remember  that  no  additional  lands  will  be  re- 
quired of  you,  or  any  other  tribe,  to  those  that  have  been 
ceded  by  former  treaties,  particularly  by  the  tribes  who  had  a 
right  to  make  the  treaty  of  Muskingum  in  the  year  1789. 

But,  if  any  of  your  tribes  can  prove  that  you  have  a  fair 
right  to  any  lands,  comprehended  by  the  said  treaty,  and  have 
not  been  compensated  therefor,  you  shall  receive  jull  satisfac- 
tion upon  that  head. 

The  chiefs  you  send  shall  be  safely  escorted  to  this  city  ; 
and  shall  be  well  fed  and  provided  with  all  things  for  their 
journey ;  and  the  faith  of  the  United  States  is  hereby  pledged 
to  you  for  the  true  and  liberal  performance  of  everything 
herein  contained  and  suggested :  and  all  this  is  confirmed,  in 
your  manner,  by  the  great  white  belt,  hereunto  attached.* 

To  assist  farther  in  attaining  the  desired  objects,  Captain 
Hendrick,  chief  of  the  Stockbridge  Indians,  on  the  8th  of 
May,  was  dispatched  to  urge  the  views  of  Washington  at  the 
approaching  council  of  the  north-western  confederacy ;  and 
on  the  22d  of  the  same  month,  instructions  were  also  issued 
to  General  Rufus  Putnam,  to  go  in  company  with  the  Mora- 
vian missionary,  John  Heckewelder,  into  the  Indian  country, 
and  strive  to  secure  peace  and  a  permanent  treaty.f  Some 

»  American  State  Papers  T.  230.  t  American  State  Papers,  v.  233. 


1792.  Instructions  to  Rufus  Putnam.  409 

parts  of  those  orders  are  deserving  of  perpetuation  in  every 
form,  and,  therefore,  we  extract  them  : 

The  chiefs  of  the  Five  Nations  of  Indians,  who  were  so 
long  in  this  city,  lately,  were  astonished  at  the  moderation  of 
our  claim  of  land,  it  being  very  different  from  what  they  had 
been  taught,  by  designing  people,  to  believe. 

It  would  seem  that  the  Indians  have  been  misled  with  re- 
spect to  our  claims,  by  a  certain  map,  published  in  Connecti- 
cut, wherein  are  laid  out  ten  new  States,  agreeably  to  a  re- 
port, of.  a  Committee  of  Congress. 

The  United  States  are  desirous,  in  any  treaty  which  shall 
be  formed  in  future,  to  avoid  all  causes  of  war,  relative  to 
boundaries,  by  fixing  the  same  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to 
be  mistaken  by  the  meanest  capacity.  As  the  basis,  there- 
fore, of  your  negotiation,  you  will,  in  the  strongest  and  most 
explicit  terms,  renounce,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  all 
claim  to  any  Indian  land  which  shall  not  have  been  ceded 
by  fair  treaties,  made  with  the  Indian  nations. 

You  may  say — that  we  conceive  the  treaty  of  Fort  Harmar 
to  have  been  formed  by  the  tribes  having  a  just  right  to  make 
the  same,  and  that  it  was  done  with  their  full  understanding 
and  free  consent. 

That  if,  however,  the  said  tribes  should  judge  the  compen- 
sation to  have  been  inadequate  to  the  object,  or  that  any 
other  tribes  have  a  just  claim,  in  both  cases  they  shall  receive 
a  liberal  allowance,  on  their  finally  settling  all  disputes  upon 
the  subject. 

As  the  United  States  never  made  any  -treaties  with  the 
Wabash  Indians,  although  the  said  Indians  have  been  repeat- 
edly invited  thereto,  their  claims  to  the  lands  east  and  south 
of  the  said  Wabash  have  not  been  defined. 

This  circumstance  will  be  a  subject  of  your  inquiry  with 
the  assembled  Indian  tribes  ;  and  you  may  assure  the  parties 
concerned,  that  an  equitable  boundary  shall  be  arranged  with 
them. 

You  will  make  it  clearly  understood,  that  we  want  not  a 
foot  of  their  land,  and  that  it  is  theirs,  and  theirs  only  ;  that 
they  have  the  right  to  sell,  and  the  right  to  refuse  to  sell,  and 
the  United  States  will  guarantee  to  them  the  said  just  right. 

That  it  is  not  only  the  sincere  desire  of  the  United  States 
to  be  at  peace  with  all  the  neighboring  Indian  tribes,  but  to< 
protect  them  in  their  just  rights,  against  lawless,  violent  white 
people.  "If  such  should  commit  any  injury  on  the  person  or 
properties  of  a  peaceable  Indian,  they  will  be  regarded 
equally  as  the  enemies  of  the  General  Government,  as  theJn- 
dians,  and  will  be  punished  accordingly. 

Your  first  great  object,  upon  meeting  the  Indians,  will  be  to> 
26 


410  Instructions  to  Rufus  Putnam.  1792 

convince  them  that  the  United  States  require  none  of  their 
lands. 

The  second,  that  we  shall  guaranty  all  that  remain,  and 
take  the  Indians  under  our  protection. 

Thirdly  ;  they  must  agree  to  the  truce,  and  immediately  to 
call  in  all  their  war  parties.  It  will  be  in  vain  to  be  negotia- 
ting with  them  while  they  shall  be  murdering  the  frontier 
citizens. 

Having  happily  effected  a  truce,  founded  on  the  above  as- 
surances, it  will  then  be  your  primary  endeavor  to  obtain 
from  each  of  the  hostile  and  neighboring  tribes  two  of  the 
most  respectable  chiefs,  to  repair  to  the  seat  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  there  conclude  a  treaty  with  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  in  which  all  causes  of  difference  should  be 
buried  forever. 

You  will  give  the  chiefs  every  assurance  of  personal  pro- 
tection, wrhile  on  their  journey  to  Philadelphia,  and,  should 
they  insist  upon  it,  hostages  of  officers  for  the  safe  return  of 
the  chiefs,  and,  in  case  of  their  compliance,  you  will  take, 
every  precaution  by  the  troops  for  the  protection  of  the  said 
chiefs,  which  the  nature  of  the  case  may  require. 

But  if,  after  having  used  your  utmost  exertions,  the  chiefs 
should  decline  the  journey  to  Philadelphia,  then  you  will 
agree  with  them  on  a  plan  for  a  general  treaty.*  ' 

We  have  mentioned  the  invitation  given  in  February  by 
the  Secretary  of  War  to  Brant  to  visit  Philadelphia : — Some 
of  his  English  friends  urged  the  Mohawk  by  no  means  to 
comply  with  the  request,  but  he  had  the  independence  to  think 
and  act  for  himself,  and  on  the  20th  of  June  appeared  at 
the  then  Federal  capital.  He  remained  there  ten  or  twelve 
days,  and  was  treated  by  all  with  marked  attention ;  great 
pains  were  taken  to  make  him  understand  the  posture  of 
affairs  and  the  wishes  of  the  United  States;  and,  in  the 
hope  that  he  would  prove  a  powerful  pacificator,  on  the  27th 
of  June  a  letter  was  addressed  to  him  by  General  Knox,  lay- 
ing before  him  the  wishes  of  the  Goverment,  and  making  him 
another  messenger  of  peace.  The  fact  that  five  independent 
embassies,  asking  peace,  were  sent  to  the  inimical  tribes ;  and 
the  tone  of  the  papers  from  which  we  have  extracted  so  fully, 
will  demonstrate,  we  think,  the  wish  of  the  United  States  to 
do  the  aborigines  entire  justice.  But  the  victories  they  had 
gained,  and  the  favorable  whispers  of  the  British  agents, 
closed  the  ears  of  the  red  men ;  and  all  propositions  for  peace 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  234.  236. 


1792.  Result  of  Putnam 's  Mission.  411 

were  rejected  in  one  form  or  another.  Freeman,  who  left 
Fort  Washington,  April  7th ;  Trueman,  who  left  it  May  22d 
for  the  Maumee.  and  Colonel  Hardin,  who  on  the  same  day 
started  for  Sandusky,  were  all  murdered ;  Trueman,  it  would 
seem,  however,  not  by  a  body  of  Indians,  but  by  a  man  and 
boy  whom  he  met  in  hunting.*  Brant,  from  sickness  or  cau- 
tion, did  not  attend  the  western  council,  as  had  been  expected. 
Hendricks  gave  his  message  into  the  hands  of  Colonel  McKee, 
and  kept  away  from  the  gathering  of  the  nations  ;  and  of  the 
four  individual  messengers,  Trueman,  Brant,  Hendricks,  and 
Putnam,  Putnam  alone  reached  his  goal.  That  gentleman 
left  Marietta,  upon  the  26th  of  June,  and  on  the  2d  of  July 
was  at  Fort  Washington  ;  here  he  heard  of  Indian  hostilities 
at  Fort  Jefferson,  and  of  the  probability  of  Trueman's  murder. 
He  found  also  that  it  would  be  in  vain  to  ask  the  chiefs,  under 
any  circumstances,  to  go  to  Philadelphia,  and  that  it  was  ex- 
tremely doubtful  if  they  could  be  prevailed  on  to  visit  even 
Fort  Washington.  Under  these  circumstances,  conceiving  it 
desirable  that  some  step  should  be  taken  at  once,  he  deter- 
mined to  proceed  to  Fort  Knox,  (Post  St.  Vincent,)  and  there 
meet  such  of  the  Wabash  leaders  as  could  be  got  together,  in 
the  hope  that  they  might  at  least  be  detached  from  the  gen- 
eral league.  This  determination  he  carried  into  effect  on  the 
17th  of  August,  when,  with  several  Indian  prisoners  to  be  re- 
stored to  their  friends,  and  presents  for  them  beside,  he  left 
Cincinnati,  and  reached  Vincennes  in  due  time.  Upon  the 
27th  of  September  he  formed  a  treaty  with  the  Eel  river  tribe, 
the  Weas,  Illinois,  Potawatomies,  Musquitoes,  Wabash  Kicka- 
poos,  Piankeshaws,  Kaskaskias,  and  Peorias.  This  treaty, 
however,  was  never  ratified  by  the  Senate,  and  proved  prac- 
tically of  little  or  no  use,  although  sixteen  chiefs  of  the  Wa- 
bash tribe  were  prevailed  on  to  go  to  Philadelphia.! 

[The  council  held  at  the  mouth  of  the  Auglaize,  through 
the  efforts  of  the  Six  Nations,  did  not  produce  the  intended 
result.  This  council  was  one  of  the  largest  ever  held  by  In- 
dians. Besides  the  New  York,  Western,  and  Canadian  In- 
dians, there  were  present  twenty-seven  other  nations  ;  some 
from  a  great  distance  from  the  north-west.]  On  the  16th  of 

*  May's  deposition.    Brant's  letters,  (American  State  Paper:?,  v.  244.  245;)  also  McKee's 
account  sent  Brant,  (Stone's  Brant,  ii.  333.) 
|  Stme,  ii.  334.    American  State  Papers,  v.  238,  239,  240;  319.  322.  338. 


412  Major  Adair  Attacked.  1793. 

November  the  emissaries  of  the  Iroquois  gave  an  account  of 
their  doings  to  the  agent  for  the  United  States  and  others,  at 
Buffalo  Creek,  and  the  mode  in  which  the  information  was  com- 
municated is  so  peculiar  that  we  should  transcribe  the  speech 
entire  if  our  limits  would  permit. 

By  this  council,  it  appeared,  everything  was  referred  to 
another  council,  to  be  held  in  the  spring,  but  with  the  clear 
intimation  that  the  Ohio  must  be  the  boundary  of  the  Ameri- 
can lands,  and  that  the  treaties  of  Fort  Mclntosh  and  Fort 
Harmar,  must  be  regarded  as  null.  Soon  after  this  council 
broke  up,  on  the  6th  of  November,  Major  Adair,  commander 
of  the  mounted  Kentucky  infantry,  was  attacked  by  a  body  of 
savages  in  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Clair,  twenty  miles  north 
of  Fort  Hamilton.  The  attack  was  sudden  and  violent,  and 
with  difficulty  repelled.  The  officer  in  charge  of  the  station, 
took  no  part  in  the  conflict,  as  he  had  been  strictly  ordered  by 
General  Wilkinson  to  act  only  on  the  defensive,  but  Adair's 
men  received  ammunition  from  the  fortress,  and  returned 
thither  with  their  wounded.  This  action,  however,  together 
with  other  evidences  of  continued  hostilities,  did  not  prevent 
the  United  States  from  taking  measures  to  meet  the  hostile 
tribes  "  at  the  rapids  of  the  Miami  (Maumee)  when  the  leaves 
were  fully  out."  For  this  purpose  the  President,  at  first, 
selected  Charles  Carroll  and  Charles  Thompson,  but  as  they 
declined  the  nomination,  Benjamin  Lincoln,  Beverly  Ran- 
dolph, and  Timothy  Pickering  were,  on  the  first  of  March, 
1793,  appointed  to  attend  the  proposed  meeting,  which  it  was 
concluded  should  be  held  at  Sandusky.  On  the  26th  of 
April,  the  Commissioners  received  their  instructions ;  on  the 
27th  General  Lincoln  left  Philadelphia  for  Niagara,  by  the 
way  of  New  York ;  and  on  the  30th  the  other  two  started  by 
the  route  through  Pennsylvania,  which  led  up  the  vallies  of 
the  Schuylkill,  Susquehanna  Lycoming  and  Coshocton,  and 
across  to  Genesee.  These,  traveling  more  rapidly,  for  Lin- 
coln, had  the  stores  and  baggage,  reached  Niagara  on  the 
17th  of  May,  and  were  at  once  invited  by  Lieutenant-General 
Simcoe  to  take  up  their  residence  at  his  seat,  Navy  Hall ;  with 
this  invitation  they  complied  and  remained  there  until  the 
28th  of  June.  The  cause  of  this  delay  was  the  belief  express- 
ed by  McKee  and  others,  that  the  Indians  would  not  be  ready 
to  meet  the  Commissioners  before  the  last  of  June,  as  private 


1793.  Letter  to  Governor  Simcoe.  413 

councils  had  first  to  be  held  among  the  various  tribes.*  While 
resting  in  his  Majesty's  dominion,  the  ambassadors  were  no- 
wise idle,  and  among  other  interesting  documents,  on  the  7th 
of  June,  presented  the  following  note  to  Governor  Simcoe  : 

The  commissioners  of  the  United  States,  for  making  peace 
with  the  western  Indians,  beg  leave  to  suggest  to  Governor 
Simcoe  :  that  the  very  high  importance  of  the  negotiation 
committed  to  their  management,  makes  them  desirous  of  using 
every  proper  means  that  may  contribute  to  its  success.  That 
they  have  observed,  with  pleasure,  the  disposition  manifested 
by  the  Governor  to  afford  every  requisite  assistance  in  the  pre- 
paratory arrangements  for  holding  the  treaty  with  the  hostile 
Indians.  But,  all  the  facilities  thus  afforded,  and  all  the  ex- 
penses incurred  by  the  British  government,  on  this  occasion, 
will,  perhaps,  be  fruitless,  unless  some  means  are  used  to 
counteract  the  deep-rooted  prejudices,  and  unfounded  reports 
among  the  Indian  tribes  :  for,  the  acts  of  a  few  bad  men, 
dwelling  arrong  them,  or  having  a  familiar  intercourse  with 
them,  by  cherishing  those  prejudices,  or  raising  and  spreading 
those  reports,  may  be  sufficient  to  defeat  every  attempt  to  ac- 
complish a  peace.  As  an  instance  of  such  unfounded  reports, 
the  commissioners  have  noticed  the  declaration  of  a  Mohawk, 
from  Grand  River,  that  Governor  Simcoe  advised  the  Indians  to 
make  peace,  but  not  to  give  up  any  of  their  lands.  The  commis- 
sioners further  observe,  that  if  any  transactions  at  former 
treaties  were  exceptionable,  the  principles  of  the  present 
treaty  are  calculated  to  remove  the  causes  of  complaint ;  for 
the  views  of  government  are  perfectly  fair.  And,  although  it 
is  impossible  to  retrace  all  the  steps  then  taken,  the  United 
States  are  disposed  to  recede,  as  far  as  shall  be  indispensable, 
and  the  existing  state  of  things  will  admit ;  and,  for  the  lands 
retained,  to  make  ample  compensation.  The  views  of  the 
United  States  being  thus  fair  and  liberal,  the  commissioners 
wish  to  embrace  every  means  to  make  them  appear  so  to  the 
Indians,  against  any  contrary  suggestions.  Among  these 
means,  the  commissioners  consider  the  presence  of  some  gen- 
tlemen of  the  army  to  be  of  consequence  :  for,  although  the 
Indians  naturally  look  up  to  their  superintendents  as  their 
patrons,  yet  the  presence  of  some  officers  of  the  army  will 
probably  induce  them  to  negotiate  with  greater  confidence  on 
the  terms  of  peace.  Independently  of  these  considerations, 
the  commissioners,  for  their  own  sakes,  request  the  pleasure  of 
their  company.  The  commissioners,  feeling  the  greatest 
solicitude  to  accomplish  the  object  of  their  mission,  will  be 

®  American  State  Papers,  v.  343,  where  the  Journal  of  the  Commissioners  is  given ; 
also,  Massachusetts  Historical  Collections,  third  series,  vol.  v.  190 — 196,  where  General 
Lincoln's  Journal  is  given,  together  with  a  drawing  of  the  conference  at  Niagara,  July  7th, 
made  by  Colonel  Pilkington,  of  the  British  army:  this  is  also  given  in  Stone's  Brant,  ii. 


414  Governor  Simcoe'' s  Reply.  1793. 

happy  to  receive  from  the  Governor  every  information  relat- 
ing to  it,  which  his  situation  enables  him  to  communicate. 
He  must  be  aware  that  the  sales  and  settlements  of  the  lands 
over  the  Ohio,  founded  on  the  treaties  of  Forts  Mclntosh  and 
Harmar,  render  it  impossible  now  to  make  that  river  the 
boundary.  The  expression  of  his  opinion,  on  this  point  in 
particular,  will  give  them  great  satisfaction.* 

To  this  note  the  following  answer  was  sent : 

Colonel  Simcoe,  commanding  the  King's  forces  in  Upper 
Canada,  has  the  honor,  in  answer  to  the  paper  delivered  to  him 
this  morning  by  the  Commissioners  of  the  U.  States  for  mak- 
ing peace  with  the  western  Indians,  to  state  to  those  gentlemen, 
that  he  is  duly  impressed  with  the  serious  importance  of  the 
negotiation  committed  to  their  charge,  and  shall  be  happy  to 
contribute  by  every  proper  means  that  may  tend  to  its  suc- 
cess. He  is  much  obliged  to  them  for  the  polite  manner  in 
which  they  have  expressed  their  sense  of  his  readiness  to  af- 
ford them  such  facilities  as  may  have  been  in  his  power,  to 
assist  in  the  preparatory  arrangements  for  holding  the  treaty. 
He  is  perfectly  aware  that  unfounded  reports  and  deep-rooted 
prejudices  have  arisen  among  the  Indian  tribes  :  but  whether 
from  the  acts  of  a  few  bad  men  living  among  them,  he  cannot 
pretend  to  say.  But,  he  must  observe,  upon  the  instance  given 
by  the  Commissioners,  of  one  of  "those  unfounded  reports, 
that  a  Mohawk  from  the  Grand  river  should  say,  that  Gov.  Sim- 
coe advised  the  Indians  to  make  peace,  but  not  to  give  up 
their  lands,"  it  is  of  that  nature  that  cannot  be  true ;  the  In- 
dians, as  yet,  not  having  applied  for  his  advice  on  the  subject : 
and  it  being  a  point,  of  all  others,  on  which  they  are  the  least 
likely  to  consult  the  British  officers  commanding  in  Upper 
Canada.  Colonel  Simcoe  considers  himself  perfectly  justified 
in  admitting,  on  the  requisition  of  the  Commissioners,  some 
officers  to  attend  the  treaty;  and,  therefore,  in  addition,  to  the 
gentlemen  appointed  to  control  the  delivery  of  the  British 
provisions,  &c.,  he  will  desire  Captain  Bunbury,  of  the  fifth 
regiment,  and  Lieutenant  Givens,  who  has  some  knowledge 
of  one  of  the  Indian  languages,  to  accompany  the  Commis- 
sioners. Colonel  Simcoe  can  give  the  Commissioners  no  fur- 
ther information  than  what  is  afforded  by  the  speeches  of  the 
confederate  nations,  of  which  General  Hull  has  authentic 
copies.  But,  as  it  has  been,  ever  since  the  conquest  of  Cana- 
da, the  principle  of  the  British  Government  to  unite  the  Ameri- 
can Indians,  that,  all  petty  jealousies  being  extinguished,  the 
real  wishes  of  the  several  tribes  may  be  fully  expressed,  and 
inconsequence  of  all  the  treaties  made  with  them,  may  have 
the  most  complete  ratification  and  universal  concurrence,  so, 

*  American  State  Papers,  Y.  347. 


1790-95.  Brant  meets  the  Commissioners.  415 

he  feels  it  proper  to  state  to  the  Commissioners,  that  a  jeal- 
ousy of  a  contrary  conduct  in  the  agents  of  the  United  States, 
appears  to  him  to  have  been  deeply  impressed  upon  the  minds 
of  the  confederacy.* 

On  the  day  before  this  correspondence,  the  six  Quakers, 
who,  both  by  their  own  request,  and  that  of  the  Indians,  had 
accompanied  the  deputation,  together  with  Heckewelder  and 
others,  sailed  for  Detroit  to  learn  how  matters  stood ;  and  on 
the  26th  of  the  month  the  Commissioners  themselves,  receiv- 
ing no  news  from  Sandusky,  prepared  to  embark  for  the  mouth 
of  Detroit  river.  On  the  15th  of  July,  while  still  detained  by 
head  winds,  Colonel  Butler ,f  Brant  and  some  fifty  natives,  ar- 
rived from  the  Maumee,  and  two  days  after,  in  the  presence  of 
the  Governor,  Brant  thus  addressed  the  Americans  : — 

Brothers :  We  have  met  to-day  our  brothers,  the  Bostonians 
and  English  ;  we  are  glad  to  have  the  meeting,  and  think  it  is 
by  the  appointment  of  the  Great  Spirit.  Brothers  of  the  Uni- 
ted States :  We  told  you  the  other  day,  at  Fort  Erie,  that,  at 
another  time,  we  would  inform  you  why  we  had  not  assembled 
at  the  time  and  place  appointed  for  holding  the  treaty  with 
you.  We  now  inform  you  that  it  is  because  there  is  so  much 
of  the  appearance  of  war  in  that  quarter.  Brothers:  We 
have  given  the  reason  for  our  not  meeting  you;  and  now  we 
request  an  explanation  of  those  warlike  appearances.  Broth- 
ers :  The  people  you  see  here  are  sent  to  represent  the  Indian 
nations  who  own  the  lands  north  of  the  Ohio,  as  their  com- 
mon property,  and  who  are  all  of  one  mind — one  heart.  Bro- 
thers :  We  have  come  to  speak  to  you  for  two  reasons :  one, 
because  your  warriors  being  in  our  neighborhood,  have  pre- 
vented our  meeting  at  the  appointed  place  :  the  other,  to  know 
if  you  are  properly  authorized  to  run  and  establish  a  new  boun- 
dary line  between  the  lands  of  the  U.  States,  and  the  Indian 
nations.  We  are  still  desirous  of  meeting  you  at  the  appointed 
place.  Brothers :  We  wish  you  to  deliberate  well  on  this  busi- 
ness. We  have  spoken  our  sentiments  in  sincerity,  consider- 
ing ourselves  in  the  presence  of  the  Great  Spirit,  from  whom, 
in  time  of  danger,  we  expect  assistance.! 

On  the  folio  wing^  day  the  Commissioners  replied  : 

Brothers:  You  have  mentioned  two  objects  of  your  coming 
to  meet  us  at  this  place.  One,  to  obtain  an  explanation  of 
the  war-like  appearances  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  on 
the  north-western  side  of  the  Ohio  ;  the  other,  to  learn  wheth- 

*  American  State  Paper?,  v.  347. 

•f  The  commander  of  the  Tories  at  Wyoming,  afterwards  Indian  Agent. 

J  American  State  Papers,  v.  344. 


416  Answer  to  Captain  Branfs  Speech.  1793. 

er  we  have  authority  to  run  and  establish  a  new  boundary  line 
between  your  lands  and  ours.  Brothers:  On  th*e  first  point 
we  cannot  but  express  our  extreme  regret,  that  any  reports  of 
warlike  appearances,  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  should 
have  delayed  our  meeting  at  Sandusky.  The  nature  of  the 
case  irresistibly  forbids  all  apprehensions  of  hostile  incursions 
into  the  Indian  country  north  of  the  Ohio,  during  the  treaty 
at  Sandusky.  Brothers :  We  are  deputed  by  the  Great  Chief 
and  the  Great  Council  of  the  United  States  to  treat  with  you 
of  peace;  and  is  it  possible  that  the  same  Great  Chief  and  his 
Great  Council  could  order  their  warriors  to  make  fresh  war, 
while  we  were  sitting  round  the  same  fire  with  you,  in  order 
to  make  peace  ?  Is  it  possible  that  our  Great  Chief  and  his 
Council  could  act  so  deceitfully  towards  us,  their  Commis- 
sioners, as  well  as  towards  you?  Brothers:  We  think  it  not  pos- 
sible ;  but  we  will  quit  arguments  and  come  to  facts.  Brothers: 
We  assure  you,  that  our  Great  Chief,  Genral  Washington,  has 
strictly  forbidden  all  hostilities  against  you,  until  the  event  of 
the  proposed  treaty  at  Sandusky  shall  be  known.  Here  is  the 
proclamation  of  his  head  warrior,  Gen.  Wayne,  to  that  effect. 
But,  brothers,  our  Great  Chief  is  so  sincere  in  his  professions 
for  peace,  and  so  desirous  of  preventing  every  thing  which  could 
obstruct  the  treaty  and  prolong  the  war,  that,  besides  giving  the 
above  orders  to  his  head  warrior,  he  has  informed  the  Govern- 
ors of  the  several  States  adjoining  the  Ohio,  of  the  treaty  propos- 
'  ed  to  be  held  at  Sandusky,  and  desired  them  to  unite  their  power 
with  his  to  prevent  any  hostile  attempts  against  the  Indians 
north  of  the  Ohio,  until  the  result  of  the  treaty  is  made  known. 
Those  Governors  have  accordingly  issued  their  orders,  strictly 
forbidding  all  such  hostilities.  The  proclamations  of  the  Gov- 
ernors of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia  we  have  here  in  our 
hands.  Brothers  :  If,  after  all  these  precautions  of  our  Great 
Chief,  any  hostilities  should  be  committed  north  of  the  Ohio, 
they  must  proceed  from  a  few  disorderly  people,  whom  no 
considerations  of  justice  or  public  good  can  restrain.  But  we 
hope  and  believe  that  none  such  can  be  found. 

Brothers  :  After  these  explanations,  we  hope  you  will  pos- 
sess your  minds  in  peace,  relying  on  the  good  faith  of  the 
United  States  that  no  injury  is  to  be  apprehended  by  you  dur- 
ing the  treaty.  Brothers :  We  now  come  to  the  second  point : 
whether  we  are  properly  authorized  to  run  and  establish  a  new 
boundary  line  between  your  lands  and  ours.  Brothers;  we  an- 
swer explicitly  that  we  have  that  authority.  Where  this  line 
should  run,  will  be  the  great  subject  of  discussion  at  the  treaty 
between  you  and  us ;  and  we  sincerely  hope  and  expect  that 
it  may  then  be  fixed  to  the  satisfaction  of  both  parties.  Doubt- 
less some  concessions  must  be  made  on  both  sides.  In  all  dis- 
putes and  quarrels,  both  parties  usually  take  some  wrong 
steps ;  so  that  it  is  only  by  mutual  concessions  that  a  true 


1793.  Tribes  present  at  the  Maumec  Council.  417 

reconciliation  can  be  effected.  Brothers:  We  wish  you  to 
understand  us  clearly  on  this  head;  for  we  mean  that  all  our 
proceedings  should  be  made  with  candor.  We  therefore  re- 
peat and  say  explicitly  that  some  concession  will  be  necessary 
on  your  part,  as  well  as  on  ours,  in  order  to  establish  a  just 
and  permanent  peace.  Brothers:  After  this  great  point  of 
the  boundary  shall  be  fully  considered  at  the  treaty,  we  shall 
know  what  concessions  and  stipulations  it  will  be  proper  to 
make  on  the  part  of  the  United  States ;  and  we  trust  they  will 
be  such  as  the  world  will  pronounce  reasonable  and  just. 
Brothers:  You  told  us  that  you  represent  the  nations  of  Indians 
who  own  the  lands  north  of  the  Ohio,  and  whose  Chiefs  are 
now  assembled  at  the  Rapids  of  the  Maumee.  Brothers:  It 
would  be  a  satisfaction  to  us  to  be  informed  of  the  names  of 
those  nations,  and  of  the  numbers  of  the  Chiefs  of  each  so  as- 
sembled. Brothers :  We  once  more  turn  our  eyes  to  your  rep- 
resentation of  warlike  appearances  in  your  country ;  to  give 
you  complete  satisfaction  on  this  point,  we  now  assure  you  as 
soon  as  our  council  at  this  place  is  ended,  we  will  send  a  mes- 
senger on  horseback  to  the  Great  Chief  of  the  United  States, 
to  desire  him  to  renew  and  strongly  repeat  his  orders  to  his 
head  warrior,  not  only  to  abstain  from  all  hostilities  against 
you ;  but  to  remain  quietly  at  his  posts  until  the  event  of  the 
treaty  shall  be  known.* 

To  the  inquiry  made  by  the  Agents  of  the  United  States  as 
to  tribes,  Brant  said, — 

Yesterday  you  expressed  a  wish  to  be  informed  of  the  names 
of  the  nations,  and  numbers  of  Chiefs  assembled  at  the  Mau- 
mee; but,  as  they  were  daily  coming  in,  we  cannot  give  you 
exact  information.  You  will  see  for  yourselves  in  a  few  days. 
When  we  left  it  the  following  nations  were  there,  to  wit :  Five 
Nations,  Wyandots,  Shawanese,  Delaware?*,  Munsees,  Mia- 
mies,  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  Pottawatamies.  Nantikokies,  Min- 
goes,  Cherokees, — the  principal  men  of  these  were  there. 

The  jealousy  of  the  Indians  as  to  the  hostile  movements 
was  owing  to  the  fact,  that  Wayne  was  at  this  time  gathering 
horses  and  cattle,  and  cutting  roads  in  the  heart  of  the  con- 
tested country,  beyond  Fort  Jefferson,  within  three  days  jour- 
ney of  the  Indian  head  quarters. f 

His  "  Legion"  had  passed  the  winter  of  1792-3  at  Legion- 
ville,  and  there  remained  until  the  last  of  April,  1793,  when  it 
was  taken  down  the  river  to  Cincinnati,  where  it  encamped 
near  Fort  Washington,  and  there  it  continued  until  October, 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  349. 

t  American  State  Papers,  v.  350.  351. 


418  Meeting  of  the  Council  at  Sandusky.  1793. 

engaged  merely  in  drilling  and  preparations,  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  having  been  directed  by  the  Executive  to  issue  a 
proclamation,  forbidding  all  hostile  movements -north  of  the 
Ohio  until  the  northern  Commissioners  were  heard  from. 
This  proclamation  was  issued,  and  the  country  remained  tran- 
quil, although,  as  we  have  said,  preparations  were  made  for 
action  in  case  it  should  finally  become  needful. 

General  Wayne,  after  encountering  many  obstacles,  was 
perfecting  the  discipline  of  his  soldiers  at  "  Hobson's  choice." 
[This  place  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Cincinnati,  and  so  called, 
because,  from  extreme  high  water,  the  Legion  was  prevented 
from  landing  elsewhere.]  Here  he  made  efforts  to  get  forward 
mounted  volunteers  from  Kentucky,  who,  after  the  experience 
of  1790  and  1791,  could  not  be  had,  so  strong  was  their  repug- 
nance to  serve  with  regulars — the  Commissioners  had  crossed 
Lake  Erie,  and  on  the  21st  of  July  took  up  their  quarters  at 
the  house  of  the  famous  or  infamous  Captain  Matthew 
Elliott,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  river.*  On  the  day  of 
their  arrival,  they  wrote  to  Colr/nel  McKee,  asking  him  to 
hasten  the  proposed  meeting  at  Sandusky,  which  he  promised 
to  do.  On  the  29th  of  July,  twenty  Indians  arrived  from  the 
Rapids  to  see  the  Commissioners  ;  and  on  the  three  following 
days  the  white  and  red  men  met  in  Council — Simon  Girty 
acting  as  interpreter.  It  seemed  the  confederacy  were  not 
satisfied  with  the  meeting  between  Brant  and  the  Commis- 
sioners at  Niagara,  and  now  wished  to  know  distinctly,  and 
merely,  if  the  United  States  would  or  would  not  make  the 
Ohio  the  boundary.  To  this  inquiry,  the  Commissioners  re- 
plied, (July  31,)  in  writing,  setting  forth  the  American  claims, 
the  grounds  of  them,  and  the  impossibility  of  making  the  Ohio 
the  line  of  settlement.  The  answers  to  this  communication, 
one  of  which  was  delivered  orally  on  the  spot,  and  the  other 
on  the  16th  of  August,  in  writing,  are  so  characteristic  and 
able,  that  on  this  account,  as  well  as  because  they  were  the 
ultimata  of  the  Indians  in  this  negotiation,  we  give  entire. 

Brothers:  We  are  all  brothers  you  see  here  now.  Brothers: 
It  is  now  three  years  since  you  desired  to  speak  with  us.  We 
heard  you  yesterday,  and  understood  you  well — perfectly  well. 
We  have  a  fe\v  words  to  say  to  you.  Brothers  :  You  mentioned 
the  treaties  of  Fort  Stanwix,  Beaver  Creek,t  and  other  places. 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  342.  359.  360.— American  Pioneer,  i.  293.— Butler,  221. 
t  Fort  Mclntosh. 


1793.     Speech  of  the  Chief  of  the   Wyandots  in  Council.    419 

Those  treaties  were  not  complete.  There  were  but  a  few 
chiefs  who  treated  with  you.  You  have  not  bought  our 
lands.  They  belong  to  us.  You  tried  to  draw  off  some  of  as. 
Brothers :  Many  years  ago,  we  all  know  that  the  Ohio  was 
made  the  boundary.  It  was  settled  by  Sir  William  Johnston. 
This  side  is  ours.  We  look  upon  it  as  our  property.  Brothers : 
You  mentioned  General  Washington.  He  and  you  know  you 
have  your  houses  and  your  people  on  our  land.  You  say  you 
cannot  move  them  off:  and  we  cannot  give  up  our  land. 
Brothers:  We  are  sorry  we  cannot  come  to  an  agreement. 
The  line  has  been  fixed  long  ago.  Brothers :  We  don't  say 
much.  There  has  been  much  mischief  on  both  sides.  We 
came  here  upon  peace,  and  thought  you  did  the  same.  We 
shall  talk  to  our  head  warriors.  You  may  return  whence  you 
came,  and  tell  Washington. 

The  council  here  breaking  up,  Captain  Elliott  went  to  the 
Shawanese  chief  Ka-kia-pilathy,  and  told  him  that  the  last 
part  of  the  speech  was  wrong.  The  chief  came  back  and 
said  it  was  wrong.  Girty  said  that  he  had  interpreted  truly 
what  the  Wyandot  chief  spoke.  An  explanation  took  place  ; 
and  Girty  added  as  follows :  "  Brothers :  Instead  of  going 
home,  we  wish  you  to  remain  here  for  an  answer  from  us. 
We  have  your  speech  in  our  breasts,  and  shall  consult  our 
head  warriors."* 

The  head  warriors  having  been  consulted,  the  final  message 
came  in  these  words — 

"  To  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  States. — Brothers  : 
We  have  received  your  speech,  dated  the  31st  of  last  month, 
and  it  has  been  interpreted  to  all  the  different  nations.  We 
have  been  long  in  sending  you  an  answer,  because  of  the 
great  importance  of  the  subject.  But  we  now  answer  it  fully  ; 
having  given  it  all  the  consideration  in  our  power. 

"  Brothers :  You  tell  us  that,  after  you  had  made  peace 
with  the  King,  our  father,  about  ten  years  ago,  '  it  remained 
to  make  peace  between  the  United  States  and  the  Indian  na- 
tions, who  had  taken  part  with  the  King.  For  this  purpose 
Commissioners  were  appointed,  who  sent  messages  to  all 
those  Indian  nations,  inviting  them  to  come  and  make  peace ;' 
and,  after  reciting  the  periods  at  which  you  say  treaties  were 
held,  at  Fort  Stanwix,  Fort  Mclntosh  and  Miami,  all  which 
treaties,  according  to  your  own  acknowledgment,  were  for  the 
sole  purpose  of  making  peace,  you  then  say,  '  Brothers,  the 
Commissioners  who  conducted  these  treaties,  in  behalf  of  the 
United  States,  sent  the  papers  containing  them  to  the  general 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  349. 


420  Final  action  of  the  General  Council.  1703. 

council  of  the  States,  who,  supposing  them  satisfactory  to  the 
nations  treated  with,  proceeded  to  dispose  of  the  lands  there- 
by ceded.' 

"  Brothers  :  This  is  telling  us  plainly,  what  we  always  un- 
derstood to  be  the  case,  and  it  agrees  with  the  declarations  of 
those  few  who  attended  those  treaties,  viz:  That  they  went  to 
your  Commissioners  to  make  peace  ;  but,  through  fear,  wore 
obliged  to  sign  any  paper  that  was  laid  before  them  ;  and  it 

<has  since  appeared  that  deeds  of  cession  were  signed  by 
them,  instead  of  treaties  of  peace. 
"  Brothers:  You  then  say,  '  after  some  time  it  appears^that 
a  number  of  people  in  your  nations  were  dissatisfiecLxlth  the 
treaties  of  Fort  Mclntosh  and  Miami,  there  fore,  /the  council 
of  the  United  States  appointed  Governor  St.  Cl#ir  their  Com- 
missioner, witfa^full  power,  for  the  purpose  0f  removing  all 
causes  of  controversy,  relating  to  trade,  and  settling  bounda- 
ries, between  the  mdian, nations  in  the  northern  department, 
and  the  United  States,  He  accordingly  sent  messages,  invit- 
ing all  the  nations  concfefnea\to  meet  nim  at  a  council  fire  he 
kindled  at  the  Falls  of  the^usXingum.  While  he  was  waiting 
for  them,  some  mischief  happened^  at  that  place,  and  the  fire 
was  put  out :  so  he  kindled  Efcveoiincil  fire  at  Fort  Harmar, 
where  near  six  hundred  Indiaris\of  different  nations,  attend- 
ed. The  Six  Nations  then  r.enewe4  and  confirmed  the  treaty 
of  Fort  Stanwix ;  and  the  Wyandots,  and  Delawares  renewed 
and  confirmed  the  treaty  of  Fort  Mclntosh:  some  Ottawas, 
Chippewas,  Pottawatamies,  and  Sacs,  xere  also  parties  to 
the  treaty  of  Fort  tfarmar.'  Now,  brothefrs^these  are  your 
words  ;  and  it  is  necessary  for-  us  to  make  a'short  reply  to 
them. 

"  Brothers  :  A"  general  douncil  of  all  the  Indian  confederacy 
was  held,  as  you  well  knoxv,  in  the  fall  of  the  year  1788,  at 
this  place  ;  and  that  general  council  was  invited  by  your  Com- 
missioner, Governor  St.  Clair,  to  meet  him  for  the  purpose  of 
holding  a  treaty,  with  regard  to  the  lands  mentioned  by  you 
to  have  been  ceded  by  the  treaties  of  Fort  Stanwix  and  Fort 
Mclntosh. 

^^"  ~~x"  Brothers  :  We  are  in  possession  of  the  speeches  and  let- 
ters which  passed  on  that  occasion,  between  those  deputed  by 
the  confederated  Indians,  and  Governor  St.  Clair,  the  Com- 
missioner of  the  United  States.  These  papers  prove  that 
your  said  Commissioner,  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1789, 
and  after  having  been  informed  by  the  general  council  of  the 
preceding  fall,  that  no  bargain  or  sale  of  any  part  of  these  In- 
dian lands  would  be  considered  as  valid  or  binding  unless 
agreed  to  by  a  general  council,  nevertheless,  persisted  in  col- 
lecting together  a  few  chiefs  of  two  or  three  nations  only,  and 
with  them  held  a  treaty  for  the  cession  of  an  immense  coun- 
try, in  which  they  were  no  more  interested,  than  as  a  branch 


1793.  Proceedings  of  the  General  Council.  421 

of  the  general  confederacy,  and  who  were  in  no  manner  au- 
thorized to  make  any  grant  or  concession  whatever.  l^^^** 

11  Brothers  :  How  then  was  it  possible  for  you  to  expect  to 
enjoy  peace,  and  quietly  to  hold  these  lands,  when  your  Com- 
missioner was  informed,  long  before  he  had  the  treaty  of  Fort 
Harmar,  that  the  consent  of  a  general  council  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  convey  any  part  of  these  lands  to  the  United 
States.  The  part  of  these  lands  which  the  United  States  now 
wish  us  to  relinquish,  and  which  you  say  are  settled,  have 
been  sold  by  the  United  States  since  that  time. 

"  Brothers  :  You  say  '  the  United  States  wish  to  have  con- 
firmed all  the  lands  ceded  to  them  by  the  treaty  of  Fort  Har- 
mar, and  also  a  small  tract  at  the  rapids  of  the  Ohio,  claimed 
by  General  Clark,  for  the  use  of  himself  and  his  warriors. 
And,  in  consideration  thereof,  the  United  States  would  give 
such  a  large  sum  of  money  or  goods,  as  was  never  given,  at 
any  one  time,  for  any  quantity  of  Indian  lands,  since  the 
white  people  first  set  their  feet  on  this  island.  And,  because 
these  lands  did  every  year  furnish  you  with  skins  and  furs, 
with  which  you  bought  clothing  and  other  necessaries,  the 
United  States  will  now  furnish  the  like  constant  supplies. 
And,  therefore,  besides  the  great  sum  to  be  delivered  at  once, 
they  will  every  year  deliver  you  a  large  quantity  of  such  goods 
as  are  best  fitted  to  the  wants  of  yourselves,  your  women,  and 
children.'  \ 

"  Brothers  :  Money  to  us,  is  of  no  value  ;  and  to  most  of  us 
unknown ;  and,  as  no  consideration  whatever  can  induce  us 
to  sell  the  lands  on  which  we  get  sustenance  for  our  women 
and  children,  we  hope  we  may  be  allowed  to  point  out  a  mode 
by  which  your  settlers  may  be  easily  removed,  and  peace 
thereby  obtained. 

"  Brothers :  We  know  that  these  settlers  are  poor,  or  they 
would  never  have  ventured  to  live  in  a  country  which  has 
been  in  continual  trouble  ever  since  they  crossed  the  Ohio. 
Divide,  therefore,  this  large  sum  of  money,  which  you  have 
offered  to  us,  among  these  people.  Give  to  each,  also,  a  pro- 
portion of  what  you  say  you  would  give  to  us,  annually,  over 
and  above  this  very  large  sum  of  money ;  and,  as  we  are  per- 
suaded, they  would  most  readily  accept  of  it  in  lieu  of  the 
land  you  sold  them.  If  you  add,  also,  the  great  sums  you 
must  expend  in  raising  and  paying  armies,  with  a  view  to 
force  us  to  yield  you  our  country,  you  will  certainly  have 
more  than  sufficient  for  the  purpose  of  repaying  these  settlers 
for  all  their  labor  and  their  improvements. 

"  Brothers :  You  have  talked  to  us  about  concessions.  It 
appears  strange  that  you  should  expect  any  from  us  who  have 
only  been  defending  our  just  rights  against  your  invasions. 
We  want  peace.  Restore  to  us  our  country,  and  we  shall  be 
enemies  no  longer. 


422  Proceedings  of  the  General  Council.  1793. 

"  Brothers  :  You  make  one  concession  to  us  by  offering  us 
your  money ;  and  another  by  having  agreed  to  do  us  justice, 
after  having  long  and  injuriously  withheld  it;  we  mean  in 
the  acknowledgment  you  now  have  made,  that  the  King  of 
England  never  did,  nor  never  had  a  right  to  give  you  our 
country,  by  the  treaty  of  peace.  And  you  want  to  make  this 
act  of  common  justice  a  great  part  of  your  concessions ;  and 
seem  to  expect  that,  because  you  have  at  last  acknowledged 
our  independence,  we  should  for  such  a  favor,  surrender  to  you 
our  country. 

"  Brothers  :  You  have  talked,  also,  a  great  deal  about  pre- 
emption, and  your  exclusive  right  to  purchase  Indian  lands, 

ceded  to  you  by  the  king,  at  the  treaty  of  peace. 

'  Brothers :  We  never  made  any  agreement  with  the  king, 
nor  with  any  other  nation,  that  we  would  give  to  either  the 
exclusive  right  of  purchasing  our  lands;  and  we  declare  to 
you,  that  we  consider  ourselves  free  to  make  any  bargain  or 
cession  of  lands,  whenever  and  to  whomsoever  we  please.  If 
the  white  people,  as  you  say,  made  a  treaty  that  none  of  them 
but  the  king  should  purchase  of  us,  and  that  he  has  given  that 
right  to  the  United  States,  it  is  an  affair  which  concerns  you 
and  him,  and  not  us;  we  have  .never  parted  with  such  a 

"Brothers:  At  our  general  councu,  nelaat  the  JG|^,ize  last 
fall,  we  agreed  to  meet  commissioners  from  the  United  States, 
for  the  purpose  of  restoring  peace,  provided  they  consented  to 
acknowledge  and  confirm  our  boundary  line  to  be  the  Ohio, 
and  we  determined  not  to  meet  you,  until  you  gave  us  satis- 
faction on  that  point;  that  is  the  reason  we  have  never  met. 

We  desire  you  to  consider,  brothers,  that  our  only  demand 
is  the  peaceable  possession  of  a  small  part  of  our  once  great 
country.  Look  back  and  review  the  lands  from  whence  we 
have  been  driven  to  this  spot.  We  can  retreat  no  farther ; 
because  the  country  behind  hardly  affords  food  for  its  inhabi- 
tants :  and  we  have,  therefore,  resolved  to  leave  our  bones  in 
this  small  space  to  which  we  are  now  confined. 

"  Brothers  :  We  shall  be  persuaded  that  you  mean  to  do  us 
justice,  if  you  agree  that  the  Ohio  shall  remain  the  boundary 
line  between  us.  If  you  will  not  consent  thereto,  our  meeting 
will  be  altogether  unnecessary.  This  is  the  great  point  which 
we  hoped  would  have  been  explained  before  you  left  your 
homes,  as  our  message,  last  fall,  was  principally  directed  to 
obtain  that  information. 

Done  in  general  council,  at  the  foot  of  the  Maumee  Rapids, 
the  13th  day  of  August,  1793. 

Nations. 

Wyandots,  Miamies,          Mohicans, 

Seven  Nations,  of  Canada,       Ottawas,          Connoys, 


1793.  Reasons  which  kept  the  Indians  at  War.  423 

Potawatomies,  Messasagoes,  Delawares, 

Senecas  of  the  Glaize,  Chippewas,  Nantakokies, 

Shavvanese,  Munsees,  Creeks, 
Cherokees.* 

This,  of  necessity,  closed  the  attempts  of  the  United  States 
to  make  peace ;  some  few  further  efforts  were  made  to  secure 
the  Iroquois  to  the  cause  of  America,  but  they  ended  in  no- 
thing; and  from  the  month  of  August,  the  preparations  for  a 
decision  by  arms  of  the  questions  pending  between  the  white 
and  red  men  went  forward  constantly. 

But  it  is  natural  to  ask  what  causes  led  the  north-western 
savages  thus  to  stake  their  very  existence  upon  the  contest, 
when  terms  so  liberal  were  offered  by  their  opponents.  We 
answer — first,  their  previous  success  did  much  ;  and  secondly, 
they  hoped  for  the  aid  of  Britain,  and  at  length  of  Spain  also, 
on  their  side. 

For  several  years,  said  Brant,  we  were  engaged  in  getting 
a  confederacy  formed,  and  the  unanimity  occasioned  by  these 
endeavors  among  our  western  brethren,  enabled  them  to  de- 
feat two  American  armies.  The  war  continued  without  our 
brothers,  the  English,  giving  any  assistance,  except  a  little 
ammunition ;  and  they  seeming  to  desire  that  a  peace  might 
be  concluded,  we  tried  to  bring  it  about  at  a  time  that  the 
United  States  desired  it  very  much,  so  that  they  sent  commis- 
sioners from  among  their  first  people,  to  endeavor  to  make 
peace  with  the  hostile  Indians.  We  assembled  also  for  that 
purpose  at  the  Miami  river  in  the  summer  of  1793,  intending 
to  act  as  mediators  in  bringing  about  an  honorable  peace  ;  and 
if  that  could  not  be  obtained,  we  resolved  to  join  our  western 
brethren  in  trying  the  fortune  of  war.  But  to  our  surprise, 
when  upon  the  point  of  entering  upon  a  treaty  with  the  com- 
missioners, we  found  that  it  was  opposed  by  those  acting 
under  the  British  government,  and  hopes  of  farther  assistance 
were  given  to  our  western  brethren,  to  encourage  them  to 
insist  on  the  Ohio  as  a  boundary  between  them  and  the  United 
States.f 

Through  Elliott,  McKee  and  Butler,  this  confidence  in  Eng- 
lish aid  was  thus  excited  among  the  savages,  before  their  final 
refusal  of  the  generous  terms  offered  by  Washington  ;  and 
soon  after,  the  higher  functionaries  endorsed  the  representa- 

35  American  State  Papers,  T.  356. 
fStone,  ii.  358. 


424  Lord  Dorchester's  Speech.  1793. 

tions  of  their  subordinates.  In  February,  1794,  Lord  Dor- 
chester, addressing  the  deputies  from  the  council  of  1793, 
said : 

Children: — I  was  in  expectation  of  hearing  from  the  people 
of  the  United  States  what  was  required  by  them;  I  hoped  that 
I  should  have  been  able  to  bring  you  together,  and  make  you 
friends. 

Children : — I  have  waited  long,  and  listened  with  great  at- 
tention, but  have  not  heard  one  word  from  them. 

Children : — I  flattered  myself  with  the  hope  that  the  line 
proposed  in  the  year  eighty-three,  to  separate  us  from  the 
United  States,  which  was  immediately  broken  by  themselves ,as 
soon  as  the  peace  was  signed,  would  have  been  mended,  or  a 
new  one  drawn,  in  an  amicable  manner.  Here,  also,  I  have 
been  disappointed. 

Children  : — Since  my  return,  I  find  no  appearance  of  .a  line 
remains ;  and  from  the  manner  in  which  the  people  of  the 
United  States  rush  on,  and  act,  and  talk  on  this  side ;  and 
from  what  I  learn  of  their  conduct  toward  the  sea,  I  shall  not 
be  surprised  if  we  are  at  war  with  them  in  the  course  of  the 
present  year;  and  if  so,  a  line  must  then  be  drawn  by  the 
warriors. 

Children: — You  talk  of  sellingyour  lands  to  the  State  of 
New  York.  I  have  told  you  that  there  is  no  line  between 
them  and  us.  I  shall  acknowledge  no  lands  to  be  theirs  which 
have  been  encroached  on  by  them  since  the  year  1783.  They 
then  broke  the  peace,  as  they  kept  it  not  on  their  part,  it  doth 
not  bind  on  ours. 

Children  : — They  then  destroyed  their  right  of  pre-emption. 
Therefore,  all  their  approaches  towards  us  since  that  time, 
and  all  the  purchases  made  by  them,  I  consider  as  an  infringe- 
ment on  the  King's  rights.  And  when  a  line  is  drawn  be- 
tween us,  be  it  in  peace  or  war,  they  must  lose  all  their  im- 
provements and  houses  on  our  side  of  it.  Those  people  must 
all  be  gone  who  do  not  obtain  leave  to  become  the  King's 
subjects.  What  belongs  to  the  Indians  will,  of  course,  be 
secured  and  confirmed  to  them. 

Children : — What  farther  can  I  say  to  you  ?  Yrou  are  wit- 
nesses that  on  our  parts  we  have  acted  in  the  most  peaceable 
manner,  and  borne  the  language  and  conduct  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  with  patience.  But  I  believe  our  pa- 
tience is  almost  exhausted.* 

*  The  authenticity  of  of  this  speech  has  been  questioned;  it  was  doubted  at  the  time 
even.  George  Clinton  of  New  York  sent  the  proof  of  its  genuineoss  to  George  Washington, 
March  20rh,  1794,  and  both  he  and  the  President  "thought  it  authentic.  Judge  Marshall 
(Life  of  Washington,  v.  535)  states  it  as  not  authentic,  and  Sparks  (Washington  Papers,  x. 
39  i,  note)  seems  to  agree  with  him ;  but  Mr.  Stone  found  among  Brant's  papers  a  certi- 


1790-95.  British  and  Spamsn,  aid  hoped  for.  425 

And  when,  daring  the  summer  of  1794,  there  was  a  contest 
between  the  United  States  and  the  Six  Nations,  relative  to 
the  erection  of  a  fort  by  the  former  at  Presqu'ile  (Erie)  on 
Lake  Erie,  Brant,  in  writing  to  the  British  authorities,  on  the 
19th  of  July,  says — 

In  regard  to  the  Presqu'ile  business,  should  we  not  get  an 
answer  at  the  time  limited,  it  is  our  business  to  push  those 
fellows  hard,  and  therefore  it  is  my  intention  to  form  my  camp 
at  Pointe  Appineau;  and  I  would  esteem  it  a  favor  if  his  Ex- 
cellency the  Lieutenant  Governor  would  lend  me  four  or  five 
batteaux.  Should  it  so  turn  out,  and  should  those  fellows  not 
go  off,  and  O'Bail  continue  in  the  same  opinion,  an  expedition 
against  those  Yankees  must  of  consequence  take  place. 

His  Excellency  has  been  so  good  as  to  furnish  us  with  a 
hundred  weight  of  powder,  and  ball  in  proportion,  which  is 
now  at  Fort  Erie ;  but  in  the  event  .of  an  attack  upon  Le 
Boeuf  people,  I  could  wish,  if  consistent,  that  his  Excellency 
would  order  a  like  quantity  in  addition  to  be  at  Fort  Erie,  in 
order  to  be  in  readiness ;  likewise  I  would  hope  for  a  little 
assistance  in  provision. 

But  the  conduct  of  England,  in  sending,  as  she  did,  Govern- 
or Simcoe  in  the  month  of  April,  1794,  to  the  rapids  of  the 
Maumee,  there,  within  the  acknowledged  territories  of  the 
United  States,  to  erect  a  fort,  was  the  strongest  assurance  that 
could  have  been  given  to  the  north-western  tribes,  that  she 
would  espouse  their  quarrel.  In  May  of  1794,  a  messenger 
from  the  Mississippi  provinces  of  Spain  also  appeared  in  the 
north-west,  offering  assistance. f 

Children  !  (he  said)  you  see  me  on  my  feet,  grasping  the 
tomahawk  to  strike  them.  We  will  strike  together.  I  do  not 
desire  you  to  go  before  me,  in  the  front,  but  to  follow  me. 

Children  : — I  present  you  with  a  war-pipe,  which  has  been 
sent  in  all  our  names  to  the  Musquakies,  and  all  those  nations 
who  live  towards  the  setting  sun,  to  get  upon  their  feet  and 
take  hold  of  our  tomahawk :  and  as  soon  as  they  smoked  it, 
they  sent  it  back  with  a  promise  to  get  immediately  on  their 
feet,  and  join  us,  and  strike  this  enemy. 

Children — You  hear  what  these  distant  nations  have  said 
to  us,  so  that  we  have  nothing  farther  to  do  but  put  our  de- 
signs into  immediate  execution,  and  to  forward  this  pipe  to 

fied  MS.  copy,  from  which  the  above  extracts  are  taken,  (Stone's  Brant,  ii.  368,  note);  and 
Mr.  Hammond,  the  British  Minister,  ia  May,  1794,  acknowledged  it  to  be  genuine- 
( American  State  Papers,  i.  462.  See  also  v.  480.) 

f  American  State  Papers,  v.  503  to  524,  and  484,  487.  Stone's  Brant,  ii.  330. 
27 


426  Causes  of  the  action  of  England.  1793. 

the  three  warlike  nations  who  have  so  long  been  struggling 
for  their  country,  and  who  now  sit  at  the  Glaize.  Tell  them 
to  smoke  this  pipe,  and  forward  it  to  all  the  lake  Indians  and 
their  northern  brethren.  Then  nothing  will  be  wanting  to 
complete  our  general  union  from  the  rising  to  the  setting  of 
the  sun,  and  all  nations  will  be  ready  to  add  strength  to  the 
blow  we  are  going  to  make.* 

The  explanation  of  the  conduct  above  related  on  the  part 
of  England,  is  not  difficult.  In  March,  1793,  Great  Britain 
and  Russia  had  united  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  off  all  the 
commerce  of  revolutionary  France,  in  the  hope  thereby  of 
conquering  her.  In  June,  the  court  of  St.  James,  in  accord- 
ance with  this  agreement,  issued  orders — 

To  stop  and  detain  all  vessels  loaded  wholly  or  in  part  with 
corn,Jlour,  or  meal,  bound  to  any  port  of  France,  or  any  port 
occupied  by  the  armies  of  France,  and  to  send  them  to  such 
ports  as  should  be  most  convenient,  in  order  that  such  corn, 
meal,  or  flour  might  be  purchased  on  behalf  of  his  majesty's 
government,  and  the  ships  to  be  released  after  such  purchase, 
and  after  a  due  allowance  for  freight ;  or  that  the  masters  of 
such  ships,  on  giving  due  security,  to  be  approved  by  the  court 
of  admiralty,  be  permitted  to  dispose  of  their  cargoes  of  corn, 
meal,  flour,  in  the  ports  of  any  country  in  amity  with  his 
majesty. f 

Against  this  proceeding  the  United  States  protested,  while 
England  justified  the-  measure  as  a  very  mild  application  of 
international  law.  On  both  sides  great  irritation  prevailed, 
and  during  this  period  it  was  that  the  various  acts  of  Govern- 
or Simcoe  and  others  took  place. 

As  for  Spain,  she  had  long  been  fearful  and  jealous  of  the 
western  colonists ;  she  had  done  all  in  her  power  to  sow  dis- 
sensions between  the  Americans  and  the  southern  Indians, 
and  now  hoped  to  cripple  her  Anglo-Saxon  antagonist  by 
movements  at  the  north. 

But  the  Americans  were  in  nowise  disposed  to  yield  even 
to  this  "  Hydra,"  as  General  Wayne  called  it,  of  Indian,  Brit- 
ish, and  Spanish  enmity.  On  the  16th  »f  August,  1793,  the 
final  messages  took  place  between  the  American  commis- 
-sioners  and  the  Indians,  at  the  mouth  of  Detroit  river  ;  on  the 
17th,  the  commissioners  left  Captain  Elliott's ;  on  the  23d, 

*  MS.  among  the  Brant  Papers.    Stone,  ii.  375. 
|  Pitkin's  U.  S.,  ii.  396. 


1793.  Wayne's  Prospects  and  Efforts.  427 

reached  Fort  Erie,  near  Niagara;  upon  the  same  day  they 
sent  three  letters  to  General  Wayne,  by  three  distinct  chan- 
nels, advising  him  of  the  issue  of  the  negotiations.*  Wayne, 
encamped  at  his  "  Hobson's  choice,"  and  contending  with  the 
unwillingness  of  Kentuckians  to  volunteer  in  connection  with 
regular  troops, — with  fever,  influenza  and  desertion, — was 
struggling  hard  to  bring  his  army  to  such  form  and  consist- 
ency as  would  enable  him  to  meet  the  enemy  with  confidence. 
On  the  5th  of  October,  he  writes  that  he  cannot  hope  to  have, 
deducting  the  sick  and  those  left  in  garrison,  more  than  2,600 
regular  troops,  360  mounted  volunteers,  and  36  guides  and 
spies,  to  go  with  him  beyond  Fort  Jefferson  ;  but  he  adds — 

This  is  not  a  pleasant  picture,  but  something  must  be  done 
immediately,  to  save  the  frontiers  from  impending  savage 
fury. 

I  will,  therefore,  advance  to-morrow  with  the  force  I  have, 
in  order  to  gain  a  strong  position  about  six  miles  in  front  of 
Fort  Jefferson,  so  as  to  keep  the  enemy  in  check  (by  exciting 
a  jealousy  and  apprehension  for  the  safety  of  their  own  wo- 
men and  children)  until  some  favorable  circumstance  or  op- 
portunity may  present  to  strike  with  effect. 

The  present  apparent  tranquility  on  the  frontiers,  and  at 
the  head  of  the  line,  is  a  convincing  proof  to  me,  that  the 
enemy  are  collected  or  collecting  in  force,  to  oppose  the  legion, 
either  on  its  march,  or  in  some  unfavorable  position  for  the 
cavalry  to  act  in.  Disappoint  them  in  this  favorite  plan  or 
manoeuvre,  they  may  probably  be  tempted  to  attack  our  lines. 
In  this  case  1  trust  they  will  not  have  much  reason  to  triumph 
from  the  encounter. 

They  cannot  continue  long  embodied  for  want  of  provision 
and  at  their  breaking  up  they  will  most  certainly  make  some 
desperate  effort  upon  some  quarter  or  other ;  should  the 
mounted  volunteers  advance  in  force,  we  might  yet  compel 
those  haughty  savages  to  sue  for  peace,  before  the  next  open- 
ing of  the  leaves.  Be  that  as  it  may,  I  pray  you  not  to  permit 
present  appearances  to  cause  too  much  anxiety  either  in  the 
mind  of  the  President,  or  yourself,  on  account  of  this  army. 
Knowing  the  critical  situation  of  our  infant  nation,  and  feeling 
for  the  honor  and  reputation  of  Government,  (which  I  will 
support  with  my  latest  breath)  you  may  rest  assured  that  I 
will  not  commit  the  legion  unnecessarily ;  and  unless  more 
powerfully  supported  than  I  at  present  have  reason  to  expect, 
I  will  content  myself  by  taking  a  strong  position  in  advance  of 

"American  State  Papers,  T.  304,  308,  325,  357,  360. 


428  Wayne  builds  Fort  Greenville.  1793. 

Jefferson,  and  by  exerting  every  power,  endeavor  to  protect 
the  frontiers,  and  to  secure  the  posts  and  army  during  the 
winter,  or  until  I  am  honored  with  your  further  orders.* 

On  the  7th  the  legion  left  Cincinnati,  and  upon  the  13th, 
without  any  accident,  encamped  upon  the  "strong  position" 
above  referred  to,f  Here,  upon  the  24th  of  October,  he  was 
joined  by  one  thousand  mounted  Kentucky  volunteers  under 
Gen.  Scott,  to  whom  he  had  written  pressing  requests  to 
hasten  forward  with  all  the  men  he  could  muster.  This  re- 
quest Scott  hastened  to  comply  with,  and  the  Governor  upon 
the  28th  of  September,  had  ordered,  in  addition,  a  draft  of 
militia.  The  Kentucky  troops,  however,  were  soon  dismissed 
again,  until  spring ;  but  their  march  had  not  been  in  vain,  for 
they  had  seen  enough  of  Wayne's  army  to  give  them  confi- 
dence in  it  and  in  him;  and  upon  their  return  home,  spread 
that  confidence  abroad,  so  that  the  full  number  of  volunteers, 
was  easily  procured  in  the  spring.J 

One  attack  had  been  made  upon  the  troops  previous  to  the 
23d  of  October,  and  only  one ;  a  body  of  two  commissioned 
and  ninety  non-commissioned  officers  and  soldiers,  conveying 
twenty  wagons  of  supplies,  was  assaulted  on  the  17th,  seveji 
miles  beyond  Fort  St.  Clair,  and  Lieutenant  Lowry  and  Ensign 
Boyd,  with  thirteen  others,  were  killed.  Although  so  little 
opposition  had  thus  far  been  encountered,  however,  Wayne 
determined  to  stay  where  he  was,  for  the  winter,  and  having 
70,000  rations  on  hand  in  October,  with  the  prospect  of  120,- 
000  more,  while  the  Indians  were  sure  to  be  short  of  pro- 
visions, he  proceeded  to  fortify  his  position  ;  which  he  named 
Fort  Greenville,  and  which  was  situated  upon  the  spot  now 
occupied  by  the  town  of  that  name.§  This  being  done  on  the 
23d  or  24th  of  December,  a  detachment  was  sent  forward  to 
take  possession  of  the  fiel/1  of  St.  Glair's  defeat.  They  arrived 
upon  the  spot  upon  Christmas  day.  "  Six  hundred  skulls," 
says  one  present,  "were  gathered  up  and  buried;  when  we 
went  to  lay  down  in  our  tents  at  night,  we  had  to  scrape  the 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  360. 

•(•See  in  American  Pioneer,  ii.  290,  plate  and  account  of  Wayne's  mede  of  encamp- 
ment.   Also  in  Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  ii.  55,  a  journal  of  the  march. 

{Marshall,  ii.  83,  84. 
^American  State  Papers,  v.  361. 


1794.  Indians  rely  on  the  British.  429 

bones  together  and  carry  them  out,  to  make  our  beds."*  Here 
was  built  Fort  Recovery,  which  was  properly  garrisoned,  and 
placed  under  the  charge  of  Captain  Alexander  Gibson.  Dur- 
ing the  early  months  of  1794,  Wayne  was  steadily  engaged 
in  preparing  everything  for  a  sure  blow  when  the  time  came, 
and  by  means  of  Captain  Gibson  and  his  various  spies,  kept 
himself  informed  of  the  plans  and  movements  of  the  savages. 
All  his  information  showed  the  faith  in  British  assistance 
which  still  animated  the  doomed  race  of  red  men ;  thus,  two 
Pottawatomies,  taken  by  Captain  Gibson,  June  5th,  in  reply  to 
various  questions,  answered  as  follows : 

Q. — When  did  your  nation  receive  the  invitation  from  the 
British  to  join  them,  and  go  to  war  with  the  Americans  ? 

A. — On  the  first  of  the  last  moon ;  the  message  was  sent 
by  three  chiefs,  a  Delaware,  a  Shawanee,  and  a  Miami. 

Q, — What  was  the  message  brought  by  those  Indians 
chiefs,  and  what  number  of  British  troops  were  at  Roche 
de  Bout,  (foot  of  rapids  of  the  Maumee,)  on  the  1st  of  May  ? 

A. — That  the  British  sent  them  to  invite  the  Pottawatomies 
to  go  to  yar  against  the  United  States ;  that  they,  the  British, 
were  then  at  Roche  de  Bout,  on  their  way  to  war  against  the 
Americans ;  that  the  number  of  British  troops  then  there  were 
about  four  hundred,  with  two  pieces  of  artillery,  exclusive  of 
the  Detroit  militia,  and  had  made  a  fortification  round  Colonel 
McKee's  house  and  stores  at  that  place,  in  which  they  had  de- 
posited all  their  stores  of  ammunition,  arms,  clothing  and  pro- 
vision with  which  they  promised  to  supply  all  the  hostile  Indi- 
ans in  abundance,  provided  they  would  join  and  go  with  them 
to  war. 

Q,. — What  tribes  of  Indians,  and  what  were  their  numbers, 
at  Roche  de  Bout  on  the  1st  of  May? 

A. — The  Chippewas,  Wyandots,  Shawanese,  Tawas,  Dela- 
wares  and  Miamies.  There  were  then  collected  about  one 
thousand  warriors,  and  were  daily  coming  in  and  collecting 
from  all  those  nations. 

Q,. — What  number  of  warriors  do  you  suppose  actually  col- 
lected at  that  place  at  this  time,  and  what  number  of  British 
troops  and  militia  have  promised  to  join  the  Indians  to  fight 
this  army  ? 

A. — By  the  latest  and  best  information,  and  from  our  own 
knowledge  of  the  number  of  warriors  belonging  to  those  nations, 
there  cannot  be  less  than  two  thousand  warriors  now  assem- 

*  American  Pioneer,  i.  294.  Letter  of  George  Will. — Dillon's  Indiana,  i.  360 — American 
State  Papers,  i.  458.  gives  Wayne's  statement. 


430  Evidence  of  British  Intentions.  1794. 

bled  ;  and  were  the  Pottawatomies  to  join,  agreeably  to  invi- 
tation, the  whole  would  amount  to  upwards  of  three  thousand 
hostile  Indians.  But  we  do  not  think  that  more  than  fifty  of 
the  Pottawatomies  will  go  to  war. 

The  British  troops  and  militia  that  will  join  the  Indians  to 
go  to  war  against  the  Americans,  will  amount  to  fifteen  hun- 
dred, agreeably  to  the  promise  of  Gov.  Simcoe. 

Q. — At  what  time  and  at  what  place  do  the  British  and  In- 
dians mean  to  advance  against  this  army  ? 

A. — About  the  last  of  this  moon,  or  the  beginning  of  the 
next,  they  intend  to  attack  the  legion  of  this  place.  Governor 
Simcoe,  the  great  man  who  lives  at  or  near  Niagara,  sent  for 
the  Pottawatomies,  and  promised  them  arms,  ammunition, 
provisions,  and  clothing,  and  every  thing  they  wanted,  on  con- 
dition that  they  would  join  him,  and  go  to  war  against  the 
Americans;  and  that  he  would  command  the  whole. 

He  sent  us  the  same  message  last  winter;  and  again,  on  the 
first  of  the  last  moon,  from  Roche  de  Bout ;  he  also  said  he 
was  much  obliged  to  us  for  our  past  services ;  and  that  he 
would  now  help  us  to  fight,  and  render  us  all  the  services  in 
his  power,  against  the  Americans. 

All  the  speeches  that  we  have  received  from  him,  were  as 
red  as  blood ;  all  the  wampum  and  feathers  were  painted  red  ; 
the  war  pipes  and  hatchets  were  red,  and  even  the  tobacco 
was  painted  red. 

We  received  four  different  invitations  from  Governor  Sim- 
coe, inviting  the  Pottawatomies  to  join  in  the  war ;  the  last 
was  on  the  first  of  last  moon,  when  he  promised  to  join  us 
with  1500  of  his  warriors,  as  before  mentioned.  But  we  wished 
for  peace;  except  a  few  of  our  foolish  young  men. 

Examined,  and  carefully  reduced  to  writing,  at  Greenville, 
this  7th  of  June,  1794.* 

A  couple  of  Shawanese  warriors,  captured  June  22d,  were 
less  sanguine  as  to  their  white  allies,  but  still  say  that  which 
proves  the  dependence  of  Indian  action  upon  English  pro- 
mises. As  their  evidence  gives  some  data  relative  to  the  In- 
dian forces,  as  well  as  the  temper  of  the  western  tribes,  we 
extract  nearly  the  whole  of  it. 

They  say  that  they  left  Grand  Glaize  five  moons  since,  i.  e. 
about  the  time  that  the  Indians  sent  in  [i.  e  to  Wayne;  the 
provisions  could  not  be  accepted]  a  flag,  with  propositions  of 
peace. 

That  they  belonged  to  a  party  of  twenty,  who  have  been 
hunting  all  this  spring  on  the  waters  of  the  Wabash,  nearly 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  439. 


1794.  Forces  of  the  Indians.  431 

opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Kentucky  river,  and  were  on  their 
return  when  taken.  That,  on  their  way  in,  they  met  with  a 
party  consisting  of  four  Indians,  i.  e.  three  Delawares  and  one 
Pottawatomie,  who  were  then  on  their  way  to  the  Big-bone 
Lick,  to  steal  horses  ;  that  this  party  informed  them  that  all 
the  Indians  on  White  river  were  sent  for  to  come  immediately 
to  Grand  Glaize,  where  the  warriors  of  several  nations  were 
now  assembled ;  that  the  chiefs  are  yet  in  council,  and  would 
not  let  their  warriors  go  out ;  that  they  could  not  depend  upon 
the  British  for  effectual  support ;  that  they  were  always  set- 
ting the  Indians  on  like  dogs  after  game,  pressing  them  to  go 
to  war,  and  kill  the  Americans,  but  did  not  help  them  ;  that 
unless  the  British  would  turn  out  and  help  them,  they  were 
determined  to  make  peace ;  that  they  would  not  be  any  longer 
amused  by  promises  only. 

That  the  Shawanese  have  380  warriors  at,  and  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  Grand  Glaize  ;  and  generally  can,  and  do,  bring  into 
action,  about  300.  Their  great  men,  or  sachemu,  are  the  Black 
Wolf,  and  Kakia-pi-la-thy,  or  Tame  Hawk ;  their  principal 
warriors  are  Blue  Jacket,  and  Captain  Johnny  ;  that  the  Dela- 
wares have  in  and  about  Grand  Glaize,  480  warriors;  that 
they  actually  had  four  hundred  in  the  action  against  St.  Glair  ; 
that  the  Miamies  are  at  present  but  about  one  hundred  war- 
riors, who  live  near  Grand  Glaize,  several  of  them  having  re- 
moved towards  Post  Vincennes,  and  by  the  Mississippi ;  that 
the  Wyandots  never  send  into  action  more  than  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  warriors  ;  they  live  along  the  lake,  towards 
Sandusky;  they  don't  know  the  number  of  the  Pottawato- 
mies,  nor  the  number  of  the  other  Indians  or  nations  that 
would  actually  join  in  war,  should  they  determine  to  continue 
it;  that  the  Chippewas  would  be  the  most  numerous,  and  were 
generally  on  their  way  to  the  council ;  but  that  war  or  peace 
depended  on  the  conduct  of  the  British  ;  if  they  would  help 
them,  it  would  probably  be  war,  but  if  they  would  not,  it 
would  be  peace  ;  that  the  Indians  would  no  longer  be  set  on 
like  dogs,  by  themselves,  unless  the  British  would  help  them 
to  fight ;  that  the  British  were  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  and 
had  fortified  at  Roche  de  Bout ;  that  there  were  a  great  num- 
ber of  British  soldiers  at  that  place;  that  they  told  the  Indians 
they  were  now  come  to  help  them  to  fight ;  and  if  the  Indians 
would  generally  turn  out  and  join  them,  they  would  advance 


432  Fort  Recovery  Attacked.  1794. 

and  fight  the  American  army ;  that  Blue  Jacket  had  been  sent 
by  the  British  to  the  Chippewas,  and  northern  Indians,  a  con- 
siderable time  since,  to  invite  them,  and  bring  them  to  Roche 
de  Bout,  there  to  join  the  British  and  other  hostile  Indians,  in 
order  to  go  to  war.* 

And  the  conduct  of  the  savages  proved  these  tales  not  to  be 
fables :  on  the  30th  of  June,  Fort  Recovery,  the  advanced 
American  post,  was  assaulted  by  the  Little  Turtle,  at  the 
head  of  one  thousand  to  one  thousand  five  hundred  warriors ; 
and  although  repelled,  the  assailants  rallied  and  returned  to 
the  charge,  and  kept  up  the  attack  through  the  whole  of  that 
day,  and  a  part  of  the  following.  Nor  was  this  assailing  force 
entirely  composed  of  natives ;  General  Wayne,  in  his*  de- 
spatch, says,  his  spies  "  report  a  great  number  of  white  men 
with  the  Indians ;"  and  again  they  insist — 

There  were  a  considerable  number  of  armed  white  men  in 
the  rear,  who  they  frequently  heard  talking  in  our  language, 
and  encouraging  the  savages  to  persevere  in  the  assault ;  that 
their  faces  were  generally  blacked,  except  three  British 
officers,  who  were  dressed  in  scarlet,  and  appeared  to  be  men 
of  great  distinction,  from  being  surrounded  by  a  large  body  of 
white  men  and  Indians,  who  were  very  attentive  to  them. 
These  kept  a  distance  in  the  rear  of  those  that  were  engaged. 

Another  strong  corroborating  fact,  says  General  Wayne, 
that  there  were  British,  or  British  militia,  in  the  assault,  is, 
that  a  number  of  ounce  balls  and  buck  shot  were  lodged  in 
the  block- houses  and  stockades  of  the  fort.  Some  were  de- 
livered at  so  great  a  distance  as  not  to  penetrate,  and  were 
picked  up  at  the  foot  of  the  stockades. 

It  would  also  appear  that  the  British  and  savages  expected 
to  find  the  artillery  that  wrere  lost  on  the  4th  of  November, 
1791,  and  hid  by  the  Indians  in  the  beds  of  old  fallen  timber,  or 
logs,  which  they  turned  over  and  laid  the  cannon  in,  and  then 
turned  the  logs  back  into  their  former  berth.  It  was  in  this 
artful  manner  that  we  generally  found  them  deposited.  The 
hostile  Indians  turned  over  a  great  number  of  logs,  during  the 
assault,  in  search  of  those  cannon,  and  other  plunder,  which 
they  had  probably  hid  in  this  manner,  after  the  action  of  the 
fourth  of  November,  1791. 

I,  therefore,  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  British  and  In- 
dians depended  much  upon  this  artillery  to  assist  in  the  reduc- 
tion of  that  post ;  fortunately,  they  served  in  its  defence. f 

On  the  26th  of  July,  Scott,  with  some   sixteen  hundred 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  489. 
f  American  State  Papers,  v.  488. 


1794.  Wayne's  last  offer  of  Peace.  433 

mounted  men  from  Kentucky,  joined  Wayne  at  Greenville,* 
and  on  the  28th  the  legion  moved  forward.f  On  the  8th  of 
August,  the  army  was  near  the  junction  of  Auglaize  and  Mau- 
mee,  at  Grand  Glaize,  and  proceeded  at  once  to  build  Fort 
Defiance,  where  the  rivers  meet.J  The  Indians  had  hastily 
abandoned  their  towns  upon  hearing  of  the  approach  of  the 
army  from  a  runaway  member  of  the  Quarter  master's  corps, 
who  was  afterwards  taken  at  Pittsburgh.  It  had  been  Wayne's 
plan  to  reach  the  head-quarters  of  the  savages,  Grand  Glaize, 
undiscovered ;  and  in  order  to  do  this,  he  had  caused  two  roads 
to  be  cut,  one  towards  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  (Roche  de  Bout,) 
the  other  to  the  junction  of  the  St.  Mary  and  St.  Joseph,  while 
he  pressed  forward  between  the  two ;  and  this  stratagem,  he 
thinks  would  have  been  successful  but  for  the  deserter  referred 
to.§  While  engaged  upon  Fort  Defiance,  the  American  com- 
mander received  full  and  accurate  accounts  of  the  Indians, 
and  the  aid  they  would  receive  from  the  volunteers  of  Detroit 
and  elsewhere;  he  learned  the  nature  of  the  ground,  and  the 
circumstances  favorable  and  unfavorable;  and  upon  the  whole, 
considering  the  spirit  of  his  troops,  officers  and  men,  regulars 
and  volunteers,  he  determined  to  march  forward  and  settle 
matters  at  once.  But  yet,  true  to  the  last,  to  the  spirit  of  com- 
promise and  peace,  so  forcibly  taught  by  Washington,  on  the 
13th  of  August  he  sent  Christopher  Miller,  who  had  been  nat- 
uralized among  the  Shawanese,  and  had  been  taken  prisoner 
on  the  llth,  by  Wayne's  spies,  as  a  special  messenger,  offering 
terms  of  friendship  in  these  words  : 

To  the  Delawares,  Shawanese,  Miamics,  and  Wyandots,  and  to 
each,  and  every  of  them,  and  to  all  other  nations  of  Indians, 
north-west  of  the  Ohio,  whom  it  may  concern : 

I,  Anthony  Wayne,  Major  General  and  Commander-in- 
chief  of  the  federal  army  now  at  Grand  Glaize,  and  commis- 
sioner plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  of  America,  for 
settling  the  terms  upon  which  a  permanent  and  lasting  peace 
shall  be  made  with  each  and  every  of  the  hostile  tribes,  or 
nations  of  Indians  north-west  of  the  Ohio,  and  of  the  said 
United  States,  actuated  by  the  purest  principles  of  humanity, 
and  urged  by  pity  for  the  errors  into  which  bad  and  designing 

*  Marshall,  ii.  136. 

f  American  Pioneer,  i.  315,  Daily  Journal  of  Wayne's  army. 

J  See  American  Pioneer,  ii.  387,  for  plan  and  account  of  Fort  Defiance. 

$  Wayne's  letter  of  August  14th.    (American  State  Papers,  v.  490.) 


434  Wayne  Marches  down  the  Maumce.  1794. 

men  have  led  you,  from  the  head  of  my  army,  now  in  pos- 
session of  your  abandoned  villages  and  settlements,  do  here- 
by once  more  extend  the  friendly  hand  of  peace  towards  you, 
and  invite  each  and  every  of  the  hostile  tribe  of  Indians  to 
appoint  deputies  to  meet  me  and  my  army,  without  delay, 
between  this  place  and  Roche  de  Bout,  in  order  to  settle  the 
preliminaries  of  a  lasting  peace,  which  may  eventually  and 
soon  restore  to  you,  the  Delawares,  Miamies,  Shawanese,  and 
all  other  tribes  and  nations  lately  settled  at  this  place,  and  on 
the  margins  of  the  Miami  and  Auglaize  rivers,  your  late 
grounds  and  possessions,  and  to  preserve  you  and  your  dis- 
tressed and  hapless  women  and  children  from  danger  and 
famine,  during  the  present  fall  and  ensuing  winter. 

The  arm  of  the  United  States  is  strong  and  powerful,  but 
they  love  mercy  and  kindness  more  than  war  and  desolation. 

And,  to  remove  any  doubts  or  apprehensions  of  danger  to 
the  persons  of  the  deputies  whom  you  may  appoint  to  meet 
this  army,  I  hereby  pledge  my  sacred  honor  for  their  safety 
and  return,  and  send  Christopher  Miller,  an  adopted  Shawa- 
nee,  and  aShavvanee  warrior,  whom  I  took  prisoner  two  days 
ago,  as  a  flag,  who  will  advance  in  their  front  to  meet  me. 

Mr.  Miller  was  taken  prisoner  by  a  party  of  my  warriors, 
six  moons  since,  and  can  testify  to  you  the  kindness  which  I 
have  shown  to  your  people,  my  prisoners,  that  is,  five  war- 
riors and  two  women,  who  are  now  all  safe  and  well  at 
Greenville. 

But,  should  this. invitation  be  disregarded,  and  my  flag,  Mr. 
Miller,  be  detained,  or  injured,  I  will  immediately  order  all 
those  prisoners  to  be  put  to  death,  without  distinction,  and 
some  of  them  are  known  to  belong  to  the  first  families  of 
your  nation. 

Brothers  : — Be  no  longer  deceived  or  led  astray  by  the  false 
promises  and  language  of  the  bad  white  men  at  the  foot  of 
the  Rapids  ;  they  have  neither  power  nor  inclination  to  pro- 
tect you.  No  longer  shut  your  eyes  to  your  true  interest  and 
happiness,  nor  your  ears  to  this  overture  of  peace.  But,  in 
pity  to  your  innocent  women  and  children,  come  and  prevent 
the  further  effusion  of  your  blood ;  let  them  experience  the 
kindness  and  friendship  of  the  United  States  of  America,  and 
the  invaluable  blessings  of  peace  and  tranquility.* 

ANTHONY  WAYNE. 

Grand  Glaize,  August  13th,  1794. 

Unwilling  to  waste  time,  the  troops  moved  forward  on  the 
15th,  and  on  the  16th  met  Miller  returning,  with  the  message, 
that  if  the  Americans  would  wait  ten  days  at  Grand  Glaize, 

•American  State  Paper*,  v.  490. 


1794.  Wayne's  Battle.  435 

they  (the  Indians)  would  decide  for  peace  or  war;*  which 
Wayne  replied  to  only  by  marching  straight  on.  On  the  18th, 
the  legion  had  advanced  forty-one  miles  from  Grand  Glaize, 
and  being  near  the  long-looked  for  foe,  began  to  throw  up 
some  light  works  called  Fort  Deposite,  wherein  to  place  the 
heavy  baggage  during  the  expected  battle.  On  that  day, 
five  of  Wayne's  spies,  among  whom  was  May,  the  man  who 
had  been  sent  after  Trueman  and  had  pretended  to  desert  to 
the  Indians,  rode  into  the  very  camp  of  the  enemy  ;  in  at- 
tempting to  retreat  again,  May's  horse  fell  and  he  was  ta- 
ken. The  next  day,  the  day  before  the  battle,  he  was  tied  to 
a  tree  and  shot  at  as  a  target.f  During  the  19th,  the  army 
still  labored  on  their  works  :  on  the  20th,  at  seven  or  eight 
o'clock,  all  baggage  having  been  left  behind,  the  white  forces 
moved  down  the  north  bank  of  the  Maumee — 

The  legion  on  the  right,  its  flank  covered  by  the  Maumee ; 
one  brigade  of  mounted  volunteers  on  the  left,  under  Briga- 
dier General  Todd,  and  the  other  in  the  rear  under  Brigadier 
General  Barbee.  A  select  battalion  of  mounted  volunteers 
moved  in  front  of  the  Legion,  commanded  by  Major  Price, 
who  was  directed  to  keep  sufficiently  advanced,  so  as  to  give 
timely  notice  for  the  troops  to  form  in  case  of  action,  it 
being  yet  undetermined  whether  the  Indians  would  decide 
for  peace  or  war. 

After  advancing  about  five  miles,  Major  Price's  corps  re- 
ceived so  severe  a  fire  from  the  enemy,  who  were  secreted 
in  the  woods  and  high  grass,  as  to  compel  them  to  retreat. 
The  legion  was  immediately  formed  in  two  lines,  principally 
in  a  close  thick  wood,  which  extended  for  miles  on  our  left, 
and  for  a  very  considerable  distance  in  front ;  the  ground  being 
covered  with  old  fallen  timber,  probably  occasioned  by  a  tor- 
nado, which  rendered  it  impracticable  for  the  cavalry  to  act 
with  effect,  and  afforded  the  enemy  the  most  favorable  covert 
for  their  mode  of  warfare.  The  savages  were  formed  in  three 
lines,  within  supporting  distance  of  each  other,  and  ex- 
tending for  near  two  miles  at  right  angles  with  the  river.  I 
soon  discovered,  from  the  weight  of  the  fire  and  extent  of 
their  lines,  that  the  enemy  were  in  full  force  in  front,  in  pos- 
session of  their  favorite  ground,  and  endeavoring  to  turn  our 
left  flank.  I  therefore  gave  orders  for  the  second  line  to  ad- 
vance and  support  the  first ;  and  directed  Major  General 
Scott  to  gain  and  turn  the  right  flank  of  the  savages,  with  the 
whole  of  the  mounted  volunteers,  by  a  circuitous  route ;  at 

*  American  Pioneer,  i.  317. 

fAmerican  Pioneer,  i.  52,  318. — American  State  Papers,  v.  243.     «  ;,'<; 


436  Wayne's  Battle.  1794. 

the  same  time  I  ordered  the  front  line  to  advance  and  charge 
with  trailed  arms,  and  rouse  the  Indians  from  their  coverts  at 
the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  when  up  to  deliver  a  close  and 
well-directed  fire  on  their  backs,  followed  by  a  brisk  charge, 
so  as  not  to  give  them  time  to  load  again. 

I  also  ordered  Captain  Campbell,  who  commanded  the  le- 
gionary cavalry,  to  turn  the  left  flank  of  the  enemy  next  the 
river,  and  which  afforded  a  favorable  field  for  that  corps  to 
act  in.  All  these  orders  were  obeyed  with  spirit  and  prompti- 
tude ;  but  such  was  the  impetuosity  of  the  charge  by  the  first 
line  of  infantry,  that  the  Indians  and  Canadian  militia  and 
volunteers,  were  drove  from  all  their  coverts  in  so  short  a 
time,  that  although  every  possible  exertion  was  used  by  the 
officers  of  the  second  line  of  the  legion,  and  by  Generals 
Scott,  Todd,  and  Barbee,  of  the  mounted  volunteers,  to  gain 
their  proper  positions,  but  part  of  each  could  get  up  in  sea- 
son to  participate  in  the  action  ;  the  enemy  being  drove  in 
the  course  of  one  hour,  more  than  two  miles,  through  the  thick 
woods  already  mentioned,  by  less  than  one  half  their  number. 
From  every  account  the  enemy  amounted  to  two  thousand 
combatants.  The  troops  actually  engaged  against  them  were 
short  of  nine  hundred.  This  horde  of  savages,  with  their  al- 
lies, abandoned  themselves  to  flight,  and  dispersed  with  terror 
and  dismay,  leaving  our  victorious  army  in  full  and  quiet 
possession  of  the  field  of  battle,  which  terminated  under  the 
influence  of  the  gans  of  the  British  garrison,  as  you  will  ob- 
serve by  the  enclosed  correspondence  between  Major  Camp- 
bell, the  commandant,  and  myself,  upon  the  occasion. 

The  bravery  and  conduct  of  every  officer  belonging  to  the 
army,  from  the  Generals  down  to  the  Ensigns,  merit  my  high- 
est approbation.  There  were,  however,  some  whose  rank 
and  situation  placed  their  conduct  in  a  very  conspicuous 
point  of  view,  and  which  I  observed  with  pleasure,  and  the 
most  lively  gratitude.  Among  whom,  I  must  beg  leave  to 
mention  Brigadier  General  Wilkinson,  and  Colonel  Ham- 
tramck,  the  commandants  of  the  right  and  left  wings  of  the 
legion,  whose  brave  example  inspired  the  troops.  To  those  I 
must  add  the  names  of  my  faithful  and  gallant  aids-de-camp, 
Captains  De  Butt  and  T.  Lewis,  and  Lieutenant  Harrison, 
who,  with  the  Adjutant  General,  Major  Mills,  rendered  the 
most  essential  service  by  communicating  my  orders  in  every 
direction,  and  by  their  conduct  and  bravery  exciting  the  troops 
to  press  for  victory.  *  *  * 

Enclosed  is  a  particular  return  of  the  killed  and  wounded. 
The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  more  than  that  of  the  Federal 
army.  The  woods  were  strewed  for  a  considerable  distance 
with  the  dead  bodies  of  Indians,  and  their  white  auxiliaries, 
the  latter  armed  with  British  muskets  and  bayonets. 

We  remained  three  days  and  nights  on  the  banks  of  the 


1794.  Wayne's  Battle.  437 

Maumee,  in  front  of  the  field  of  battle,  during  which  time 
all  the  houses  and  cornfields  were  consumed  and  destroyed 
for  a  considerable  distance  both  above  and  below  Fort  Miami, 
as  well  as  within  pistol  shot  of  the  garrison,  who  were  com- 
pelled to  remain  tacit  spectators  to  this  general  devastation 
a"nd  conflagration,  among  which  were  the  houses,  stores  and 
property  of  Col.  McKee,  the  British  Indian  agent,  and  princi- 
pal stimulator  of  the  war  now  existing  between  the  United 
States  and  the  savages. 

The  army  returned  to  this  place  (Fort  Defiance)  on  the 
27th,  by  easy  marches,  laying  waste  the  villages  and  corn- 
fields for  about  fifty  miles  on  each  side  of  the  Maumee. 
There  remains  yet  a  great  number  of  villages  and  a  great 
quantity  of  corn,  to  be  consumed  or  destroyed,  upon  the  Au- 
glaize  and  the  Maumee  above  this  place,  which  will  be  effected 
in  the  course  of  a  few  days.* 

The  loss  of  the  Americans  in  this  action  was  thirty-three 
killed  and  one  hundred  wounded,  including  twenty-one  offi- 
cers, of  whom,  however,  but  five  were  killed. 

The  army  remained  at  Fort  Defiance,  busily  engaged  in 
strengthening  the  works,  until  September  14th,  when  it 
marched  for  the  Miami  villages  at  the  junction  of  the  St.  Jo- 
seph and  the  St.  Mary,  to  build  the  fortress  called  Fort  Wayne, 
which,  when  completed  on  the  22d  of  October,  was  named  by 
Colonel  Hamtramck,  who  was  placed  in  command.  During 
this  time  the  troops  suffered  much  from  sickness,  and  also  from 
want  of  flour  and  salt;  the  latter  article  sold  on  the  24th  of 
September,  for  six  dollars  a  pint.*  On  the  28th  of  October 
the  Legion  began  its  return  march  to  Greenville,  the  volun- 
teers, who  had  become  dissatisfied  and  troublesome,  having 
been  dispatched  to  that  post  for  dismissal  on  the  12th  of  that 
month.  During  this  time,  (on  the  llth  or  13th)  a  brother  of 
the  Canadian  taken  in  the  action  of  August  20th,  came  to 
General  Wayne  with  three  Americans  whom  he  had  bought 
from  the  Indians,  to  exchange  for  his  captive  relation  :  the 
exchange  was  agreed  to,  and  the  messenger  induced  to  make 
the  following  statement : 

Governor  Simcoe,  Colonel  M'Kee,  and  Captain  Brant,  ar- 
rived at  Fort  Miami,  at  the  foot  of  the  Rapids,  on  the  30th 
ultimo,  (September;)  Brant  had  with  him  one  hundred  Indians, 
Mohawks  and  Messasagoes. 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  491. — See  the  English  account  of  the  battle  in  Weld's  Tra- 
vels, ii.  211. 
f  American  Pioneer,  i.  354. 


438  Conduct  of  the  British  after  the  Battle.  1794. 

Governor  Simcoe  sent  for  the  chiefs  of  the  different  hostile 
Indians,  and  invited  them  to  meet  him  at  the  mouth  of  De- 
troit river,  eighteen  miles  below  Detroit,  to  hold  a  treaty  ; 
Simcoe,  Colonel  McKee,  and  Captain  Brant,  together  with 
Blue  Jacket,  Backongeles,  the  Little  Turtle,  Captain  Johnny, 
and  other  chiefs  of  the  Delawares,  Miamies,  Shawanese,  Ta- 
was,  and  Pottawatomies,  set  out  accordingly,  for  the  place 
assigned  for  the  treaty,  about  the  1st  instant :  the  Indians  are 
well  and  regularly  supplied  with  provisions  from  the  British 
magazines,  at  a  place  called  Swan  Creek,  near  Lake  Erie. 

Previously  to  the  arrival  of  Governor  Simcoe,  Blue  Jack- 
et, the  Shawanese  chiefs,  two  of  the  principal  chief  of  the  Ta- 
was,  and  the  principal  chiefs  of  the  Pottawatomies,  had 

agreed  to  accompany  him,  the  said ,  with  a  flag  to  this 

place. 

Blue  Jacket  informed  him,  after  the  arrival  of  Simcoe,  he 
would  not  now  go  with  him,  until  after  the  intended 
treaty  ;  but  that  his  wishes,  at  present,  were  for  peace ;  that 
he  did  not  know  what  propositions  Governor  Simcoe  had  to 
make  them,  but  that  he  and  all  the  chiefs  would  go  and  hear; 

and,  in  the  interim,  desired  him,  the  said ,  to  inquire  of 

General  Wayne  in  what  manner  the  chiefs  should  come  to 
him,  and  whether  they  would  be  safe,  in  case  they  should  de- 
termine on  the  measure,  after  the  treaty  with  Simcoe,  and 

after  the  said should  return  to    Detroit :  had  it  not 

been  for  the  arrival  of  Governor  Simcoe,  Colonel  McKee,  and 
Captain  Brant,  with  his  Indians,  he  is  confident  the  chiefs, 
already  mentioned,  would  have  accompanied  him  to  this 
place,  at  this  time,  as  before  related.* 

This  communication  was  further  confirmed  by  statements 
from  the  Wyandots,  some  of  whom  were  in  the  American  in- 
terest.f  Indeed  it  appeared  afterwards  that  on  the  10th  of 
October  the  Indians  met  the  British  at  the  Big  Rock,  and 
were  advised  that  their  griefs  would  be  laid  before  the  King  ; 
and  in  connection  with  this,  as  General  Wayne  learned  from 
the  friendly  Wyandots, — 

Governor  Simcoe  insisted,  that  the  Indians  should  not  listen 
to  any  terms  of  peace  from  the  Americans,  but  to  propose  a 
truce,  or  suspension  of  hostilities,  until  the.  spring,  when  a 
grand  council  and  assemblage  of  all  the  wrarriors  and  tribes 
of  Indians  should  take  place,  for  the  purpose  of  compelling 
the  Americans  to  cross  to  the  east  side  of  the  Ohio ;  and  in 
the  interim,  advised  every  nation  to  sign  a  deed  or  convey- 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  526. 
t  American  State  Papers,  v.  548,  527. 


1794.  Conduct  of  the  British  after  the  Battle.  439 

ance  of  all  their  lands,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Ohio,  to  the 
King,  in  trust  for  the  Indians,  so  as  to  give  the  British  a  pre- 
text or  color  for  assisting  them,  in  case  the  Americans  refused 
to  abandon  all  their  posts  and  possessions  on  the  west  side  of 
that  river;  and  which  the  Indians  should  warn  them  to  do, 
immediately  after  they,  the  Indians,  were  assembled  in  force 
in  the  spring,  and  to  call  upon  the  British  to  guaranty  the 
lands  thus  ceded  in  trust,  and  to  make  a  general  attack  upon 
the  frontiers  at  the  same  time  :  that  the  British  would  be  pre- 
pared to  attack  the  Americans,  also,  in  every  quarter,  and 
would  compel  them,  to  cross  the  Ohio,  and  to  give  up  the  lands 
to  the  Indians. 

Captain  Brant  also  told  them,  to  keep  a  good  heart,  and  be 
strong;  to  do  as  their  father  advised  ;  that  he  would  return  home, 
for  the  present,  with  his  warriors,  and  come  again  early  in  the 
spring,  with  an  additional  number,  so  as  to  have  the  whole 
summer  before  them,  to  fight,  kill,  and  pursue  the  Americans, 
who  could  not  possibly  stand  against  the  force  and  numbers 
that  would  be  opposed  to  them  ;  that  he  had  been  always 
successful,  and  would  insure  them  victory.  But  that  he  would 
not  attack  the  Americans  at  this  time,  as  it  Would  only  put 
them  upon  their  guard,  and  bring  them  upon  the  Indians  in 
this  quarter,  during  the  winter ;  therefore  he  advised  them  to 
amuse  the  Americans  with  a  prospect  of  peace,  until  they 
should  collect  in  force  to  fall  upon  them  early  in  the  spring, 
and  when  least  expected. 

That,  agreeably  to  this  plan  or  advice,  the  real  hostile  tribes 
will  be  sending  flags  frequently  during  the  winter,  with  pro- 
positions of  peace,  but  this  is  all  fraud  and  art,  to  put  the 
Americans  off  their  guard. 

The  British  made  large  presents  to  the  Indians  at  the  late 
council,  and  continued  to  furnish  them  with  provision  from 
Colonel  McKee's  new  stores,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Miamies 
of  Lake  Erie,  where  all  the  Indians  are  hutted  or  in  tents, 
whose  towns  and  property  were  destroyed  last  summer,  and 
who  will  sign  away  their  lands,  and  do  exactly  what  the  British 
request  them  ;  this  was  the  general  prevailing  opinion  at  the 
breaking  up  of  the  council ;  since  which  period,  the  message 
and  propositions  of  the  5th  November,  addressed  to  the  differ- 
ent tribes  of  Indians  proposing  the  treaty  of  the  9th  of  Janu- 
ary, 1789,  held  at  the  mouth  of  Muskingum,  as  a  preliminary 
upon  which  a  permanent  peace  should  be  established,  has 
been  communicated  to  them  ;  upon  which,  a  considerable  num- 
ber of  the  chiefs  of  several  of  the  tribes  assembled  again,  and 
were  determined  to  come  forward  to  treat,  say  about  the  first  of 
this  moon.  But  Colonel  McKee  was  informed  of  it,  and 
advised  them  against  the  measure,  and  to  be  faithful  to  their 
father,  as  they  had  promised.  He  then  made  them  additional 


440  The  Indians  seek  Peace.  1794- 

presents,  far  beyond  any  thing  that  they  had  ever  heretofore 
received,  which  inclined  a  majority  to  adhere  to  Governor 
Simcoe's  propositions,  and  they  returned  home  accordingly. 

That,  notwithstanding  this,  the  chiefs  and  nations  are  much 
divided,  some  for  peace,  and  some  for  war;  the  Wyandots  of 
Sandusky  are  for  peace  ;  those  near  Detroit  for  war ;  the  Dela- 
wares  are  equally  divided,  so  are  the  Miamies,  but  are  de- 
pendent upon  the  British  for  provision ;  the  Shawanese  and 
Tawas  are  for  war;  the  Pottawatomies  and  Chippewas  are 
gone  home,  sore  from  the  late  action. 

That  such  of  the  chiefs  and  warriors  as  are  inclined  for 
peace,  will  call  a  council,  and  endeavor  to  bring  it  about, 
upon  the  terms  proposed,  as  they  wish  to  hold  their  lands  un- 
der the  Americans,  and  not  under  the  British,  whose  title  they 
do  not  like.* 

t.'jiVf   ,\l\'.Mu'. 

News  also  came  from  the  West  that  the  Indians  were  cross- 
ing the  Mississippi  ;  in  New  York,  on  the  llth  of  November, 
Pickering  made  a  new  treaty  with  the  Iroquois ;  while  in  the 
north  fewer  and  fewer  of  the  savages  lurked  about  Forts  De- 
fiance and  Wayne.  Nor  was  it  long  before  the  wish  of  the 
>^  natives  to  make  peace  became  still  more  apparent;  on  the 
28th  and  29th  of  December,  the  Chiefs  of  the  Chippewas, 
Ottowas,  Sacs,  Pottawatomies,  and  Miamies,  came  with  peace 
messages  to  Col.  Hamtramck,f  at  Fort  Wayne,  and  on  the 
24th  of  January,  1795,  at  Greenville,  entered,  together  with 
the  Delawares,  Wyandots,  and  Shawanese,  into  preliminary 
articles  with  the  Commander-in-chief.  The  truth  was,  the 
red  men  had  been  entirely  disappointed  in  the  conduct  of 
their  white  allies  after  the  action  of  the  20th  of  August ;  as 
Brant  said,  "a  fort  had  been  built  in  their  country  under  pre- 
tence of  giving  refuge  in  case  of  necessity,  but  when  that 
time  came,  the  gates  were  shut  against  them  as  enemies."J 
jfDuring  the  winter,  Wayne  having  utterly  laid  waste  their  fer- 
tile fields,  the  poor  savages  were  wholly  dependent  on  the 
English  who  did  not  half  supply  them  ;  their  cattle  and  dogs 
died,  and  they  were  themselves  nearly  starved.!  Under  these 
circumstances,  losing  faith  in  the  English,  and  at  last  impress- 
ed with  a  respect  for  American  power  after  the  parnage  ex- 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  548,  550,  559,  566,  567. 

•("See  his  letters  to  Wayne. — American  Pioneer,  ii.  389  to  392. 

%  Stone's  Brant,  ii.  390.  Several  Mohawks  wore  probably  engaged  in  the  battle  Of 
August  20th,  and  Brant  -would  have  been  with  them  bul  for  sickness. — [Stone  ii.  390^ 
note.] 


1794.  The  Indians  Seek  Peace.  441 

perienced  at  the  hands  of  the  "Black  Snake,"  the  various  tribes, 
by  degrees,  made  up  their  minds  to  ask  for  peace  ;  during  the 
winter  and  spring  they  exchanged  prisoners,  and  made  ready 
to  meet  Gen.  Wayne  at  Greenville,  in  June,  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  definite  treaty,  as  it  had  been  agreed  should  be 
done  by  the  preliminaries  of  January  24th.  One  scene  among 
the  many  of  that  time  seems  deserving  of  a  transfer  to  our 
pages ;  it  is  from  the  narrative  of  John  Brickell,  who  had  been 
a  captive  for  four  years  among  the  Delawares,  and  adopted 
into  the  family  of  Whingwy  Pooshies,  or  Big  Cat,  a  noted  war- 
rior of  that  tribe.* 

On  the  breaking  up  of  spring,  Brickell  says,  we  all  w6nt  up 
to  Fort  Defiance,  and,  on  arriving  on  the  shore  opposite,  we 
saluted  the  fort  with  around  of  rifles,  and  they  shot  a  cannon 
thirteen  times.  We  then  encamped  on  the  spot.  On  the  same 
day,  Whingwy  Pooshies  told  me  I  must  go  over  to  the  fort. 
The  children  hung  round  me  crying,  and  asked  me  if  I  was 
going  to  leave  them  ?  I  told  them  I  did  not  know.  When  we 
got  over  to  the  fort,  and  were  seated  with  the  officers,  Whing- 
wy Pooshies  told  me  to  stand  up,  which  I  did;  he  then  rose 
and  addressed  me  in  about  these  words:  "My  son,  there  are 
men  the  same  color  with  yourself.  There  may  be  some  of 
your  kin  there,  or  your  kin  may  be  a  great  way  off  from  you. 
You  have  lived  along  time  with  us.  I  call  on  you  to  say  if  I 
have  not  been  a  father  to  you  ?  If  I  have  not  used  you  as  a 
father  would  use  a  son?"  I  said,  "You  have  used  me  as  well 
as  a  father  could  use  a  son."  He  said,  "I  am  glad  you  say  so. 
You  have  lived  long  with  me ;  you  have  hunted  for  me  ;  but 
our  treaty  says  you  must  be  free.  If  you  choose  to  go  with 
the  people  of  your  own  color,  I  have  no  right  to  say  a  word ; 
but  if  you  choose  to  stay  with  me,  your  people  have  no  right 
to  speak.  Now  reflect  on  it,  and  take  your  choice,  and  tell  us 
as  soon  as  you  make  up  your  mind." 

I  was  silent  a  few  minutes,  in  which  time  it  seemed  as  if  I 
almost  thought  of  every  thing.  I  thought  of  the  children  I 
had  just  left  crying;  I  thought  of  the  Indians  I  was  attached 
to,  and  I  thought  of  my  people  which  I  remembered;  and  this 
latter  thought  predominated,  and  I  said,  "I  will  go  with  my 
kin."  The  old  man  then  said,  "I  have  raised  you — 1  have 
learned  you  to  hunt.  You  are  a  good  hunter — you  have  been 
better  to  me  than  my  own  sons.  I  am  now  getting  old,  and  I 
cannot  hunt.  I  thought  you  would  be  a  support  to  my  age. 
I  leaned  on  you  as  a  staff.  Now  it  is  broken — you  are  going 

*  Brickell's  Narrative.  American  Pioneer,  i.  53.  Stone's  Brant,  ii.  389.  American 
State  Papers,  v.  520.  Heckevvekler's  Narrative,  405.  American  Pioneer,  i.  54.  Speech  o£ 
Buckongehelns.  American  State  Paper?,  v.  582. 

28 


442  Narrative  of  John  BrickeU.  1795. 

to  leave  me  and  I  have  no  right  to  say  a  word,  but  I  am  ruin- 
ed." He  then  sank  back  in  tears  to  his  seat.  I  heartily  joined 
him  in  his  tears — parted  with  him,  and  have  never  seen  nor 
heard  of  him  since.* 

During  the  month  of  June,  the  representatives  of  the  north- 
western tribes  began  to  gather  at  Greenville,  and  on  the  16th 
of  that  month,  Wayne  met  in  council,  the  Delawafes,  Otto- 
was,  Pottawatomies,  and  Eel  river  Indians ;  and  the  confer- 
ences, which  lasted  till  August  10th,  commenced.     On  the  21st 
of  June,  Buckongehelas  arrived;  on  the  23d,  the  Little  Turtle 
and   other  Miamies;  on  the  13th  of  July,  Tarke  and  other 
Wyandot  Chiefs  reached  the  appointed  spot ;  and  upon  the 
18th,   Blue   Jacket   with   thirteen    Shawanese,  and    Masass 
with  twenty  Chippewas.    Most  of  these,  as  it  appeared  by  their 
statements,  had  been  tampered  with  by  McKee,  Brant  and 
other  English  Agents,f  even  after  they  had  agreed  to  the  pre- 
liminaries of  January  24th,  and  while    Mr.  Jay's  treaty  was 
still  under  discussion. J     They  had,  however,  all  determined 
to  make  a  permanent  peace  with  the  Thirteen  Fires,  and  al- 
though some  difficulty  as  to  the  ownership  of  the  lands  to  be 
ceded,  at  one  time  seemed  likely  to  arise,  the  good  sense  of 
Wayne  and  of  the  Chiefs  prevented  it,  and  upon  the  30th  of 
July  the  treaty  was  agreed  to  which  was  to  bury  the  hatchet 
forever.     Between  that  day  and  the  3d  of  August  it  was  en- 
grossed, and  having  been  signed  by  the  various  nations  upon 
the  day  last  named,  on  the  7th  was  finally  acted  upon,  and  the 
presents  from  the  United  States  distributed  forthwith.     While 
the  Council  was  in  session,  some  mischief  had  been  done  in 
Virginia  by  a  band  of  Shawanese,  but  on  the  9th  of  Septem- 
ber these  also  came  to  Greenville,  gave  up  their  prisoners,  and 
asked  for  forgiveness. 

The  basis  of  the  treaty  of  Greenville  was  the  previous  one 
made  at  Fort  Harmar,  and  its  leading  provisions  were  as  fol- 
lows: 

ART.  1.     Hostilities  were  to  cease. 

ART.  2.     All  prisoners  were  to  be  restored. 

*  See  American  Pioneer,  i.  54. 

f  See  speeches  of  Blue  Jacket  and  Massass.  [American  State  Papers,  v.  568,]  and  of 
Agooshaway,  an  Ottawa.  [American  State  Papers,  v.  566.] 

%  Jay  reached  England  June  15,  1794;  his  treaty  was  concluded  XOT.  19th;  it  was  re- 
ceived by  the  President  March  7,  1795;  was  submitted  to  the  Senate  June  8:  was  agreed 
to  by  them  on  the  24th  of  that  month;  and  ratified  by  the  President  Aug.  14th. 


1795.  Treaty  of  Greenville.  443 

ART.  3.  The  general  boundary  lines  between  the  lands  of 
the  United  States  and  the  lands  of  the  said  Indian  tribes,  shall 
begin  at  the  mouth  of  Cuyahoga  river,  and  run  thence  up  the 
same  to  the  portage  between  that  and  the  Tuscarawas  branch 
of  the  Muskingum ;  thence  down  that  branch  to  the  crossing 
place  above  Fort  Lawrence ;  thence  westwardly,  to  a  fork  of 
that  branch  of  the  Great  Miami  river,  running  into  the  Ohio, 
at  or  near  which  fork  stood  Loramie's  store,  and  where  com- 
mences the  portage  between  the  Miami  of  the  Ohio  and  St. 
Mary's  river,  which  is  a  branch  of  the  Miami  which  runs  into 
Lake  Erie;  thence  a  westerly  course,  to  Fort  Recovery,  which 
stands  on  a  branch  of  the  Wabash  ;  thence  southwesterly,  in 
a  direct  line  to  the  Ohio,  so  as  to  intersect  that  river  opposite 
the  mouth  of  Kentucky  or  Cuttawa  river.  And  in  considera- 
tion of  the  peace  now  established  ;  of  the  goods  formerly  re- 
ceived from  the  United  States  ;  of  those  now  to  be  delivered  ; 
and  of  the  yearly  delivery  of  goods  now  stipulated  to  be  made 
hereafter;  and  to  indemnify  the  United  States  for  the  injuries 
and  expenses  they  have  sustained  during  the  war ;  the  said 
Indian  tribes  do" hereby  cede  and  relinquish,  forever,  all  their 
claims  to  the  lands  lying  eastwardly  and  southwardly  of  the 
general  boundary  line  now  described  ;  and  these  lands,  or  any 
part  of  them,  shall  never  hereafter  be  made  a  cause  or  pre- 
tence, on  the  part  of  the  said  tribes,  or  any  of  them,  of  war  or 
injury  to  the  United  States,  or  any  other  people  thereof. 

And  for  the  same  consideration,  and  as  an  evidence  of  the 
returning  friendship  of  the  said  Indian  tribes,  of  their  confi- 
dence in  the  United  States,  and  desire  to  provide  for  their  ac- 
commodation, and  for  that  convenient  intercourse  which  will 
be  beneficial  to  both  parties,  the  said  Indian  tribes  do  also 
cede  to  the  United  States  the  following  pieces  of  land,  to  wit : 
1.  One  piece  of  land  six  miles  square,  at  or  near  Laromie's 
store,  before  mentioned.  2.  One  piece,  two  miles  square,  at 
the  head  of  the  navigable  water  or  landing,  on  the  St.  Mary's 
river,  near  Girty's  town.  3.  One  piece,  six  miles  square,  at 
the  head  of  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Auglaize  river.  4. 
One  piece,  six  miles  square,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Anglaize 
and  Miami  river,  where  Fort  Defiance  now  stands.  5.  One 
piece,  six  miles  square,  at  or  near  the  confluence  of  the  rivers 
St.  Marys  and  St.  Joseph's,  where  Fort  Wayne  now  stands,  or 
near  it.  6.  One  piece,  two  miles  square,  on  the  Wabash  river, 
at  the  end  of  the  portage  from  the  Miami  of  the  lake,  and 
about  eight  miles  westward  from  Fort  Wayne.  7.  One  piece, 
six  miles  square,  at  the  Ouatanon,  or  old  Wea  towns,  on  the 
Wabash  river.  8.  One  piece,  twelve  miles  square,  at  the 
British  fort  on  the  Miami  of  the  lake,  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids. 
9.  One  piece,  six  miles  square,  at  the  mouth  of  the  said  river, 
where  it  empties  into  the  lake.  10.  One  piece,  six  miles 
square,  upon  Sandusky  lake,  where  a  fort  formerly  stood.  11. 


444  Treaty  of  Greenville.  1795. 

One  piece,  two  miles  square,  at-the  lower  rapids  of  Sandusky 
river.  12.  The  post  of  Detroit,  and  all  the  lands  to  the  north, 
the  west,  and  the  south  of  it,  of  which  the  Indian  title  has  been 
extinguished  by  gifts  or  grants  to  the  French  or  English  gov- 
ernments :  and  so  much  more  land  to  be  annexed  to  the  Dis- 
trict of  Detroit,  as  shall  be  comprehended  between  the  river 
Rosine  on  the  south,  and  lake  St.  Clair  on  the  north,  and  a 
line,  the  general  course  whereof  shall  be  six  miles  distant 
from  the  west  end  of  lake  Erie  and  Detroit  river.  13.  The 
post  of  Michillimackinac,  and  all  the  land  on  the  Island  on 
which  that  post  stands,  and  the  main  land  adjacent,  of  which 
the  Indian  title  has  been  extinguished  by  gifts  or  grants  to  the 
French  or  English  governments ;  and  a  piece  of  land  on  the 
Main  to  the  north  of  the  Island,  to  measure  six  miles,  on  lake 
Huron,  or  the  Strait  between  lakes  Huron  and  Michigan,  and 
to  extend  three  miles  back  from  the  water  on  the  lake  or 
Strait ;  and  also,  the  Island  de  Bois  Blanc,  being  an  extra  and 
voluntary  gift  of  the  Chippewa  nation.  14.  One  piece  of 
land,  six  miles  square,  at  the  mouth  of  Chicago  river,  empty- 
ing into  the  south-west  end  of  lake  Michigan,  where  a  fort 
formerly  stood.  15.  One  piece,  twelve  miles  square,  at  or 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river,  emptying  into  the  Missis- 
sippi. 16.  One  piece,  six  miles  square,  at  the  old  Peorias  fort 
and  village,  near  the  south  end  of  the  Illinois  lake,  on  said 
Illinois  river.  And  whenever  the  United  States  shall  think 
proper  to  survey  and  mark  the  boundaries  of  the  lands  hereby 
ceded  to  them,  they  shall  give  timely  notice  thereof  to  the  said 
tribes  of  Indians,  that  they  may  appoint  some  of  their  wise 
chiefs  to  attend  and  see  that  the  lines  are  run  according  to  the 
terms  of  this  treaty. 

And  the  said  Indian  tribes  will  allow  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  a  free  passage,  by  land  and  by  water,  as  one 
and  the  other  shall  be  found  convenient,  through  their  country, 
along  the  chain  of  posts  herein  before  mentioned;  that  is  to 
say:  from  the  commencement  of  the  portage  aforesaid,  at  or 
near  Loramie's  store,  thence,  along  said  portage,  to  the  St. 
Mary's,  and  down  the  same  to  Fort  Wayne,  and  then  down 
the  Miami  to  Lake  Erie;  again,  from  the  commencement  of  the 
portage,  at  or  near  Loramie's  store,  along  the  portage,  from 
thence  to  the  river  Auglaize,  and  down  the  same  to  its  junc- 
tion with  the  Miami  at  Fort  Defiance;  again,  from  the  com- 
mencement of  the  portage  aforesaid,  to  Sandusky  river,  and 
down  the  same  to  Sandusky  bay,  and  Lake  Erie,  and  from 
Sandusky  to  the  post  which  shall  be  taken  at  or  near  the  foot 
of  the  rapids  of  the  Miami  of  the  lake  ;  and  from  thence  to 
Detroit.  Again,  from  the  mouth  of  Chicago,  to  the  commence- 
ment of  the  portage  between  that  river  and  the  Illinois,  and 
down  the  Illinois  river  to  the  Mississippi;  also,  from  Fort 
Wayne,  along  the  portage  aforesaid,  which  leads  to  the  Wa- 


1795.  Treaty  of  Greenville.  445 

bash,  and  then  down  the  Wabash  to  the  Ohio.  And  the  said 
Indian  tribes  will  also  allow  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  the  free  use  of  the  harbors  and  mouths  of  rivers,  along 
the  lakes  adjoining  the  Indian  lands,  for  sheltering  vessels  and 
boats,  and  liberty  to  land  their  cargoes  when  necessary  for  their 
safety. 

ART.  4.  In  consideration  of  the  peace  now  established,  and 
of  the  cessions  and  relinquishments  of  lands,  made  in  the  pre- 
ceding article,  by  the  said  tribes  of  Indians,  and  to  manifest 
the  liberality  of  the  United  States,  as  the  great  means  of  ren- 
dering this  peace  strong  and  perpetual,  the  United  States  re- 
linquish their  claims  to  all  other  Indian  lands,  northward  of 
the  river  Ohio,  eastward  of  the  Mississippi,  and  westward  and 
southward  of  the  Great  Lakes,  and  the  waters  uniting  them, 
according  to  the  boundary  line  agreed  on  by  the  United  States 
and  the  King  of  Great  Britain,  in  the  treaty  of  peace  made 
between  them  in  the  year  1783.  But  from  this  relinquishment 
by  the  United  States,  the  following  tracts  of  land  are  explicitly 
excepted.  1st.  The  tract  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
acres,  near  the  rapids  of  the  river  Ohio,  which  has  been  as- 
signed to  General  Clark,  for  the  use  of  himself  and  his  war- 
riors. 2d.  The  post  at  St.  Vincennes,  on  the  river  Wabash, 
and  the  lands  adjacent,  of  which  the  Indian  title  has  been  ex- 
tinguished. 3d.  The  lands  at  all  other  places,  in  possession  of 
the  French  people,  and  other  white  settlers  among  them,  of 
which  the  Indian  title  has  been  extinguished,  as  mentioned  in 
the  3d  article;  and  4th.  The  post  of  Fort  Massac,  towards  the 
mouth  of  the  Ohio.  To  which  several  parcels  of  land,  so  ex- 
cepted, the  said  tribes  relinquish  all  the  title  and  claim,  which 
they  or  any  of  them  may  have. 

And,  for  the  same  considerations,  and  with  the  same  views 
as  above  mentioned,  the  United  States  now  deliver  to  the  said 
Indian  tribes,  a  quantity  of  goods  to  the  value  of  twenty  thou- 
sand dollars,  the  receipt  whereof  they  do  hereby  acknowledge; 
and  henceforward,  every  year,  for  ever,  the  United  States  will 
deliver,  at  some  convenient  place,  northward  of  the  river  Ohio, 
like  useful  goods,  suited  to  the  circumstances  of  the  Indians, 
of  the  value  of  nine  thousand  five  hundred  dollars;  reckoning 
that  value  at  the  first  cost  of  the  goods  in  the  city  or  place  in 
the  United  States,  where  they  shall  be  procured.  The  tribes 
to  which  those  goods  are  to  be  annually  delivered,  and  the  pro- 
portions in  which  they  are  to  be  delivered,  are  the  following : 

1st.  To  the  Wyandots.  the  amount  of  one  thousand  dollars. 
2cl.  To  the  Delawares,  the  amount  of  one  thousand  dollars. 
3d.  To  the  Shawanese,  the  amount  of  one  thousand  dollars. 
4th.  To  the  Miamies,  the  amount  of  one  thousand  dollars. 
5th.  To  the  Ottawas,  the  amount  of  one  thousand  dollars. 
6th.  To  the  Chippewas,  the  amount  of  one  thousand  dollars. 
7th.  To  the  Pottawatimas,  the  amount  of  one  thousand  dollars. 


446  Treaty  of  Greenville.  1795. 

8th.  And  to  the  Kickapoo,  Wea,  Eel  river,  Piankeshaw,  and 
Kaskaskia  tribes,  the  amount  of  five  hundred  dollars  each. 

Provided,  that  if  either  of  the  said  tribes  shall  hereafter,  at 
an  annual  delivery  of  their  share  of  the  goods  aforesaid,  de- 
sire that  a  part  of  their  annuity  should  be  furnished  in  domes- 
tic animals,  implements  of  husbandry,  and  other  utensils,  con- 
venient for  them,  and  in  compensation  to  useful  artificers  who 
may  reside  with  or  near  them,  and  be  employed  for  their  bene- 
fit, the  same  shall,  at  the  subsequent  annual  deliveries,  be  fur- 
nished accordingly. 

ART.  5.  To  prevent  any  misunderstanding,  about  the  In- 
dian lands  relinquished  by  the  United  States,  in  the  fourth  ar- 
ticle, it  is  now  explicitly  declared,  that  the  meaning  of  that 
relinquishment is  this:  the  Indian  tribes  who  have  a  right  to 
these  lands,  are  quietly  to  enjoy  them,  hunting,  planting,  and 
dwelling  thereon,  so  long  as  they  please,  without  any  molesta- 
tion from  the  United  States;  but  when  those  tribes,  or  any  of 
them,  shall  be  disposed  to  sell  their  lands,  or  any  part  of  them, 
they  are  to  be  sold  only  to  the  United  States;  and  until  such 
sale,  the  United  States  will  protect  all  the  said  Indian  tribes, 
in  the  quiet  enjoyment  of  their  lands,  against  all  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  and  against  all  other  white  persons  who  in- 
trude upon  the  same.  And  the  said  Indian  tribes  again  ac- 
knowledge themselves  to  be  under  the  protection  of  the  said 
United  States,  and  no  other  power  whatever.* 

ART.  6th.  The  Indians  or  United  States  may  remove  and 
punish  intruders  on  Indian  lands. 

ART.  7th.  Indians  may  hunt  within  ceded  lands. 

ART.  8th.  Trade  shall  be  opened  in  substance,  as  by  provi- 
sions in  treaty  of  Fort  Harmar. 

ART.  9th.  All  injuries  shall  be  referred  to  law;  not  privately 
avenged  ;  and  all  hostile  plans  known  to  either,  shall  be  re- 
vealed to  the  other  party. 

ART.  10th.  All  previous  treaties  annulled. 

This  great  and  abiding  peace  document,  was  signed  by  the 
various  nations  named  in  the  4th  article,  and  dated  August 
the  3d,  1795.  It  was  laid  before  the  Senate,  December  9th, 
and  ratified  December  22d.  So  closed  the  old  Indian  wars  of 
the  West.f 

*  See  Land  Laws,  p.  154. 

t  See  the  treaty  and  minutes  of  the  council,  American  State  Papers,  v.  562  to  583.    The 
treaty  alone,  Land  Laws  154to~153. 


APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XIII. 

[The  following  documents  are  of  sufficient  importance  to 
require  insertion,  and  yet  they  are  not  exactly  suited  to  the 
body  of  this  work.  Instead  of  a  cumbrous  note  running 
through  several  pages,  we  place  them  in  the  form  of  an  AP- 
PENDIX 

[NUMBER  i.  ] 

Miami  (Maumee)  River,  August  21,  1794. 

SIR  :  An  Army  of  the  United  States  of  America,  said  to 
be  under  your  command,  having  taken  post  on  the  banks 
of  the  Miami,  (Maumee)  for  upwards  of  the  last  twenty- 
four  hours,  almost  within  the  reach  of  the  guns  of  this 
fort,  being  a  post  belonging  to  his  Majesty  the  King  of 
Great  Britain,  occupied  by  His  Majesty's  troops,  and  which  I 
have  the  honor  to  command,  it  becomes  my  duty  to  inform  my- 
self, as  speedily  as  possible,  in  what  light  I  am  to  view  your 
making  such  near  approaches  to  this  garrison.  I  have  no 
hesitation,  on  my  part,  to  say,  that  I  know  of  no  war  existing 
between  Great  Britain  and  America. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  with  great  respect,  your  most 
obedient  and  very  humble  servant, 

WILLIAM  CAMPBELL,  Major  24th  Reg., 
Commanding  a  British  post  on  the  banks  of  the  Miami. 

To  Major  General  Wayne,  &c. 


[NUMBER  n. ] 

Camp  on  the  Bank  of  the  Miami,  (Maumee,) 

August  21,  1794. 
SIR  :  I  have  received  your  letter  of  this  date,  requiring 
from  me  the  motives  which  have  moved  the  army  under  my 
command  to  the  position  they  at  present  occupy,  far  within 
the  acknowledged  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  of  Ameri- 
ca. Without  questioning  the  authority  or  the  propriety,  sir, 
of  your  interrogatory,  I  think  I  may,  without  breach  of  deco- 
rum, observe  to  you,  that  were  you  entitled  to  an  answer,  the 
most  full  and  satisfactory  one  was  announced  to  you  from  the 
muzzles  of  my  small  arms,  yesterday  morning,  in  the  action 
against  the  horde  of  savages  in  the  vicinity  of  your  post, 


448  Appendix.  1794. 

which  terminated  gloriously  to  the  American  arms ;  but,  had 
it  continued  until  the  Indians,  &c.  were  driven  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  post  and  guns  you  mention,  they  would  not 
have  much  impeded  the  progress  of  the  victorious  army  under 
my  command,  as  no  such  post  was  established  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  present  war  between  the  Indians  and  the 
United  States. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  with  great  respect,  your  most 
obedient  and  very  humble  servant, 

ANTHONY  WAYNE,  Major  General, 
And  Commander-in-chief  of  the  Federal  Army. 

To  Major  William  Campbell,  &c. 


[NUMBER  in.] 

*w*«/-~  Fort  Miami,  August  22d,  1794. 

SIR  :  Aftjipugh  your  letter  of  yesterday's  date  fully  authori- 
zes jTle  to  any' act  of  hostility  against  the  army  of  the  United 
States  in  this  neighborhood,  under  your  command,  yet  still 
anxious  to  prevent  that  dreadful  decision  which,  perhaps,  is 
not  intended  to  be  appealed  to  by  either  of  our  countries,  I 
have  forborne,  for  these  two  days  past,  to  resent  those  insults 
you  have  offered  to  the  British  flag  flying  at  this  fort,  by  ap- 
proaching within  pistol  shot  of  my  works,  not  only  singly, 
but  in  numbers,  \yith  arms  in  their  hands.  Neither  is  it  my 
wish  to  wage  war  with  individuals ;  but,  should  you,  after 
this,  continue  to  approach  my  post  in  the  threatening  manner 
you  are  at  this  moment  doing,  my  indispensable  duty  to  my 
king  and  country,  and  the  honor  of  my  profession,  will  oblige 
me  to  have  recourse  to  those  measures,  which  thousands  of 
either  nation  may  hereafter  have  cause  to  regret,  and  which  I 
solemnly  appeal  to  God,  I  have  used  my  utmost  endeavors  to 
arrest. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  with  much  respect,  your  most 
obedient  and  very  humble  servant, 

WILLIAM  CAMPBELL,  Major  24th  Regiment, 

Commanding  at  Fort  Miami. 

Major  General  Wayne,  &c. 


[NUMBER  iv.  ] 

Camp,  Banks  of  the  Miami,  22d  August,  1794. 
SIR  :  In  your  letter  of  the  21st  instant,  you  declare,  "I  have 
no  hesitation,  on  my  part,  to  say,  that  I  know  of  no  war  ex- 
isting between  Great  Britain  and  America."     I,  on  my  part, 
declare  the  same,  and  that  the  only  cause  I  have  to  entertain 


1794.  Appendix.  449 

a  contrary  idea  at  present,  is  the  hostile  act  you  are  now  in 
commission  of,  i.  e.  by  recently  taking  post  far  within  the  well 
known  and  acknowledged  limits  of  the  United  States,  and 
erecting  a  fortification  in  the  heart  of  the  settlements  of  the 
Indian  tribes  now  at  war  with  the  United  States.  This,  sir, 
appears  to  be  an  act  of  the  highest  aggression,  and  destructive 
to  the  peace  and  interest  of  the  Union.  Hence  it  becomes 
my  duty  to  desire,  and  I  do  hereby  desire  and  demand,  in  the 
name  of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  that  you  imme- 
diately desist  from  any  further  act  of  hostility  or  aggression, 
by  forbearing  to  fortify,  and  by  withdrawing  the  troops,  artil- 
lery, and  stores,  under  your  orders  and  direction,  forthwith, 
and  removing  to  the  nearest  post  occupied  by  his  Britannic 
Majesty's  troops  at  the  peace  of  1783,  and  which  you  will  be 
permitted  to  do  unmolested,  by  the  troops  under  my  command. 

I  am,  with  very  great  respect,  sir,  your  most  obedient  and 
very  humble  servant,  ANTHONY  WAYNE. 

Major  William  Campbell,  &c. 


[NUMBER  v.] 
» 

Fort  Miami,  22d  August,  1794. 

SIR  :  I  have  this  moment  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your 
letter  of  this  date ;  in  answer  to  which  I  have  only  to  say, 
that,  being  placed  here  in  command  of  a  British  post,  and 
acting  in  a  military  capacity  only,  I  cannot  enter  into  any 
discussion  either  on  the  right  or  impropriety  of  my  occupying 
my  present  position.  Those  are  matters  that  I  conceive  will 
be  best  left  to  the  ambassadors  of  our  different  nations. 

Having  said  this  much,  permit  me  to  inform  you  that  I  cer- 
tainly will  not  abandon  this  post,  at  the  summons  of  any  pow- 
er whatever,  until  I  receive  orders  for  that  purpose  from  those 
I  have  the  honor  to  serve  under,  or  the  fortune  of  war  should 
oblige  me.  I  must  still  adhere,  sir,  to  the  purport  of  rny 
letter  this  morning,  to  desire  that  your  army,  or  individuals 
belonging  to  it,  will  not  approach  within  reach  of  my  cannon, 
without  expecting  the  consequences  attending  it. 

Although  I  have  said,  in  the  former  part  of  my  letter,  that 
my  situation  here  is  totally  military,  yet,  let  me  add,  sir,  that 
I  am  much  deceived,  if  His  Majesty,  the  King  of  Great  Bri- 
tain, had  not  a  post  on  this  river,  at  and  prior  to  the  period 
you  mention. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  with  the  greatest  respect,  your 
most  obedient  and  very  humble  servant, 

WILLIAM  CAMPBELL,  Major  24th  Regiment, 

Commanding  at  Fort  Miami. 

To  Major  General  Wayne,  &c. 


450  Appendix.  1794. 

[NUMBER    v  I.  ] 
Killed  and  Wounded. 

The  Legion  had  twenty-six  killed,  five  of  them  officers, 
eighty-seven  wounded,  thirteen  of  them  officers ;  the  Ken- 
tucky volunteers  had  seven  killed,  all  privates,  and  thirteen 
wounded,  three  of  whom  were  officers; — of  the  wounded 
eleven  died:  making  in  all  dead  and  wounded,  one  hundred 
and  thirty-three. — American  State  Papers,  v.  492. 

An  eye-witness  (American  Pioneer,  i.  319)  thinks  there 
were  near  five  hundred  Canadians  in  the  battle.  A  Shawa- 
nese  prisoner  taken  August  11,  testifies  thus — 

Question. — What  number  of  warriors  are  at  McKee's,  and 
what  nations  do  they  belong  to? 

Answer. — There  are  six  hundred  who  abandoned  this  place 
on  the  approach  of  the  Army. 

Shawanese,  about         -  -         200,  but  not  more. 

Delawares,       -         -         -         -         -     300 
Miamies,       -  100 

Warriors  of  all  other  tribes,    -         -     100 


Total,  700 

Q,. — What  number  are  expected  to  assemble,  in  addition  to 
those  now  at  the  foot  of  the  Rapids? 

A. — In'all,  about  four  hundred  men,  viz. 
Wy  an  dots,      -  300 

Tawas,  ......       240 


Total,  540 

Q. — What  number  of  white  men  are  to  join  and  when  ? 

A. — Mr.  or  Captain  Elliot  set  out  for  Detroit  six  days  since, 
and  was  to  be  back  yesterday,  with  all  the  militia,  and  an  ad- 
ditional number  of  regular  troops,  which,  with  those  already 
there,  would  amount  to  one  thousand  men.  This  is  the  gene- 
ral conversation  among  the  Indians,  and  Captain  Elliot  pro- 
mised to  bring  that  number.  Colonel  McKee's  son  went  with 
Elliot,  as  also  the  man  who  deserted  from  the  army  on  its 
march. 

One  of  the  Canadians  taken  in  the  battle  gives  the  follow- 
ing estimates  : 

That  the  Delawares  have  about  five  hundred  men,  inclu- 
ding those  who  live  on  both  rivers,  the  White  river,  and  Bean 
creek. 

That  the  Miamies  are  about  two  hundred  warriors,  part  of 
them  live  on  the  St.  Joseph's,  eight  leagues  from  this  place  ; 
that  the  men  were  all  in  the  action,  but  the  women  are  yet  at 
that  place,  or  Piquet's  village ;  that  a  road  leads  from  this 


1794.  Appendix.  451 

place  directly  to  it;  that  the  number  of  warriors  belonging  to 
that  place,  when  altogether,  amounts  to  about  forty. 

That  the  Shawanese  have  about  three  hundred  warriors; 
that  the  Tawas,  on  this  river,  are  two  hundred  and  fifty ; 
that  the  Wyandots  are  about  three  hundred. 

That  those  Indians  were  generally  in  the  action  on  the  20th 
instant,  except  some  hunting  parties.  That  a  reinforcement 
of  regular  troops,  and  two  hundred  militia,  arrived  at  Fort 
Miami  a  few  days  before  the  army  appeared,  that  the  regular 
troops  in  the  fort  amounted  to  two  hundred  and  fifty,  exclu- 
sive of  the  militia. 

That  about  seventy  of  the  militia,  including  Captain  Cald- 
well's  corps,  were  in  the  action.  /That  Colonel  McKee,  Cap- 
tain Elliot,  and  Simon  Girty,  were  in  the  field,  but  at  a  respect- 
ful distance  and  near  the  river) 

That  the  Indians  have  wished  for  peace  for  some  time, 
but  that  Colonel  McKee  always  dissuaded  them  from  it, 
and  stimulated  them  to  continue  the  war. — [American  State 
Papers,  v.  494.]  J 

In  a  letter  of  August  14th,  Wayne  says,  "The  margins  of 
these  beautiful  rivers,  the  Miamies  of  the  Lake  and  Au  Glaize, 
appear  like  one  continued  village  for  a  number  of  mi%les  both 
above  and  below  this  place,  (Grand  Glaize ;)  nor  have  I 
ever  before  beheld  such  immense  fields  of  corn  in  any  part 
of  America  from  Canada  to  Florida."  [American  State  Pa- 
pers, v.  490.] 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

POLITICAL  EVENTS. 

Kentucky  admitted  into  the  Union— French  influence  defeated— Spanish  influ- 
ence from  New  Orleans — A  project  to  dismember  the  Union — Political  parties 
formed — Federal  and  Anti  Federal  views — Whisky  insurrection — Settlements 
in  Ohio — Jay's  treaty. 

During  the  six  years  through  which  the  Indian  wars  of  the 
West  continued,  many  events  took  place  of  local  importance, 
to  which  we  must  now  refer.  And  foremost,  stands  the  admis- 
sion of  Kentucky  into  the  Union.  In  1789,  she  had  requested 
certain  changes  in  the  law  authorizing  separation,  which  had 
been  passed  by  Virginia,  and  these  changes  were  made;  it  be- 
ing requested,  however,  at  the  same  time,  that  a  ninth  Ken- 
tucky convention  should  meet,  in  July,  1790,  to  express  the 
sentiments  of  the  people  of  the  western  district,  and  to  take 
other  needful  steps.  Upon  the  26th  of  July,  accordingly,  the 
Convention  came  together;  the  terms  of  Virginia  were  agreed 
to  :  June  1,  1792,  was  fixed  as  the  date  of  independence  ;  and 
measures  adopted  to  procure  the  agreement  of  the  federal  leg- 
islature. It  was  also  resolved,  that  in  December,  1791,  per- 
sons should  be  chosen  to  serve  seven  months,  who,  on  the  first 
Monday  in  April,  1792,  should  meet  at  Danville,  to  form  a 
constitution  for  the  coming  state,  and  determine  what  laws 
should  be  in  force.  In  December,  1790,  the  President  of  the 
United  States  presented  the  subject  of  the  admission  of  Ken- 
tacky  to  Congress,  and  upon  the  4th  of  February,  1791,  that 
action  was  taken,  which  terminated  the  long  frustrated  efforts 
of  the  land  of  Boone,  Clark,  and  Logan,  to  obtain  self-govern- 
ment. In  the  following  December,  the  elections  took  place, 
for  persons  to  frame  a  constitution,  and  in  April,  1792,  the  in- 
strument which  was  to  lie  at  the  basis  of  Kentucky  law,  was 
prepared,  mainly,  it  would  seem,  by  George  Nicholas,  of  Mer- 
cer county.*  As  this  charter,  however,  was  changed  in  some 
important  features,  a  few  years  after,  we  shall  not  at  this  time, 
enter  into  any  discussion  of  its  merits  and  defects. 

*  Marshall's  Kentucky,  i.  3GO,  414  —Sparks'  Washington,  xii.  13,  32.—ButIer's  Ken- 
tucky, 196. 


1790-95  Movements  of  Genet.  453 

A  second  subject  to  be  noticed,  is  the  attempt  of  the  agents 
of  the  French  minister  in  the  United  States,  to  enlist  the  citi- 
zens of  Kentucky  Lin  an  attack  upon  the  dominions  of  Spain, 
in  the  southwest.  We  cannot,  and  need  not,  do  more  than 
refer  to  the  state  of  feeling  prevalent  in  America,  in  relation 
to  France,  from  1792  to  1795.  On  the  21st  of  January,  1793, 
the  French  had  taken  the  life  of  their  monarch,  and  upon  the 
18th  of  May,  M.  Genet  was  presented  to  Washington,  as  the 
representative  of  the  new  republic  of  France.  This  man 
brought  with  him  open  instructions,  in  which  the  United  States 
were  spoken  of  as  naturally  neutral,  in  the  contest  between 
France  and  united  Holland,  Spain  and  England ;  and  secret 
instructions,  the  purpose  of  which  was  to  induce  the  govern- 
ment, and  if  that  could  not  be  done,  the  People,  of  the  Ameri- 
can republic,  to  make  common  cause  with  the  founders  of  the 
dynasty  of  the  guillotine.  In  pursuance  of  this  plan,  Genet 
began  a  system  of  operations,  the  tendency  of  which  was,  to 
involve  the  People  of  the  United  States  in  a  war  with  the  ene- 
mies of  France,  without  any  regard  to  the  views  of  the  fede- 
ral government :  and  knowing  very  well  the  old  bitterness  of 
the  frontier-men,  in  relation  to  the  navigation  of  the  Missis- 
sippi, he  formed  the  plan  of  embodying  a  band  of  troops  be- 
yond the  Alleghanies,  for  the  conquest  of  Louisiana.  Early 
in  November,  in  1793,  four  persons  were  sent  westward  to 
raise  troops  and  issue  commissions,  in  the  name  of  the  French 
republic.  They  moved  openly  and  boldly,  secure  in  the  strong 
democratic  feelings  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  region  drained 
by  the  great  river  which  Spain  controlled  ;  and  so  far  succeed- 
ed, as  to  persuade  even  the  political  founder  of  Kentucky, 
George  Rogers  Clark,  to  become  a  Major  General  in  the  armies 
of  France,  and  Commander-in-chief  of  the  revolutionary  for- 
ces on  the  Mississippi.*  Nor  did  the  French  emissaries  much 
mistake  the  temper  of  the  people  of  the  West,  as  will  be  evi- 
dent from  the  following  extracts  ;  the  first  of  which,  is  from  an 
address  "  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  United  States  west  of  the 
Alleghany  and  Appalachian  mountains,"  dated  December  13, 
1793;  the  other,  from  a  remonstrance  to  the  President  and 

*  Pitkin's  United  States,  ii.  359,  360. — Genet's  pamphlet  and  correspondence  with  Mr. 
Jefferson,  published  in  Philadelphia,  1793. — American  State  Paper?,  i.  454  to  460. — Mar- 
shall's Kentucky,  ii.  99  to  100,  103.— Butler's  Kentucky,  224  to  234,  and  524  to  531.  Se- 
cond edition. 


454  Address  of  the  Democratic  Society.  1790-95. 

Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America,  which  is  without 
date,  but  was  prepared  about  the  same  time  as  the  first  paper. 

December  13,  1793. 

Fellow- Citizens  : — The  Democratic  Society  of  Kentucky  hav- 
ing had  under  consideration,  the  measures  necessary  to  obtain 
the  exercise  of  your  rights  to  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, have  determined  to  address  you  upon  that  important 
topic.  In  so  doing,  they  think  that  they  only  use  the  undoubt- 
ed right  of  citizens  to  consult  for  their  common  welfare.  This 
measure  is  not  dictated  by  party  or  faction  ;  it  is  the  conse- 
quence of  unavoidable  necessity.  It  has  become  so,  from  the 
neglect  shown  by  the  General  Government,  to  obtain  for  those 
of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  who  are  interested  therein 
the  navigation  of  that  river.  *  *  *  * 

Experience,  fellow-citizens,  has  shown  us  that  the  General 
Government  is  unwilling  that  we  should  obtain  the  Navigation 
of  the  river  Mississippi.  A  local  policy  appears  to  have 
an  undue  weight  in  the  councils  of  the  Union.  It  seems  to 
be  the  object  of  that  policy  to  prevent  the  population  of  this 
country,  which  would  draw  from  the  eastern  States  their  in- 
dustrious citizens.  This  conclusion  inevitably  follows  from  a 
consideration  of  the  measures  taken  to  prevent  the  purchase 
and  settlement  of  the  lands  bordering  on  the  Mississippi. 
Among  those  measures,  the  unconstitutional  interference 
which  rescinded  sales,  by  one  of  the  States,  to  private  indi- 
viduals, makes  a  striking  object.  And  perhaps  the  fear  of  a 
successful  rivalship,  in  every  article  of  their  exports,  may  have 
its  weight.  But,  if  they  are  not  unwilling  to  do  us  justice,  they 
are  at  least  regardless  of  our  rights  and  welfare.  We  have 
found  prayers  and  supplications  of  no  avail,  and  should  we 
continue  to  load  the  table  of  Congress  with  memorials,' from 
a  part  only  of  the  western  country,  it  is  too  probable  that 
they  would  meet  with  a  fate  similar  to  those  which  have  been 
formerly  presented.  Let  us,  then,  all  unite  our  endeavors  in 
the  common  cause.  Let  all  join  in  a  firm  and  manly  remon- 
strance to  the  President  and  Congress  of  the  United  States, 
stating  our  just  and  undoubted  right  to  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi,  remonstrating  against  the  conduct  of  government 
with  regard  to  that  right,  which  must  have  been  occasioned  by 
local  policy  or  neglect,  and  demanding  of  them  speedy  and  ef- 
fectual exertions  for  its  attainment.  We  cannot  doubt  that  you 
will  cordially  and  unanimously  join  in  this  measure.  It  can 
hardly  be  necessary  to  remind  you  that  considerable  quantities 
of  beef,  pork,  flour,  hemp,  tobacco,  &c.,  the  produce  of  this  coun- 
try, remain  on  hand  for  want  of  purchasers,  or  are  sold  at  in- 
adequate prices.  Much  greater  quantities  might  be  raised  if 
the  inhabitants  were  encouraged  by  the  certain  sale  which 
the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  would  afford.  An  addi- 


1790-95.  Address  of  the  Democratic  Society.  455 

tional  increase  of  those  articles,  and  a  greater  variety  of  pro- 
duce and  manufactures,  would  be  supplied,  by  means  of  the 
encouragement,  which  the  attainment  of  that  great  object 
would  give  to  emigration.  But  it  is  not  only  your  own  rights 
which  you  are  to  regard :  remember  that  your  posterity  have 
a  claim  to  your  exertions  to  obtain  and  secure  that  right. 
Let  not  your  memory  be  stigmatised  with  a  neglect  of  duty. 
Let  not  history  record  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  beautiful 
country  lost  a  most  invaluable  right,  and  half  the  benefits 
bestowed  upon  it  by  a  bountiful  Providence,  through  your  neg- 
lect and  supineness.  The  present  crisis  is  favorable.  Spain 
is  engaged  in  a  war  which  requires  all  her  forces.  If  the 
present  golden  opportunity  be  suffered  to  pass  without  advan- 
tage, and  she  shall  have  concluded  a  peace  with  France,  we 
must  then  contend  against  her  undivided  strength. 

But  what  may  be  the  event  of  the  proposed  application  is 
still  uncertain.  We  ought,  therefore,  to  be  still  upon  our 
guard,  and  watchful  to  seize  the  first  favorable  opportunity  to 
gain  our  object.  In  order  to  this,  our  union  should  be  as  per- 
fect and  lasting  as  possible.  We  propose  that  societies  should 
be  formed,  in  convenient  districts,  in  every  part  of  the 
western  country,  who  shall  preserve  a  correspondence  upon 
this  and  every  other  subject  of  a  general  concern.  By 
means  of  these  societies  we  shall  be  enabled  speedily  to  know 
what  may  be  the  result  of  our  endeavors,  to  consult  upon 
such  further  measures  as  may  be  necessary  to  preserve  union, 
and,  finally,  by  these  means,  to  secure  success. 

Remember  that  it  is  a  common  cause  which  ought  to  unite 
us ;  that  cause  is  indubitably  just,  that  ourselves  and  posterity 
are  interested,  that  the  crisis  is  favorable,  and  that  it  is  only 
by  union  that  the  object  can  be  achieved.  The  obstacles  are 
great,  and  so  ought  to  be  our  efforts.  Adverse  fortune  may 
attend  us,  but  it  shall  never  dispirit  us.  We  may  for  a  while 
exhaust  our  wealth  and  strength,  but  until  the  all  important 
object  is  procured,  we  pledge  ourselves  to  you,  and  let  us  all 
pledge  ourselves  to  each  other,  that  our  perseverance  and 
our  friendship  will  be  inexhaustible. 

JOHN  BRECKENRIDGE,  Chairman. 
Test : — THOMAS  TODD,     \ 

rr\  T»  f 

1  HOMAS  BODLEY,  ) 

To  the  President  and  Congress  of  the  United  States  of  America. 
The  remonstrance  of  the  subscribers,  citizens  of  the  Common- 
wealth of  Kentucky,  showeth  : — 

That  your  remonstrants,  and  the  other  inhabitants  of  the 
United  States,  west  of  the  Alleghany  and  Apalachian  moun- 
tains, are  entitled,  by  nature  and  stipulation,  to  the  free  and 


456  Genet's  Plans  Defeated.  1790-95. 

undisturbed  navigation  of  the  river  Mississippi ;  and  that, 
from  the  year  1783  to  this  day,  they  have  been  prevented  uni- 
formly, by  the  Spanish  king,  from  exercising  that  right.  Your 
remonstrants  have  observed,  with  concern,  that  the  General 
Government,  whose  duty  it  was  to  have  preserved  that  right, 
have  used  no  effectual  measures  for  its  attainment ;  that  even 
their  tardy  and  ineffectual  negotiations  have  been  veiled  with 
the  most  mysterious  secrecy ;  that  that  secrecy  is  a  violation 
of  the  political  rights  of  the  citizens,  as  it  declares  that  the 
people  are  unfit  to  be  entrusted  with  important  facts  relative 
to  their  rights,  and  that  their  servants  may  retain  from  them 
the  knowledge  of  those  facts.  Eight  years  are  surely  suffi- 
cient for  the  discussion  of  the  most  doubtful  and  disputable 
claim.  The  right  to  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  admits 
neither  of  doubt  nor  dispute.  Your  remonstrants,  therefore, 
conceive  that  the  negotiations  on  that  subject  have  been  un- 
necessarily lengthy,  and  they  expect  that  it  be  demanded 
categorically  of  the  Spanish  king  whether  he  will  acknow- 
ledge the  right  of  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  to  the  free 
and  uninterrupted  navigation  of  the  river  Mississippi,  and 
cause  all  obstructions,  interruption,  and  hindrance  to  the  ex- 
ercise of  that  right,  in  future,  to  be  withdrawn  and  avoided ; 
that  immediate  answer  be  required,  and  that  such  answer  be 
the  final  period  of  all  negotiations  upon  the  subject. 

Your  remonstrants  further  represent,  that  the  encroachment 
of  the  Spaniards  upon  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  is 
a  striking  and  melancholy  proof  of  the  situation  to  which  our 
country  will  be  reduced,  if  a  tame  policy  should  still  continue 
to  direct  our  councils. 

Your  remonstrants  join  their  voice  to  that  of  their  fellow- 
citizens  in  the  Atlantic  States,  calling  for  satisfaction  for  the 
injuries  and  insults  offered  to  America ;  and  they  expect  such 
satisfaction  shall  extend  to  every  injury  and  insult  done  or 
offered  to  any  part  of  America,  by  Great  Britain  and  Spain ; 
and  as  the  detention  of  the  posts,  and  the  interruption  to  the 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  are  injuries  and  insults  of  the 
greatest  atrocity,  arid  of  the  longest  duration,  they  require 
the  most  particular  attention  to  those  subjects.* 

But  the  government  had  taken  measures  to  prevent  the  pro- 
posed movements  from  being  carried  into  effect.  The  Gov- 
ernor of  Kentucky,  Isaac  Shelby;  Governor  St.  Clair,  and 
General  Wayne,  were  all  written  to :  and,  by  the  preparation 
of  troops,  the  renewal  of  Fort  Massac,f  the  dissemination  of 
just  views  among  the  people,  an  1  the  request  made  of  the 
French  government  that  Genet  should  be  recalled,  the  plans 

*  American  State  Papers,  xx.  929,  930. 

t  See  American  Pioneer,  ii.  220. — See  on  the  whole  subject,  Marshall,  ii.  96  to  122. 


1790-95.  Genet's  Plans  Defeated.  457 

of  that  mischief-maker  and  his  agents  were  effectually  de- 
feated :  the  rulers  of  France  disowned  his  acts — he  was 
ordered  back  to  Europe — and  in  May,  1794,  his  western  emis- 
sary was  forced  to  write  to  the  Democratic  Society  of  Lexing- 
ton in  these  words  : — 

To  the  Democratic  Society  of  Lexington : 

CITIZENS  : — Events,  unforeseen,  the  effects  of  causes  which  it 
is  unnecessary  here  to  develop,  have  stopped  the  march  of 
two  thousand  brave  Kentuckians,  who,  strong  in  their  courage, 
in  the  justice  of  their  rights,  their  cause,  the  general  assent  of 
their  fellow-citizens,  and  convinced  of  the  brotherly  disposi- 
tion of  the  Louisianians,  waited  only  for  their  orders  to  go, 
by  the  strength  of  their  arms,  take  from  the  Spaniards  the 
despotic  usurpers  of  the  empire  of  the  Mississippi,  ensure  to 
their  country  the  navigation  of  it,  break  the  chains  of  the 
Americans,  and  their  brethren  the  French,  hoist  up  the  flag  of 
liberty  in  the  name  of  the  French  republic,  and  lay  the  foun- 
dation of  the  prosperity  and  happiness  of  two  nations  situated 
so,  and  destined  by  nature  to  be  one,  the  most  happy  in  the 
universe.  *  *  *  ***** 

Accept,  citizens,  the  farewell,  not  the  last,  of  a  brother  who 
is  determined  to  sacrifice  every  thing  in  his  power  for  the 
liberty  of  his  country,  and  the  prosperity  of  the  generous  in- 
habitants of  Kentucky. 

Salut  en  la  patrie,  AUGUSTE  LACHAISE.* 

This  letter  was  followed  by  a  meeting  in  Lexington,  which 
denounced  Washington  and  all  who  supported  him,  especially 
Jay.  It  also  proposed  a  convention  for  the  indefinite  purpose 
of  deliberating  on  the  steps  expedient  to  secure  the  just  rights 
of  the  people :  the  proposition  produced  no  result.  [See 
Butler's  Kentucky,  234.]  Up  to  April,  1794,  there  were  pre- 
parations still  going  on;  John  S.  Gano  of  Cincinnati,  on  the 
8th  or  9th  of  that  month,  passed  through  Lexington  :  he  found, 
the  Genet  plan  generally  liked,  cannon  casting,  ammunition 
subscribed,  and  heard  of  boats  building  at  the  Falls.  It  had 
been  previously  dropped  for  a  time  from  want  of  funds. 

Notwithstanding  Genet's  defeat,  M.  Adet,  the  minister  of 
France  in  1796,  appears  to  have  sent  emissaries  into  the  West 
in  the  spring  of  that  year,  to  renew  the  process  of  exciting  dis- 
affection  to   the  Union.     They  were  General  Collot  and  M. 
Warin.     Information  of  the  plan  having  been  communicated. 

*  American  State  Papers,  xx.  931. 

29 


458  Charges  against  Wilkinson.  1790-95. 

to  the  Executive,  an  agent  was  sent  after  the  Frenchmen  to 
watch  them,  and  counteract, their  purposes.  This  person 
saw  Collot  at  Pittsburgh,  and  learned  his  plans;  he  was 
to  visit  Kentucky,  Fort  Washington,  the  South-west,  Vin- 
cennes,  Kaskaskia  and  St.  Louis;  he  carried  strong  letters  to 
Wilkinson,  and  relied  especially  on  Sebastian.  The  govern- 
ment appears  to  have  brought  the  whole  plot  to  naught,  in 
silence.  [Evidence  of  these  facts  is  to  be  found  in  the  letter 
of  the  agent  employed;  in  the  memoranda  of  Oliver  Wolcott, 
secretary  of  the  treasury ;  and  in  the  Memoirs  of  the  Admin- 
istrations of  Washington  and  John  Adams,  by  George  Gibbs, 
published  in  New  York  in  1846,  vol.  i.  350  to  356.] 

A  third  topic  relative  to  Kentucky,  which  we  now  have  to 
notice  as  connected  with  the  period  we  are  treating  of,  is 
the  Spanish  intrigue  with  Wilkinson,  Sebastian,  Innis,  and 
Nicholas. 

In  1787,  General  Wilkinson  had  made  his  last  trip  to  New 
Orleans;  in  February,  1788,  he  returned  to  Kentucky,  and  the 
following  year  again  visited  the  south,  with  which  he  con- 
tinued to  hold  regular  intercourse  until  1791,  when  he 
began  to  take  part  in  the  Indian  wars  of  the  north-west. 
During  this  period,  his  operations  were  to  appearance,  merely 
commercial  and  the  utmost  reach  of  his  plans,  the  formation 
of  a  kind  of  mercantile  treaty  with  the  Spanish  provinces, 
by  which  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  might  be  secured 
as  a  privilege,  if  not  a  right.  We  cannot  enter  into  an  ex- 
amination of  the  mass  of  evidence  brought  forward  in  later 
times,  (from  1807  to  1811,)  to  sustain  the  charge  brought 
against  Wilkinson  of  having  received  a  pension  from  the 
Spanish  Government,  in  return  for  which  he  was  to  play  the 
traitor  to  his  country  and  effect  a  disunion  of  the  States.  In 
1808,  he  was  brought  before  a  court  of  inquiry,  and  entirely 
acquitted  of  the  charge  ;  and  again,  in  181 1,  he  was  tried  be- 
fore a  court  martial,  and  every  particle  of  evidence  that 
could  be  found  by  his  most  inveterate  enemies,  without  regard 
to  legal  formalities,  which  the  accused  dispensed  with,  was 
gathered,  to  overwhelm  him  ;  but  he  was  declared  innocent 
by  the  court  of  every  charge  preferred  against  him.  Nor  does 
our  own  examination  of  the  evidence  lead  us  to  doubt  the 
correctness  of  the  decision  in  his  favor;  the  chief  witnesses 
who  criminated  him  were  of  the  worst  character,  and  most 


1790-95.  Sebastian's  Intrigues.  459 

vindictive  tempers,  and  not  a  circumstance  was  fairly,  clearly 
proved  that  could  not  be  explained  by  the  avowed  mercantile 
relations  which  he  succeeded  in  establishing  with  the  Spanish 
governors  at  New  Orleans.  Those  governors  may,  very  prob- 
ably, have  hoped  to  see  his  business  connections  turn  into  po- 
litical ones,  but  there  is  no  cause  to  think  they  ever  did  so.* 

Among  the  plans  of  the  Spanish  officials  in  Louisiana,  was 
one  of  encouraging  emigration  thither  from  the  United  States, 
and  this  had  been  fully  disclosed  to  Wilkinson,  who  furnished 
a  list  of  probable  emigrants,  and  interested  himself  generally 
in  the  matter.f  Among  the  persons  recommended  by  him  to 
Gov.  Miro,  was  Benjamin  Sebastian,  a  lawyer  of  Kentucky, 
and  in  September,  1789,  the  Governor  wrote  to  Sebastian, 
relative  to  the  proposed  measure.  J  In  that  letter,  the  wish  of 
Spain  to  establish  friendly  relations  with  the  Ohio  settlers  was 
named,  and  an  offer  of  certain  commercial  privileges  held  out. 
The  communication  thus  opened  with  Sebastian,  was  proba- 
bly continued ;  and  when  the  Baron  de  Carondelet  succeeded 
Gen.  Miro,  he  wrote  to  him  in  July,  1795,  the  following 

letter: 

New  Orleans,  July  16,  1795. 

Sir  : — The  confidence  reposed  in  you  by  my  predecessor,. 
Brigadier  General  Miro,  and  your  former  correspondence  with 
him,  have  induced  me  to  make  a  communication  to  you  high- 
ly interesting  to  the  country  in  which  you  live,  and  to  Louis*. 
iana. 

His  Majesty,  being  willing  to  open  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  to  the  people  of  the  western  country,  and  being 
also  desirous  to  establish  certain  regulations,  reciprocally 
beneficial  to  the  commerce  of  both  countries,  has  ordered  me 

*  Depositions  of  George  Mather  and  William  Wickofl,  jr.,  in  Wilkinson's  Memoirs,  ii. 
103,  104.  Deposiiion  of  A.  Ellicott,  American  State  Papers,  xxi.  89  (12th  interrogation.) 

The  evidence  in  relation  to  Wilkinson,  is  in  American  State  Papers,  xx.  704  to  713,  936 
to  939  ;  xxi.  79  to  127 ;  in  report  of  the  committee  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Wash- 
ington, 1811 ;  in  "  Proofs  of  the  corruption  of  General  James  Wilkinson,  by  Daniel  Clark." 
See  also  appendix  to  Wilkinson's  Memoirs,  ii. — also  his  argument  to  the  Court  Martial, 
Memoirs,  ii.  41  to  263. 

A  letter  in  Dillon's  Indian*,  i.  412,  from  Wilkinson  to  Captain  Buntin,  is  worthy  of  no- 
tice, a?  a  proof  in  favor  of  Wilkinson's  intentions  in  1797. 

For  charges  against  him,  see  Memoirs,  ii.  35  to  40 

For  sentence  of  Court  of  Inquiry,    do.    pp.  12,  13. 

For        do.        Court  Martial,         do.    pp.  565  to  576. 

The  charges  before  the  Court  Marshal  and  its  sentence,  are  also  inNiles'  Register,  i.  469, 
to  474. 

-(•Memoirs,  ii.  112. 

J  American  State  Papers,  xx.  706  and  926. 


460  Sebastian's    Intrigues.  1790-95. 

to  proceed  on  the  business,  and  to  effect,  in  a  way  the  most 
satisfactory  to  the  people  of  the  western  country,  his  benevo- 
lent designs. 

I  have,  therefore,  made  this  communication  to  you,  in  ex- 
pectation that  you  will  procure  agents  to  be  chosen  and  fully 
empowered  by  the  people  of  your  country  to  negotiate  with 
Col.  Gayoso  on  the  subject,  at  New  Madrid,  whom  I  shall 
send  there  in  October  next,  properly  authorized  for  that  pur- 
pose, with  directions  to  continue  in  that  place,  or  its  vicinity, 
until  the  arrival  cf  your  agents. 

I  am,  by  information,  well  acquainted  with  the  character  of 
some  of  the  most  respectable  inhabitants  of  Kentucky,  par- 
ticularly of  Innis,  Nicholas,  and  Murray,  to  whom  I  wish  you 
to  communicate  the  purport  of  this  address;  and,  should  you 
and  those,gentlemen  think  as  important  of  it  as  I  do,  you  will 
doubtless  accede,  without  hesitation,  to  the  proposition  I  have 
made  of  sending  a  delegation  of  your  countrymen,  sufficiently 
authorized  to  treat  on  a  subject  which  so  deeply  involves  the 
interest  of  both  our  countries. 

I  remain,  with  every  esteem  and  regard,  sir, 
t  •     Your  most   obedient,   humble  servant, 

THE  BARON  OF  CARONDELET. 

Innis,  Nicholas  and  Murray,  were  consulted,  and  the  result 
was  ;a  visit  by  Sebastian,  ifirst  to  New  Madrid,  where  he  con- 
ferred with  Gayoso,  and  then  to  New  Orleans,  where  he  met 
with  the  Baron  himself.  Before,  however,  terms  were  agreed 
on,  «ews  came  that  the  Federal  Government  had  concluded  a 
treaty  with  Spain,  covering  the  whole  subject,  and  the  mes- 
senger, in  1796,  returned  to  Kentucky.*  During  the  summer 
of  the  next  year,  1797,  Thomas  Power  came  to  Kentucky 
from  Louisiana,  and  sent  Sebastian  the  following  communica- 
tion, which  he  in  turn  communicated  to  Innis  and  .Nicholas, 
who  sent  to  Sebastian  a  reply  which  we  also  give. 

His  Excellency,  the  Baron  of  Carondelet,  Commander-in- 
chief  and  Governor  of  his  Catholic  Majesty's  provinces  of 
West  Florida,  and  Louisiana,  having  communications  of  im- 
portance, embracing  the  interests  of  said  provinces,  and  at 
the  same  time  deeply  affecting  those  of  Kentucky,  and  the 
western  country  in  general,  to  make  to  its  "inhabitants 
through  the  medium  of  the  influential  characters  in  this 
country,  and  judging  it,  in  the  present  uncertain  and  critical 
attidude  of  politics,  highly  imprudent  and  dangerous  to  lay 
them  on  paper,  has  expressly  commissioned  and  authorized 
me  to  submit  the  following  proposals  to  the  consideration  01 
Messrs.  S.,  N.,  I.,  and  M.  [Sebastian,  Nicholas,  InnL",  and 

*  Deposition  of  Innia.    American  State  Papers,  xx.  925  to  927. 


1790-95.  Power's  Letter  to  Sebastian.  461 

Murray,]  and  also  of  such  other  gentlemen,  as  maybe  pointed 
out  by  them,  and  to  receive  from  them  their  sentiments  and 
determination  on  the  subject. 

1.  The  above  named  gentlemen  are  immediately  to  exert 
all  their  influence  in  impressing  on  the  minds  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  western  country,  a  conviction  of  the  necessity  of 
their  withdrawing  and  separating  themselves  from  the  Federal 
Union,  and  forming  an  independent  government,  wholly  un- 
connected with  that  of  the  Atlantic  States.     To  prepare  and 
dispose  the  people  for  such  an  event,  it  will  be  necessary  that 
the  most  popular  and  eloquent  writers  in  this  State  should,  in 
well-timed  publications,  expose,  in  the  most  striking  point  of 
view,  the  iaconveniences  and   disadvantages,  that  a  longer 
connexion  with,  and  depeudence  on,  the  Atlantic  States,  must 
inevitably  draw  upon  them,  and  the  great  and  innumerable 
difficulties  in  which  they  will  probably  be  entangled  if  they 
do  not  speedily  secede  from  the  Union  ;  the  benefits  they  will 
certainly  reap  from  a  secession,  ought  to  be  pointed  out  in  the 
most  forcible  and  powerful  manner;  and  the  danger  of  per- 
mitting the  federal  troops  to  take  possession  of  the  posts  on 
the  Mississippi ;  and  thus  forming  a  cordon  of  fortified  places 
around  them,  must  be  particularly  expatiated  upon.     In  con- 
sideration of  gentlemen's  devoting  their  time  and  talents  to 
this  object,  his  Excellency,  the  Baron  of  Carondelet,  will  ap- 
propriate the  sum  of  one  hundred  thousand   dollars  to  their 
use,  which  shall  be  paid  in  drafts  on  the  royal  treasury  at  New 
Orleans;  or  if  more  convenient,  shall  be  conveyed  at  the  ex- 
pense   of  his  Catholic  Majesty,  into  this  country,  and  held  at 
their  disposal.     Moreover,  should  such  persons  as  shall  be  in- 
strumental in   promoting  the  views  of  his  Catholic  Majesty, 
hold  any  public  employment,  and  in  consequence  of  taking  an 
active  part  in   endeavoring  to  effect  a  secession,  shall  lose 
their  employment — a   compensation    equal   at   least   to  the 
emoluments  of  their  office,   shall  be   made  to  them,  by  his 
Catholic  Majesty,  let  their  efforts  be  crowned  with  success,  or 
terminate  in  disappointment. 

2.  Immediately  after  the  declaration  of  independence,  Fort 
Massac  should  be  taken  possession   of  by  the  troops  of  the 
new  government,  which  shall  be  furnished  by  his  Catholic 
Majesty  without  loss  of  time,  together  with    twenty  field- 
pieces,  with  their  carriages,  and  every  necessary  appendage, 
including  powder,  ball,  &c.,  together  with  a   number  of  small 
arms  and  ammunition,  sufficient  to   equip   the  troops  that  it 
shall  be  judged  expedient  to  raise.     The  whole  to  be  trans- 
ported at  his  expense  to  the  already  named  Fort  Massac.  His 
Catholic  Majesty  will  further  supply  the  sum  of  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  for  the  raising  and  maintaining  said  troops, 
which  sum  shall  also  be  conveyed  to  and  delivered  at  Fort 
Massac. 


462         Project  of  'Spain  to  dismember  the  Union.       1799-95. 

3.  The  northern  boundary  of  his  Catholic  Majesty's  pro- 
vinces of  East  and  West  Florida  shall  be  designated  by  a 
line  commencing  on  the  Mississippi  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Yazoo,  extending  due  east  to  the  River  Confederation,  or 
Tombigbee  :  Provided,  That  all  his  Catholic  Majesty's  forts, 
posts,  and  settlements  on  the  Confederation  or  Tombigbee  are 
included  in  the  south  side  of  such  a  line,  but  should  any  of 
his  Majesty's  forts,  posts  or  settlements  fall  to  the  north  side 
of  said  line,  then  the    northern    boundary  of  his    Majesty's 
provinces  of  East  and  West  Florida,   shall  be   designated 
by  a  line  beginning  at  the  same  point  on  the  Mississippi,  and 
drawn  in  such  a  direction  as  to  meet  the  River  Confederation 
or  Tombigbee,  six  miles  to  the  north  of  the  most  northern 
Spanish  post,  or  settlement  on  the  said  river.     All  the  lands 
north  of  that  line  shall  be  considered  as  constituting  a  part 
of  the  territory  of  the  new  government,   saving  that  small 
tract  of  land  at  the  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  on  the  eastern  bank  of 
the  Mississippi,  ceded  to  his  Majesty  by  the  Chickasaw  nation 
in  a  formal   treaty  concluded  on  the  spot,  in  the  year  1795, 
between  His  Excellency  Senor  Don  Manuel  Gayoso  de  Le- 
mos,  governor  of  Natchez,  and  Augleakabee  and  some  other 
Chickasaw  chiefs ;  which  tract  of  land  his  Majesty  reserves 
for  himself.     The  eastern  boundary  of  the  Floridas  shall  be 
hereafter  regulated. 

4.  His  Catholic  Majesty  will,  in  case  the  Indian  nations 
south  of  the  Ohi*  should  declare  war  or  commit  hostilities 
against  the   new  government,  not  only  join  and  assist  it  in 
repelling  its  enemies,  but  if  said  Government  shall  at  any  fu- 
ture time  esteem  it  useful  to  reduce  said  Indian  nations,  ex- 
tend its  dominion  over  them,   and  compel  them  to  submit 
themselves   to    its   constitution    and  laws,  his   Majesty  will 
heartily  concur  and  co-operate  Math  the  new  government  in 
the  most  effectual  manner  in  obtaining  this  desirable  end. 

5.  His  Catholic  Majesty  will  not  either  directly  or  indirectly 
interfere  in  the  framing  of  the  constitution  or  laws  which  the 
new  government  shall  think  fit  to  adopt ;  nor  will  he,  at  any 
time,  by  any  means  whatever,  attempt   to  lessen  the    inde- 
pendence of  the  said  government,  or  endeavor  to   acquire  an 
undue  influence  in  it,  but  will,  in  the  manner  that  shall  here- 
after be  stipulated  by  treaty,  defend  and  support  it  in  pre- 
serving its  independence. 

The  preceding  proposals,  are  the  outlines  of  a  provisional 
treaty,  which  his  Excellency  the  Baron  of  Carondelet,  is  desi- 
rous of  entering  into  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  western 
country,  the  moment  they  shall  be  in  a  situation  to  treat  for 
themselves.  Should  they  not  meet  entirely  with  your  appro- 
bation, and  should  you  wish  to  make  any  alterations  in,  or  ad- 
ditions to  them,  I  shall  on  my  return,  if  you  think  proper  to 
communicate  them  to  me,  lay  them  before  His  Excellency, 


1790-95.  Reply  of  Innis  and  Nicholas.  463 

who  is  animated  with  a  sincere  and  ardent  desire  to  foster 
this  promising  and  rising  infant  country,  and  at  the  same  time, 
promote  and  fortify  the  interests  of  his  beneficent  and  royal 
master,  in  securing  by  a  generous  and  disinterested  conduct, 
the  gratitude  of  a  just,  sensible  and  enlightened  people. 

The  important  and  unexpected  events  that  have  taken  place 
in  Europe  since  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  concluded  on  the 
27th  of  October,  1795,  between  His  Catholic  Majesty  and  the 
United  States  of  America,  having  convulsed  the  general  sys- 
tem of  politics  in  that  quarter  of  the  globe,  and  wherever  its 
influence  is  extended,  causing  a  collision  of  interests  between 
nations  formerly  living  in  the  most  perfect  union  and  harmony, 
and  directing  the  political  views  of  some  States  towards  ob- 
jects the  most  remote  from  their  former  pursuits,  but  none 
being  so  completely  unhinged  and  disjointed  as  the  cabinet  of 
Spain,  it  may  be  confidently  asserted,  without  incurring  the 
reproach  of  presumption,  that  His  Catholic  Majesty  will  not 
carry  the  above-mentioned  treaty  into  execution;  neverthe- 
less, the  thorough  knowledge  I  have  of  the  disposition  of  the 
Spanish  Government  justifies  me  in  saying  that,  so  far  from 
its  being  His  Majesty's  wish  to  exclude  the  inhabitants  of  this 
western  country  from  the  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  or 
withhold  from  them  any  of  the  benefits  stipulated  for  them  by 
the  treaty,  it  is  positively  his  intention,  so  soon  as  they  shall  put 
it  in  his  power  to  treat  with  them,  by  declaring  themselves  in- 
dependent of  the  Federal  Government,  and  establishing  one 
of  their  own,  to  grant  them  privileges  far  more  extensive, 
give  them  a  decided  preference  over  the  Atlantic  States  in  his 
commercial  connexions  with  them,  and  place  them  in  a  situa- 
tion infinitely  more  advantageous,  in  every  point  of  view, 
than  that  in  which  they  would  find  themselves  were  the 
treaty  to  be  carried  into  effect. 

THOMAS  POWER. 

REPLY. 

Sir : — We  have  seen  the  communication  made  by  you  to 
Mr.  Sebastian.  In  answer  thereto,  we  declare  unequivocally, 
that  we  will  not  be  concerned,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  in 
any  attempt  that  may  be  made  to  separate  the  western  coun- 
try from  the  United  States.  That  whatever  part  we  may  at 
any  time  be  induced  to  take  in  the  politics  of  our  country,  that 
her  welfare  will  be  our  only  inducement,  and  that  we  will 
never  receive  any  pecuniary,  or  any  other  reward,  for  any 
personal  exertions  made  by  us,  to  promote  that  welfare. 

The  free  navigation  of  the  Mississippi  must  always  be  the 
favorite  object  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  country;  they 
cannot  be  contented  without  it ;  and  will  not  be  deprived  of 
it  longer  than  necessity  shall  compel  them  to  submit  to  its  be- 
ing withheld  from  them. 


464  Reply  of  Innis  and  Nicholas.  1790-95 

We  flatter  ourselves  that  every  thing  will  be  set  right,  by 
the  governments  of  the  two  nations ;  but  if  this  should  not  be 
the  case,  it  appears  to  us,  that  it  must  be  the  policy  of  Spain 
to  encourage  by  every  possible  means,  the  free  intercourse 
with  the  inhabitants  of  the  western  country,  as  this  will  be 
the  most  efficient  means  to  conciliate  their  good  will,  and  to 
obtain  without  hazard,  and  at  reduced  prices,  those  supplies 
which  are  indispensably  necessary  to  the  Spanish  Govern- 
ment and  its  subjects.* 

Whether  Sebastian  signed  this  reply,  is  not  known;  but  upon 
proof  that  he  had,  for  years  afterwards,  received  two  thousand 
dollars  annually  as  a  pension  from  Spain  for  services  render- 
ed, it  was  unanimously  adjudged  by  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives, in  Kentucky,  on  the  6th  of  December,  1806,  that  he 
had  been  guilty,  while  holding  the  place  of  Judge  of  the  Court 
of  Appeals,  of  carrying  on  a  criminal  intercourse  with  the 
agents  of  the  Spanish  Government,  and  disgracing  his  coun- 
try for  pay.  Before  this  decision,  however,  Sebastian  had 
resigned  his  place,  and  thenceforward  was  lost  to  the  councils 
of  the  State. 

[Concerning  this  attempt  to  divide  the  Union,  and  erect  a 
western  confederacy,  to  be  in  alliance  with  Spain,  there  has 
been  doubt  and  contradictory  statements  ;  but  the  referen- 
ces given  to  the  public  documents,  and  other  authorities,  will 
enable  the  reader  who  is  disposed  more  fully  to  investigate 
the  whole  subject,  to  arrive  at  satisfactory  conclusions. 

In  the  month  of  August,  1798,  Spain  formed  an  alliance 
with  France.  In  December,  France  quarreled  with  the  United 
States.  At  the  time  of  the  visit  of  Power,  Spain  still  held  the 
ports  east  of  the  Mississippi,  which,  by  the  treaty  of  1795, 
were  to  be  given  up;  and  maintained  a  hostile  attitude  to- 
wards the  United  States.  These  facts  illustrate  the  intrigues 
of  Spain.  The  strongest  circumstance  in  favor  of  Sebastian, 
is,  that  no  proof  was  given  to  show  he  had  done  any  overt 
act,  in  the  project  of  disunion. f] 

We  have  so  far,  said  nothing  of  those  political  parties  which 
divided  the  United  States  during  the  administration  of  Wash- 
ington; for,  though  it  is  not  to  be  doubted  that  the  contests  of 
those  parties  gave  Genet  cause  to  trust  in  his  plans  of  con- 

*  American  State  Papers,  xx.  928,  929. 

t  See  Documents  in  American  State  Paper?,  xx.  922  to  934.    Marshall's  Kentucky,  ii. 
377  to  384. 


1790-95         Political  Parties  in  the  United  States. 

quest,  and  supported  the  hopes  of  Sebastian  and  his  Spanish 
employers,  yet  their  operations  were  not  directly  dependent 
upon  the  factions  which  rent  the  country.  We  have  now, 
however,  to  speak  of  an  event  that  derived  its  importance 
from  its  real  or  supposed  connection  with  those  factions,  and 
which  it  seems  proper  to  introduce  by  a  brief  sketch  of  their 
origin  and  character;  we  refer  to  the  popular  movement  in 
western  Pennsylvania,  growing  out  of  the  excise  on  domestic 
spirits,  commonly  known  as  the  Whiskey  Insurrection.  When 
the  united  colonies  had  won  their  independence,  and  the  rule 
of  George  III.  over  them  ended,  the  question,  of  course,  arose 
as  to  the  nature  of  the  government  which  was  to  succeed. 
Two  fears  prevailed  among  the  people  of  the  freed  provinces. 
On  the  one  hand,  a  tendency  to  monarchy  and  ultimate  tyran- 
ny was  dreaded ;  it  was  thought  that  a  foreign  despot  had 
been  warred  with  in  vain,  if  by  the  erection  of  a  strong  cen- 
tral or  Federal  power  the  foundations  of  domestic  despotism 
were  laid  instead;  the  sovereignty  of  the  several  States,  bal- 
ancing one  another,  and  each  easily  controlled  by  the  voice  of 
the  people  was,  with  this  party  of  thinkers,  to  be  the  security 
of  the  freedom  that  had  been  achieved.  In  Europe,  republi- 
canism had  been  overthrown  by  the  centralizing  process,  which 
had  substituted  the  great  monarchies  for  the  Federal  system, 
and  the  Italian  and  Flemish  commonwealths;  and  in  America, 
the  danger,  it  was  thought,  would  be,  of  too  great  a  concen- 
tration of  power  in  the  hands  of  a  central  Federal  sovereign- 
ty. [Governor  Harrison  of  Virginia,  and  one  of  the  signers 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  said  of  the  Constitution, 
as  first  adopted,  that  it  "must,  sooner  or  later,  establish  a  ty- 
ranny not  inferior  to  the  triumvirate  or  centumviri  of  Rome. 
George  Mason  also  said  of  it,  that  it  would  cause  the  govern- 
ment to  "commence  a  moderate  aristocracy,"  and  would  final- 
ly "produce  a  monarchy,  or  a  corrupt  aristocracy.*]  While 
these  views  prevailed  among  one  portion  of  the  American 
people,  another  portion  dreaded  the  excess  of  popular  demo- 
cratic passions,  tending  constantly  to  anarchy.  To  this  party, 
a  strong  central  power  seemed  essential,  not  only  for  financial 
and  commercial  purposes,  but  also  to  restrain  the  inevitable 

*  Sparks'  Washington,  ix.  267.  Note,  also  547— Elliott's  Debates,  ii.  52,  213.  Wash- 
ington's views  on  the  same  subject,  are  found  in  the  same  volume,  pp.  11,  Ifi7,  187,  203, 
210,  211,  258.  Seo  also  a  letter  to  Doctor  Gorton,  in  the  North  American  Review,  vol.  xxv. 
p.  254.  (October,  1827.) 


466  Federal  and  anti-Federal  Views.  1790-95 

disposition  of  popular  governments  to  the  abandonment  of  all 
law,  all  reverence,  and  all  social  unity.  History  and  reflec- 
tion, in  short,  showed  men  on  the  one  side,  that  human  rulers 
are  readily  converted  into  despots;  on  the  other,  that  human 
subjects  were  impatient  of  even  wholesome  control,  and  readi- 
ly converted  into  licentious,  selfish  anarchists.  When  at  length 
the  business  sufferings  of  the  country,  and  the  worthlessness 
of  the  old  confederacy,  led  to  ihe  formation  of  the  present 
constitution,  the  two  bodies  of  whom  we  have  spoken,  were 
forced  to  compromise,  and  while  the  strong  executive,  and 
complete  centralization  of  Hamilton,  Jay  and  Adams,  had  to 
be  abandoned  by  them  and  their  friends,  the  complete  inde- 
pendence of  the  States,  and  the  corresponding  nullity  of  Con- 
gress, which  Patrick  Henry,  Mason,  and  Harrison  preferred, 
had  also  to  be  given  up,  or  greater  evils  follow.  In  this  same 
spirit  of  compromise  upon  which  our  constitution  rested, 
Washington  framed  his  cabinet,  and  directed  his  administra- 
tion, and  it  seemed  possible,  that  in  time  the  bitterness  of 
feeling  which  had  shown  itself  before  and  during  the  discus- 
sion of  the  great  Bond  of  Union,  would  die  away.  But  the 
difficulties  of  the  first  administration  were  enormous,  such  as 
no  man  but  Washington  could  have  met  with  success,  and  even 
he  could  not  secure  the  unanimity  he  wished  for.*  Among 
those  difficulties,  none  were  greater  than  the  payment  of  the 
public  debt,  and  the  arrangement  of  a  proper  system  of  finance. 
The  party  which  dreaded  anarchy,  which  favored  a  strong 
central  rule,  an  efficient  Federal  Government — the  Federalists, 
feeling  that  the  whole  country,  as  such,  had  contracted  debts, 
felt  bound  in  honor  and  honesty  to  do  every  thing  to  procure 
their  payment;  it  also  felt  that  the  future  stability  and  power 
of  the  Federal  Government  depended  greatly  upon  the  estab- 
lishment of  its  credit  at  the  outset  of  its  career.  The  anti- 

*  For  the  views  of 

HAMILTOH,  see  North  American  Review,  xxv.  266.  Journal  of  Convention  at  Phila- 
delphia, May  14,  1787,  p.  130. 

JAT,  "    Sparks'  Washington,  ix.  510.    North  American  Review,  xxv.  263. 

HENRY,  "  Sparks'  Washington,  ix.  266.  Note,  Elliott's  Debates,  ii.  64,  71, 139' 
147,  Ac. 

MADISOV,   "    Sparks'  Washington,  ix.  516.     North  American  Review,  xxv.  264. 

JZFFERSOX"  Sparks'  Washington,  x.  518  to  526.  North  American  Review,  xxv.  267 
to  269.  Jefferson's  Writings,  ii.  449. 

KROX,          "    North  American  Review,  xxv.  264. 


1790-95  Federal  and  anti-Federal  Views.  467 

Federalists,  who  dreaded  centralization,  on  the  other  hand, 
favoring  State  sovereignty,  and  wishing  but  a  slight  national 
union,  neither  desired  the  creation  of  a  national  credit,  nor 
felt  the  obligation  of  a  national  debt  in  the  same  degree  as 
their  opponents,  and  feared  the  creation  of  a  moneyed  aristo- 
cracy by  speculations  in  the  public  stocks.  When,  therefore, 
Mr.  Hamilton,  upon  whom  it  devolved,  as  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  to  offer  a  plan  for  liquidating  the  debts  of  the  con- 
federation, attempted  the  solution  of  the  financial  problem,  he 
was  certain  to  displease  one  party  or  the  other.  In  generali- 
ties, compromises  had  been  found  possible,  but  in  details  they 
were  not  readily  admitted.  Hamilton,  moreover,  was  one  of 
the  most  extreme  friends  of  centralization,  and  any  measure 
emanating  from  him  was  sure  to  be  resisted.  When  he  brought 
forward  his  celebrated  series  of  financial  measures,  accordingly, 
the  whole  strength  of  the  two  divisions  of  \vhich  we  have 
been  speaking,  appeared  for  and  against  his  plans.  And  it  is 
to  be  noted,  that  the  question  was  not  a  mere  question  of  Fi- 
nance ;  it  involved  the  vital  principles  for  and  against  which 
the  Federal  and  anti-Federal  parties  were  struggling.  The 
former  actually  hoped  by  means  of  the  Funding  and  Bank 
systems,  to  found  a  class  whose  interests  would  so  bind  them 
to  the  Government,  as  to  give  it  permanency,*  while  their  op- 
ponents actually  anticipated  the  formation  of  a  moneyed  aris- 
tocracy, which  would  overthrow  the  power  and  liberties  of 
the  people ;  they  felt  they  were  "  sold  to  stockholders,"  and 
like  the  Roman  debtors  condemned  to  slavery .f 

In  the  West,  the  opponents  of  the  Central  Government 
were  numerous.  Its  formation  had  been  resisted,  and  its  mea- 
sures were  almost  all  unpopular.  The  Indian  War  was  a 
cause  of  complaint,  because  Harmar  and  St.  Glair  had  been 
defeated  ;J  the  army  was  a  cause  of  complaint,  because  it  was 
the  beginning  of  a  system  of  standing  armies.  The  funding 
system  was  hated  because  of  its  injustice,  inasmuch  as  it  aided 

*  See  letter  of  Oliver  Wolcott,  dated  March  27, 1790,  in  Gibbs,  i.  43. 

f  Address  of  Democratic  Club  of  Wythe  county,  Virginia,  dated  July  4,  1794;  it  is  in 
the  Boston  Independent  Chronicle,  of  August  11,  1794.  Jefferson's  letter  to  Washington. 
(Sparks'  Washington,  x.  519-521.) 

J  In  the  Democratic  newspapers  of  the  time,  the  Funding  system,  the  Excise,  the  Bank, 
and  the  Indian  war  are  all  equally  condemned.  See,  for  example,  a  series  of  letters  on 
Hamilton's  financial  measures  in  the  Independent  Chronicle,  of  Boston,  July,  August  and 
September,  1794. 


468  First  Steps  in  Opposition  to  the  Excise.         1790-95 

speculation,  and  because  it  would  lead  to  the  growth  of  a  fa- 
vored class ;  the  western  posts  were  held  by  England,  the  Mis- 
sissippi closed  by  Spain,  and  the  frontier  ravaged  by  the  sava- 
ges, and  against  all,  the  Federal  Government  did  what  ?     No- 
thing.    So  said  the  leaders  of  popular   feeling.     It  was  not 
strange,  therefore,  that  the  people  of  western  Pennsylvania, 
especially  those  of  foreign  birth  and  descent,  should  object  to 
the  payment  of  the  most  unpopular  kind  of  tax  for  the  sup- 
port of  a  Government  which  they  disliked,  and  had  no  faith 
in.     Unable  readily  to  reach  a  market  with  their  produce, 
they  concentrated  it  into  whisky,   and  upon  this,  while  all 
other  agricultural  wealth  was  untouched,  the  hated  tax-gather- 
er was  sent  to  lay  his  excise.     [A  horse  could  pack  only  four 
bushels  of  rye,  but  he  could  carry  the  whisky  from  twenty- 
four  bushels,   when  converted   into  what   was  called  "  high 
wines."*]   Nor  was  it  the  producer  only  who  complained;  the 
consumers  also  felt  aggrieved  by  the  duty  laid  upon  domestic 
spirits,  for  they  were  the  common  drink  of  the  nation  ;  the  star 
of  temperance  had  not   then  arisen.     It  was  in   December, 
1790,  that  General  Hamilton   advised  the   excise  on  spirits ; 
upon  the  3d  of  the  ensuing  March,  the  law  was  passed  ;  and 
instantly  the  spirit  of  opposition  showed  itself.     At  first  this 
opposition  was  confined  to  efforts  to  discourage  persons  from 
holding  offices  connected  with  the  excise;  next  associations 
were  formed  of  those  who  were  ready  to  "forbear"  compliance 
with  the  law ;  but  as  men  talked  with  one  another,  and  the 
excise  became  more  and  more  identified  with  the  tyranny  of 
Federalism,  stronger  demonstrations  were  inevitable,  and  upon 
the  27th  of  July,  1791,   a  meeting  was  called  at  Brownsville, 
(Redstone,)  to  consider  the  growing  troubles  of  the  western 
district  of  Pennsylvania.!    This  meeting,  which  was  attended 
by  influential  and  able  men,  agreed  to  a  gathering  of  repre- 
sentatives from  the  five  counties  included  in  the  fourth  survey 
under  the  law  in  question,  to  be  held  at  Washington,  upon  the 
23d  of  August.     [These  five  counties  were  Washington,  Al- 
leghany,  Westmoreland,  Fayette  and  Bedford.]     The  gather- 
ing took  place,  and  we  extract  from  Hamilton's  report,  of  Au- 
gust 1794,  the  following  sentence  in  relation  to  it  : 

*  American  Pioneer,  ii.  215. 

t  American  State  Papers,  vii.  64, 110;  also  xx.  107,167,  ED. 


1790-95.  Inflammatory  Resolutions.  469 

This  meeting  passed  some  intermediate  resolutions,  which 
were  afterwards  printed  in  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette,  containing  a 
strong  censure  on  the  law,  declaring  that  any  person  who  had 
accepted  or  might  accept  an  office  under  Congress,  in  order  to 
carry  it  into  effect,  should  be  considered  as  inimical  to  the 
interests  of  the  country ;  and  recommending  to  the  citizens  of 
Washington  county  to  treat  every  person  who  had  accepted, 
or  might  thereafter  accept,  any  such  office,  with  contempt,  and 
absolutely  refuse  all  kind  of  communication  or  intercourse 
with  the  officers,  and  to  withhold  from  them  all  aid,  support, 
or  comfort. 

Not  content  with  this  vindictive  proscription  of  those  who 
might  esteem  it  their  duty,  in  the  capacity  of  officers,  to  aid 
in  the  execution  of  the  constitutional  laws  of  the  land,  the 
meeting  proceeded  to  accumulate  topics  of  crimination  of 
the  Government,  though  foreign  to  each  other  ;  authorizing 
by  this  zeal  for  censure  a  suspicion  that  they  were  actuated, 
not  merely  by  the  dislike  of  a  particular  law,  but  by  a  dispo- 
sition to  render  the  Government  itself  unpopular  and  odious. 

This  meeting,  in  further  prosecution  of  their  plan,  deputed 
three  of  their  members  to  meet  delegates  from  the  counties  of 
Westmoreland,  Fayette,  and  Alleghany,  on  the  first  Tuesday 
of  September  following,  for  the  purpose  of  expressing  the 
sense  of  the  people  of  those  counties  in  an  address  to  the  Legis- 
lature of  the  United  States  upon  the  subject  of  the  excise  law 
and  other  grievances. 

Here,  for  the  first  time,  the  connection  of  the  antagonism  to 
the  Excise,  with  other  topics,  was  brought  forward,  and  a 
political  character  given  to  the  movement,  by  a  general  as- 
sault upon  the  measures  of  the  Federal  Government.  This 
assault  assumed  a  yet  more  distinctive  character  at  a  subse- 
quent meeting  of  delegates  held  at  Pittsburgh,  upon  the  7th 
of  September ;  at  which  the  salaries  of  the  Federal  officers  ; 
the  interest  paid  upon  the  national  debt ;  the  want  of  distinc- 
tion between  the  original  holders  of  that  debt  and  those  who 
had  bought  it. at  a  discount;  and  the  creation  of  a  United 
States  Bank,  were  all  denounced  in  common  with  the  tax  on 
whisky.  [But  they  refused  to  give  aid  of  any  kind  to  the  ex- 
cise officers,  which  practically  meant  they  refused  to  sustain 
the  laws,  or  protect  life  and  property  against  illegal  force.*] 
At  these  meetings  all  was  conducted  with  propriety ;  and  the 
resolutions  adopted  gave  no  direct  countenance  to  violence. 
And  when  did  the  leaders  of  a  community,  its  legislators, 
judges  and  clergy,  ever  express,  in  any  manner,  however 

*  American  State  Papers,  xx.  107. 


470  Violence  Commenced.  1793-99. 

quiet,  their  utter  disregard  of  law,  without  a  corresponding 
expression  by  the  masses,  if  uneducated,  in  acts  of  violence  ? 
It  was  not  strange,  therefore,  that  upon  the  day  previous  to 
the  meeting  last  named,  the  collector  for  the  counties  of  Alle- 
ghany  and  Washington  was  attacked.  One  report  says : 

A  party  of  men,  armed  and  disguised,  waylaid  him  at  a 
place  on  Pigeon  creek,  in  Washington  county,  seized,  tarred 
and  feathered  him,  cut  off  his  hair,  and  deprived  him  of  his 
horse,  obliging  him  to  travel  on  foot  a  considerable  distance 
in  that  mortifying  and  painful  situation. 

The  case  was  brought  before  the  district  court  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, out  of  which  processes  were  issued  against  John  Robert- 
son, John  Hamilton,  and  Thomas  McComb,  three  of  the  per- 
sons concerned  in  the  outrage. 

The  serving  of  these  processes  was  confided  by  the  then 
marshal,  Clement  Biddle,  to  his  deputy,  Joseph  Fox,  who,  in 
the  month  of  October,  went  into  Alleghany  county  for  the 
purpose  of  serving  them. 

The  appearances  and  circumstances  which  Mr.  Fox  observ- 
ed himself  in  the  course  of  his  journey,  and  learned  afterwards 
upon  his  arrival  at  Pittsburgh,  had  the  effect  of  deterring  him 
from  the  service  of  the  processes,  and  unfortunately  led  to 
adopt  the  injudicious  and  fruitless  expedient  of  sending  them 
to  the  parties  by  a  private  messenger,  under  cover. 

The  deputy's  report  to  the  marshal  states  a  numb.er  of  par- 
ticulars, evincing  a  considerable  fermentation  in  the  part  of 
the  country  to  which  he  was  sent,  and  inducing  a  belief,  on 
his  part,  that  he  could  not  with  safety  have  executed  the  pro- 
cesses. The  marshal,  transmitting  this  report  to  the  district 
attorney,  makes  the  following  observations  upon  it :  "I  am 
sorry  to  add  that  he  (the  deputy)  found  the  people,  in  general, 
in  the  western  part  of  the  State,  and  particularly  beyond  the 
Alleghany  Mountains,  in  such  a  ferment  on  account  of  the 
act  of  Congress  for  laying  a  duty  on  distilled  spirits,  and  so 
much  opposed  to  the  execution  of  the  said  act,  and  from  a 
variety  of  threats  to  himself  personally,  (although  he  took  the 
utmost  precaution  to  conceal  his  errand,)  that  he  was  not 
only  convinced  of  the  impossibility  of  serving  the  process,  but 
that  any  attempt  to  effect  it  would  have  occasioned  the  most 
violent  opposition  from  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants;  and 
he  declares  that,  if  he  had  attempted  it,  he  believes  he  should 
not  have  returned  alive. 

1  spared  no  expense  nor  pains  to  have  the  process  of  the 
court  executed,  and  have  not  the  least  doubt  that  my  deputy 
would  have  accomplished  it,  if  it  could  have  been  done." 

The  reality  of  the  danger  to  the  deputy  was  countenanced 
by  the  opinion  of  Gen.  Neville,  the  inspector  of  the  revenue, 
a  man  who  before  had  given,  and  since  has  given,  numerous 


1790-95.  Farther  Outrages.  471 

proofs  of  a  steady  and  firm  temper;  and  what  followed  is  a 
further  confirmation  of  it. 

The  person  who  had  been  sent  with  the  processes  was 
seized,  whipped,  tarred,  and  feathered;  and,  after  having  his 
horse  and  money  taken  from  him,  was  blindfolded  and  tied  in 
the  woods;  in  which  condition  he  remained  for  five  hours.^ 

These  intemperate  expressions  of  their  feelings  by  word  and 
deed,  startled  the  government,  and  puzzled  its  executive  offi- 
cers: it  was  determined,  however,  to  await  the  influence  of 
time,  thought,  information,  and  leniency,  and  to  attempt,  by  a 
reconsideration  of  the  law,  at  the  earliest  possible  moment, 
to  do  away  any  real  cause  of  complaint  which  might  exist. 
But  popular  fury  once  aroused  is  not  soon  allayed;  the  worst 
passions  of  the  same  people  who  sent  out  the  murderers  of 
the  Moravian  Indians  in  1782,  had  been  excited,  and  excess 
followed  excess.* 

Some  time  in  October,  1791,  an  unhappy  man, .by  the  name 
of  Wilson,  a  stranger  in  the  country,  and  manifestly  dis- 
ordered in  his  intellects,  imagining  himself  to  be  a  collector 
of  the  revenue,  or  invested  with  some  trust  in  relation  to  it, 
was  so  unlucky  as  to  make  inquiries  concerning  distillers  who 
had  entered  their  stills,  giving-  out  that  he  was  to  travel 
through  the  United  States,  to  ascertain  and  report  to  Con- 
gress the  number  of  stills,  &c.  This  man  was  pursued  by  a 
party  in  disguise ;  taken  out  of  his  bed,  carried  about  five 
miles  back,  to  a  smith's  shop ;  stripped  of  his  clothes,  which 
were  afterwards  burnt;  and  having  been  himself  inhumanly 
burnt  in  several  places  with  a  heated  iron,  was  tarred  and 
feathered,  and  about  day  light  dismissed,  naked,  wounded, 
and  otherwise  in  a  very  suffering  condition.  These  particu- 
lars are  communicated  in  a  letter  from  the  inspector  of  the 
revenue,  of  the  17th  of  November,  who  declares  that  he  had 
then  himself  seen  the  unfortunate  maniac,  the  abuse  of  whom, 
as  he  expressed  it,  exceeded  description,  and  was  sufficient  to 
make  human  nature  shudder.  The  affair  is  the  more  extra- 
ordinary, as  persons  of  weight  and  consideration  in  that 
county  are  understood  to  have  been  actors  in  it,  and  as  the 
symptoms  of  insanity  were,  during  the  whole  time  of  inflict- 
ing the  punishment,  apparent ;  the  unhappy  sufferer  displayed 
the  heroic  fortitude  of  a  man  who  conceived  himself  to  be  a 
martyr  to  the  discharge  of  some  important  duty. 

Not  long  after,  a  person  by  the  name  of  Roseberry  under- 
went the  humiliating  punishment  of  tarring  and  feathering 
with  some  aggravations,  for  having  in  conversation,  hazard- 
ed the  very  natural  and  just,  but  unpalatable  remark,  that 
the  inhabitants  of  that  county  could  not  reasonably  expect 

*  American  State  Papers,  xx.  107,  708. 


472  Pittsburgh  Meeting  of  August  2lst,  1792.     1790-95. 

protection  from  a  government  whose  laws  they  so  strenuously 
opposed. 

The  audacity  of  the  perpetrators  of  these  excesses  was  so 
great,  that  an  armed  banditti  ventured  to  seize  and  carry  off 
two  persons  who  wore  witnesses  against  the  rioters  in  the 
case  of  Wilson,  in  order  to  prevent  their  giving  testimony  of 
the  riot  in  a  court  then  sitting,  or  about  to  sit. 

Notwithstanding  the  course  of  the  western  people,  the  Fed- 
eral Government,  during  the  session  of  1791  and  '92,  proceeded 
in  the  discussion  of  the  obnoxious  statute  ;  and  upon  the  8th 
of  May,  1792,  passed  an  amendatory  act,  making  such  changes 
as  were  calculated  to  allay  the  angry  feelings  that  had  been 
excited,  except  so  far  as  they  were  connected  with  political 
animosities,  and  which  in  most  districts  produced  the  intended 
result.  [Mr.  Hamilton,  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  made  a 
report  on  the  objections  to  the  excise  law,  March  5,  1792.*] 
But  in  western  Pennsylvania,  opposition  continued  una- 
bated, and  it  was  announced  that  the  inspectors  who,  by  the 
new  law,  were  to  be  appointed  for  all  the  counties,  should  not 
be  allowed  to  open  their  offices ;  nor  was  this  a  mere  threat; 
no  buildings  could  be  obtained  for  the  use  of  the  United 
States ;  and  when,  at  length,  in  Washington,  one  Captain 
Faulkner  dared  to  agree  that  a  building  of  his  should  be  occu- 
pied by  the  inspector,  he  was  waylaid  by  a  mob,  a  knife 
drawn  upon  him,  and  was  threatened  with  scalping,  loss  of 
property  by  fire,  and  other  injuries,  if  he  did  not  revoke  his 
agreement ;  so  that  upon  the  20th  of  August,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  fear,  he  did  actually  break  his  contract,  and  upon  the 
next  day  advertised  what  he  had  done  in  the  Pittsburgh 
paper.f 

On  the  day  of  this  advertisement,  in  the  same  town  in 
which  it  appeared,  a  meeting  was  held,  headed  by  members 
of  the  State  Legislature,;];  judges,  clergymen,  and  other  lead- 
ing characters.  [Of  these,  the  late  Albert  Gallatin  was 
Secretary  to  the  meeting.  The  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
was  Daniel  Bradford,  who  acted  as  a  leader  in  many  of  the 
violent  proceedings.  For  his  views  on  the  subject,  the  reader 
is  referred  to  a  letter  from  him  in  the  United  States  Gazette, 

•American  State  Papers,  xx.  103. 
t  American  State  Papers,  vii.  150. 
^American  State  Papers,  xx.  108. 


1790-95.  Measures  adopted  by  Government.  473 

of  September  9th,  1794;   and  to  Clymer's  letter  in  Gibbs' 
Memoirs,  i.  248.] 

This  meeting  entered  into  resolutions  not  less  exceptionable 
than  those  of  its  predecessors.  The  preamble  suggests  that  a 
tax  on  spirituous  liquors  is  unjust  in  itself  and  oppressive  upon 
the  poor ;  that  internal  taxes  upon  consumption  must,  in  the 
end,  destroy  the  liberties  of  every  country  in  which  they  are 
introduced ;  that  the  law  in  question,  from  certain  local  cir- 
cumstances, which  are  specified,  would  bring  immediate  dis- 
tress and  ruin  upon  the  western  country ;  and  concludes  with 
the  sentiment,  that  they  think  it  their  duty  to  persist  in  remon- 
strance to  Congress,  and  in  every  other  legal  measure  that 
may  obstruct  the  operation  of  the  law. 

The  resolutions  then  proceed,  first,  to  appoint  a  committee 
to  prepare  and  cause  to  be  presented  to  Congress,  an  address, 
stating  objections  to  the  law,  and  praying  for  its  repeal ;  sec- 
ondly, to  appoint  committees  of  correspondence  for  Washing- 
ton, Fayette  and  Alleghany,  charged  to  correspond  together, 
and  with  such  committees  as  should  be  appointed  for  the  same 
purpose  in  the  county  of  Westmoreland,  or  with  any  commit- 
tees of  a  similar  nature  that  might  be  appointed  in  other 
parts  of  the  United  States ;  and,  also,  if  found  necessary,  to 
call  together  either  general  meetings  of  the  people  in  their 
respective  counties,  or  conferences  of  the  several  committees; 
and  lastly,  to  declare  that  they  will  in  future  consider  those 
who  hold  offices  for  the  collection  of  the  duty  as  unworthy  of 
their  friendship  ;  that  they  will  have  no  intercourse  nor  deal- 
ings with  them,  will  withdraw  from  them  every  assistance, 
withhold  all  the  comforts  of  life  which  depend  upon  those  du- 
ties that  as  men  and  fellow-citizens  we  owe  to  each  other, 
and  will  upon  all  occasions  treat  them  with  contempt ;  earn- 
estly recommending  it  to  the  people  at  large  to  follow  the 
same  line  of  conduct  towards  them. 

When  notice  of  this  meeting,  and  of  the  means  used  to  in- 
timidate Faulkner,  was  given  to  the  government,  Washing- 
ton issued  a  proclamation,  dated  September  15th;  the  super- 
visor of  the  district  was  sent  to  the  seat  of  trouble  to  learn 
the  true  state  of  facts  and  to  collect  evidence ;    while  the  At- 
torney General  was  instructed  to  inquire  into  the  legality  of 
the  proceedings  of  the  Pittsburgh  meeting,  with  a  view  to  the 
indictment  of  the  leaders.     Mr.    Randolph,  however,  felt  so 
much  doubt  as  to  the  character  of  the  meeting  of  August  21, 
that  no  prosecutions  on  that  score  were  instituted;  and  in 
serving  process  upon  two  persons  said  to  have  been  among 
the   assailants  of  Faulkner,  either  an  error  was  made,  or  the 
30 


474  Action  of  the  Democratic  Societies.  1790-95. 

accusation  proved  to  be  false,  which  caused  that  matter  also 
to  be  dropped  by  the  government.  [Mr.  Finley,  in  his  History 
of  the  Insurrection,  (p.  71,)  says  the  accusation  was  false,  and 
the  evidence  perjured.*]  It  was  then  proposed  to  attempt  a 
gradual  suppression  of  the  resistance  to  the  law,  by  adopting 
these  measures : 

1st.  The  prosecution  of  all  distillers  who  were  not  li- 
censed, when  it  could  be  done  with  certainty  of  success,  and 
without  exciting  violence. 

2d.  The  seizure  of  all  illegal  spirits  on  their  way  to  mar- 
ket, when  it  could  be  done  without  leading  to  outbreaks. 

3d.  By  care  that  only  spirits  which  had  paid  duty  were 
bought  for  the  use  of  the  army. 

The  influence  of  these  measures  was  in  part  lost  in  conse- 
quence of  the  introduction  of  the  whisky  that  paid  no  tax 
into  the  North-western  Territory,  over  which  some  of  the 
laws  relative  to  the  matter  did  not  extend  ;  but  still  their  ef- 
fect was  decided  :  in  November,  1792,  Wolcott  wrote  that  the 
opposition  was  confined  to  a  small  part  of  Pennsylvania,  and 
would  soon  cease  ;f  and  through  the  whole  of  1793 — although 
the  Collector  for  Fayette  county  was  obliged  by  force  to  give 
up  his  books  and  papers,  and  to  promise  a  resignation;  while 
the  Inspector  of  Allegheny  was  burnt  in  effigy  before  the 
magistrates,  and  no  notice  of  the  act  taken  by  them  ;  and  al- 
though when  warrants  were  issued  for  the  rioters  in  the  for- 
mer case,  the  Sheriff  of  the  county  refused  to  execute  them, 
yet  obedience  to  the  excise  became  more  general,  and  many 
of  the  leading  distillers,  yielding  to  the  suggestions  of  pecu- 
niary interest,  for  the  first  time  entered  their  stills,  and  aban- 
doned the  party  of  Bradford  and  his  coadjutors. J  This 
abandonment,  the  political  antagonists  of  the  law  by  no 
means  relished;  still  even  they  might  have  been  subdued  but 
for  the  introduction  at  that  very  juncture,  of  Mr.  Genet's  fa- 
mous system  of  Democratic  Societies,  which,  like  the  Jacobin 
clubs  of  Paris,  were  to  be  a  power  above  the  government. 
Genet  reached  the  United  States,  April  8th  ;  on  the  18th  of 

*  American  State  Papers,  xx.  108,  109.— Sparks'  Washirgton,  x.  291,  305—526  to  533. 
Gibbs'  Memoirs,  i.  148. — Marshall's  Washington,  v.  365. 

jGibbs,  i.  83. 

%  American  State  Papers,  KX.  40 


1790-95  Action  of  the  Democratic  Societies.  475 

May,  he  was  presented  to  the  President ;  and  by  the  30th  of 
that  month  the  Democratic  Society  of  Philadelphia  was  or- 
ganized.*    By  means  of  this,  its  affiliated  bodies,  and  other 
societies  based  upon  it,  or  suggested  by  it,  the  French  minis- 
ter, his  friends  and  imitators,  waged  their  war  upon  the  ad- 
ministration, and  gave  new  energy  to  every  man  who,  on  any 
ground,  was  dissatisfied  with  the  laws  of  his  country.  Among 
those  dissatisfied,  the  enemies  of  the  excise  were  of  course  to 
be  numbered ;  and  there  can  be  little  or  no  doubt  that  to  the 
agency  of  societies  formed  in  the  disaffected  districts,   after 
the  plan  of  those  founded  by  Genet,  the  renewed  and  excess- 
ive hostility  of  the  western  people  to  the  tax  upon  spirits  is 
to  be  ascribed.f     [It  was  natural  enough  in  the  heat  of  politi- 
cal excitement,  to  ascribe  the  whisky  insurrection  directly  to 
the  agency  of  Genet  in  these  societies,  as  was  done  by  Wash- 
ington and  his  friends.     But  we  think  the  evidence  in  the  case 
disproves  all  design  on  the  part  of  the  proper  Democratic 
Societies,  to  rebel  against  the  laws,  or  produce  anarchy,  or  a 
separation  of  the  Union.  The  strong  sympathy  with  the  French 
people  for  their  aid  in  the  revolutionary  struggle,  and  the  ar- 
dent love  of  liberty,  were  reasons  enough  to  account  for  the 
organization  of  these  societies.]   The  proper  Democratic  Soci- 
eties, when  the  crisis  came,  disapproved  of  the  violence  con> 
mitted,J  and  so  did  Gallatin  and  many  others;  but,  however 
much  they  may  have  disliked  an  appeal  to  force,  even  from 
the  outset,  their  measures,  their  extravagancies,  and  political 
fanatacism,  were  calculated  to  result  in  violence  and  nothing 
else.      Through  1793,  as  we  have  said,  the  law  seemed  gain- 
ing, but  with  the  next  January  the  demon  was  loosed  again, 

William  Richmond,  who  had  given  information  against 
some  of  the  rioters  in  the  affair  of  Wilson,  had  his  barn  burnt, 
writh  all  the  grain  and  hay  which  it  contained ;  and  the  same 
thing  happened  to  Robert  Shawhan,  a  distiller,  who  had  been 
among  the  first  to  comply  with  the  law,  and  who  had  always 
spoken  favorably  of  it ;  but  in  neither  of  these  instances, 
(which  happened  in  the  county  of  Alleghany)  though  the  pre- 
sumptions were  violent,  was  any  positive  proof  obtained. 

*  Marshall's  Washington,  v.  426,  note. 
|See  Sparks'  Washington,  x.  429,  437,  Ac. 

J  U.  S.  Gazette,  August  26,  September  1,  Stptember  6,  &c.,  1794.— Boston  Independent 
Chronicle,  August  IS,  1794,  October  6, 1794. 


476  Further  Outrages  in  1794.  1790-95. 

The  inspector  of  the  revenue,  in  a  letter  of  the  27th  of 
February,  writes  that  he  had  received  information  that  per- 
sons, living  near  the  dividing  line  of  Alleghany  and  Washing- 
ton, had  thrown  out  threats  of  tarring  and  feathering  one 
William  Cochran,  a  complying  distiller,  and  of  burning  his  dis- 
tillery; and  that  it  had  also  been  given  out  that  in  three 
weeks  there  would  not  be  a  house  standing  in  Alleghany 
county  of  any  person  who  had  complied  with  the  laws;  in 
consequence  of  which,  he  had  been  induced  to  pay  a  visit  to 
several  leading  individuals  in  that  quarter,  as  well  to  as- 
certain the  truth  of  the  information  as  to  endeavor  to  avert 
the  attempt  to  execute  such  threats. 

It  appeared  afterwards,  that,  on  his  return  home,  he  had 
been  pursued  by  a  collection  of  disorderly  persons,  threaten- 
ing, as  they  went  along,  vengeance  against  him.  On  their 
way,  these  men  called  at  the  house  of  James  Kiddoe,  who 
had  recently  complied  with  the  laws,  broke  into  his  still-house, 
fired  several  balls  under  his  still,  and  scattered  fire  over  and 
about  the  house, 

In  May  and  June  new  violences  were  committed.  James 
Kiddoe,  the  person  above  mentioned,  and  William  Cochran, 
another  complying  distiller,  met  with  repeated  injury  to  their 
property.  Kiddoe  had  parts  of  his  grist-mill  at  different  times 
carried  .away ;  and  Cochran  suffered  more  material  injuries. 
His  sJi.ll  was  destroyed ;  his  saw-mill  was  rendered  useless, 
by  the  taking  away  of  the  saw ;  and  his  grist-mill  so  injured 
as  to  require  to  be  repaired,  at  considerable  expense. 

At  the  last  visit,  a  note  in  writing  was  left,  requiring  him  to 
publish  what  he  had  suffered,  in  the  Pittsburgh  Gazette,  on 
pain  of  another  visit,  in  which  he  is  threatened,  in  figurative 
but  intelligible  terms,  with  the  destruction  of  his  property  by 
fire.  Thus  adding  to  the  profligacy  of  doing  wanton  injuries 
to  a  fellow-citizen  the  tyranny  of  compelling  him  to  be  the 
publisher  of  his  wrongs. 

June  being  the  month  for  receiving  annual  entries  of  stiUs, 
endeavors  were  used  to  open  offices  in  Westmoreland  and 
Washington,  where  it  had  been  hitherto  found  impracticable. 
With  much  pains  and  difficulty,  places  were  procured  for  the 
purpose.  That  in  Westmoreland  was  repeatedly  attacked  in 
the  night  by  armed  mejn,  who  frequently  fired  upon  it ;  but, 
according  to  a  report  which  .has  been  made  to  this  Depart- 
ment, it  was  defended  with  so  much  courage  and  persever- 
ance by  John  Wells,  an  auxiliary  officer,  and  Philip  Ragan, 
the  owner  of  the  house,  as  to  have  been  maintained  during 
the  remainder  of  the  month. 

That  in  Washington,  after  repeated  attempts,  was  sup- 
pressed. The  first  attempt  was  confined  to  pulling  down  the 
sign  of  the  office,  and  threats  of  future  destruction  ;  the 


1790-95.         Offenders  to  be  Tried  at  Philadelphia.  477 

second  effected  the  object  in  the  following  mode  :  About 
twelve  persons,  armect  and  painted  black,  in  the  night  of  the 
6th  [of  June,  broke  into  the  house  of  John  Lynn,  where  the 
office  was  kept,  and,  after  having  treacherously  seduced  him 
to  come  down  stairs,  and  put  himself  into  their  power,  by  a 
promise  of  safety,  to  himself  and  his  house,  they  seized  and  tied 
him ;  threatened  to  hang  him ;  took  him  to  a  retired  spot  in 
a  neighboring  wood,  and  there,  after  cutting  off  his  hair,  tar- 
ring and  feathering  him,  swore  him  never  again  to  allow  the 
use  of  his  house  for  an  office,  never  to  disclose  their  names, 
and  never  again  to  have  any  sort  of  agency  in  aid  of  the 
excise  :  having  done  which,  they  bound  him  naked  to  a  tree, 
and  left  him  in  that  situation  till  morning,  when  he  succeeded 
in  extricating  himself.  Not  content  with  this,  the  malcon- 
tents, some  days  after,  made  him  another  visit,  pulled  down 
part  of  his  house,  and  put  him  in  a  situation  to  be  obliged  to 
become  an  exile  from  his  own  home,  and  to  find  an  asylum 
elsewhere.* 

Even  these  acts,  however,  were  followed  by  nothing  on  the 
part  of  the  government  more  stringent  than  the  institution, 
in  the  June  following,  of  several  suits  against  the  rioters,  and 
also  against  the  non-complying  distillers ;  to  serve  process  in 
which  the  Marshal  of  the  United  States  himself  visited  the 
West.  This  led  to  the  catastrophe.  These  suits  were  in  the 
United  States  Court,  which  sat  east  of  the  mountains,  where 
the  accused  must  of  course  be  tried.  But  the  seizure  of  of- 
fenders to  be  tried  out  of  their  own  neighborhood,  was  op- 
posed to  the  feelings  of  the  Americans,  and  to  the  principles 
of  that  English  law  upon  which  they  had  relied  through  the 
discussions  which  preceded  the  Revolution.  The  federal 
government,  it  was  said,  in  taking  men  to  Philadelphia,!  to 
be  tried  for  alleged  misdemeanors,  was  doing  what  the  Brit- 
ish did  in  carrying  Americans  beyond  the  sea.  Then  was 
shown,  as  we  conceive,  the  power  of  those  societies  to  which 
we  have  referred.  In  February,  1794,  a  society  had  been 
formed  at  Mingo  creek,  consisting  of  the  militia  of  that  neigh- 
borhood, the  same  persons  who  led  in  all  future  excesses.J  In 
April  a  second  association  of  the  same  character,  and  a  regu- 

*  American  State  Papers,  xx.  110. 

f  The  writs  were  there  returnable,  in  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States.  (Findley 
74.)  There  was  needless  excitement  caused  by  this,  as  the  .United  States  Courts  had  been' 
authorized  to  sit  near  the  troubled  district,  and  the  State  Courts  to  try  revenue  cases 
(Findley,  73.) 

J  Brackenridge's  Incidents,  pp.  25,  148. 


478  Mob  gather  at  Neville's  House.  1790-95. 

lar  Democratic  Club,  were  formed  in  the  troublesome  district. 
In  the  latter,  nothing  was  done  in  relation  to  the  excise,  so 
far  as  is  known,  but  in  the  two  first  named  bodies,  there  is  rea- 
son to  believe  that  the  worst  spirit  of  the  French  clubs  was 
naturalized ;  the  excise  and  the  government  thoroughly  can- 
vassed ;  and  rebellion,  disunion  and  bloodshed,  sooner  or 
later,  made  familiar  to  the  minds  of  all.  [A  murderous  spirit 
filled  and  excited  the  ignorant  people  in  the  country.*] 

It  may  be  readily  understood  that  under  such  circumstan- 
ces, great  excitement  was  likely  to  prevail  upon  slight  provo- 
cation. Notwithstanding,  the  Marshal  was  suffered  to  serve 
his  writs  unresisted,  until,  when  he  went  with  the  last  process 
in  his  hands,  he  unwisely  took  with  him  the  Inspector  of  the 
county,  General  John  Neville,  a  man  once  very  popular,  but 
who  had  been,  as  men  considered,  bought  up  by  the  Govern- 
ment, and  had  hence  become  exceedingly  hateful  to  the  popu- 
lace. After  serving  this  process,  the  Marshal  and  Inspector 
were  followed  by  a  crowd,  and  a  gun  was  fired,  though  with- 
out doing  any  injury.  The  Marshal  returned  to  Pittsburgh 
and  the  Inspector  to  his  own  house,  but  it  being  noised  abroad 
that  both  were  at  General  Neville's,  a  number  of  militia-men 
who  were  gathered  under  the  United  States  law,  agreed  the 
next  morning  to  pay  the  Inspector  a  visit.  For  some  time, 
Neville  had  been  looking  for  an  attack,  knowing  his  unpopu- 
larity, and  had  armed  his  negroes  and  barricaded  his  windows. 
An  attack  upon  his  house,  with  a  view  to  a  destruction  of  his 
papers,  had  probably  been  in  contemplation,  and  those  who 
gathered  on  the  morning  of  the  16th  of  July,  were  determined, 
we  presume,  to  carry  the  proposed  destruction  into  effect. 
When  General  Neville  discovered  the  party  on  that  morning 
around  his  door,  he  asked  their  business,  and  upon  receiving 
evasive  replies,  proceeded  at  once  to  treat  them  as  enemies; 
shut  his  door  again,  and  opened  a  fire,  by  which  six  of  his 
supposed  assailants  were  wounded,  one  of  them  mortally. 
This,  of  course,  added  greatly  to  the  anger  and  excitement 
previously  existing;  news  of  the  bloodshed  were  diffused 
through  the  Mingo  creek  neighborhood,  and  before  nightfall, 
steps  were  taken  to  avenge  the  sufferers.  [General  Neville 
had  been  an  opposer  of  a  State  excise,  which  had  previously 

»  Findley,  166.— Brackenridge,  iii.  25. 


1790-95.  Neville's  House  Destroyed.  479 

existed ;  he  had  taken  the  place  of  an  Inspector,  and  made 
the  statement  that  he  did  not  consider  what  the  people 
thought — he  would  have  an  independent  salary  of  six  hun- 
dred— he  was  understood  to  mean  pounds,  when  he  only  meant 
dollars.*]  What  followed,  we  will  give  in  the  words  of  Gen- 
eral Hamilton,  adding  afterwards  some  particulars  gathered 
from  Findley  and  Brackenridge. 

Apprehending  that  the  business  would  not  terminate  here, 
he  [Neville]  made  application  by  letter  to  the  judges,  generals 
of  militia,  and  sheriff  of  the  county,  for  protection.  ,A  reply 
to  his  application,  from  John  Wilkins,  jun.,  and  John  Gibson, 
magistrates  and  militia  officers,  informed  him  that  the  laws 
could  not  be  executed,  so  as  to  afford  him  the  protection  to 
which  he  was  entitled,  owing  to  the  too  general  combination 
of  the  people  in  that  part  of  Pennsylvania  to  oppose  the  reve- 
nue law;  adding,  that  they  would  take  every  step  in  their 
power  to  bring  the  rioters  to  justice,  and  would  be  glad  to  re- 
ceive information  of  the  individuals  concerned  in  the  attack 
upon  his  house,  that  prosecutions  might  be  commenced  against 
them ;  and  expressing  their  sorrow  that  should  the  posse  comi- 
tatus  of  the  county  be  ordered  out  in  support  of  the  civil  au- 
thority, very  few  could  be  gotten  that  were  not  of  the  party 
of  the  rioters. 

The  day  following  the  insurgents  re-assembled  with  a  con- 
siderable augmentation  of  numbers,  amounting,  as  has  been 
computed,  to  at  least  five  hundred:  and  on  the  17th  of  July, 
renewed  their  attack  upon  the  house  of  the  inspector,  who,  in 
the  interval,  had  taken  the  precaution  of  calling  to  his  aid  a 
small  detachment  from  the  garrison  of  Fort  Pitt,  which,  at 
the  time  of  the  attack,  consisted  of  eleven  men,  who  had  been 
joined  by  Major  Abraham  Kirkpatrick,  a  friend  and  connex- 
ion of  the  inspector. 

There  being  scarcely  a  prospect  of  effectual  defence  against 
so  large  a  body  as  then  appeared,  and  as  the  inspector  had 
erery  thing  to  apprehend  for  his  person,  if  taken,  it  was 
judged  advisable  that  he  should  withdraw  from  the  house  to 
a  place  of  concealment ;  Major  Kirkpatrick  generously  agree- 
ing to  remain  with  the  eleven  men,  in  the  intention,  if  prac- 
ticable, to  make  a  capitulation  in  favor  of  the  property ;  if 
not,  to  defend  it  as  long  as  possible. 

A  parley  took  place  under  cover  of  a  flag,  which  was  sent 
by  the  insurgents  to  the  house  to  demand  that  the  inspector 
should  come  forth,  renounce  his  office,  and  stipulate  never 
again  to  accept  an  office  under  the  same  laws.  To  this  it 
was  replied,  that  the  inspector  had  left  the  house  upon  their 

*  Brackenridge,  i.  6;  iii.  1.    Findleyi  p.  79,  84.    American  State  Papers,  xx.  110,  111. 


480  McFarlane  Killed.  1790-95. 

first  approach,  and  that  the  place  to  which  he  had  retired  was 
unknown.  They  then  declared  that  they  must  have  whatever 
related  to  his  office.  They  were  answered  that  they  might 
send  persons,  not  exceeding  six,  to  search  the  house,  and  take 
away  whatever  papers  they  could  find  appertaining  to  the 
office.  But  not  satisfied  with  this,  they  insisted,  uncondition- 
ally, that  the  armed  men  who  were  in  the  house  for  its  de- 
fence, should  march  out  and  ground  their  arms,  which  Major 
Kirkpatrick  peremptorily  refused  ;  considering  it  and  repre- 
senting it  to  them  as  a  proof  of  a  design  to  destroy  the  property. 
This  refusal  put  an  end  to  the  parley. 

A  brisk  firing  then  ensued  between  the  insurgents  and  those 
in  the  house,  which,  it  is  said,  lasted  for  near  an  hour,  till  the 
assailants,  having  set  fire  to  the  neighboring  and  adjacent 
buildings,  eight  in  number,  the  intenseness  of  the  heat,  and 
the  danger  of  an  immediate  communication  of  the  fire  to  the 
house,  obliged  Major  Kirkpatrick  and  his  small  party  to  come 
out  and  surrender  themselves.  In  the  course  of  the  firing  one 
of  the  insurgents  was  killed  and  several  wounded,  and  three 
of  the  persons  in  the  house  were  also  wounded.  The  person 
killed,  is  understood  to  have  been  the  leader  of  the  party,  of 
the  name  of  James  McFarlane,  then  a  major  in  the  militia, 
formerly  a  lieutenant  in  the  Pennsylvania  line.  The  dwell- 
ing-house, after  the  surrender,  shared  the  fate  of  the  other 
buildings,  the  whole  of  which  were  consumed  to  the  ground. 
The  loss  of  property  to  the  inspector,  upon  this  occasion,  is  esti- 
mated, and,  as  it  is  believed  with  great  moderation,  at  not  less 
than  three  thousand  pounds,  or  ten  thousand  dollars. 

The  marshal,  Col.  Presly  Neville,  and  several  others,  were 
taken  by  the  insurgents  going  to  the  inspector's  house.  All,  ex- 
cept the  marshal  and  Col.  Neville,  soon  made  their  escape ; 
but  these  were  carried  off'  some  distance  from  the  place  where 
the  affray  had  happened,  and  detained  till  one  or  two  o'clock 
the  next  morning.  In  the  course  of  their  detention,  the  mar- 
shal in  particular,  suffered  very  severe  and  humiliating  treat- 
ment, and  was  frequently  in  imminent  danger  of  his  life. 
Several  of  the  party  frequently  presented  their  pieces  at  him 
with  every  appearance  of  a  design  to  assassinate,  from  which 
they  were  with  difficulty  restrained  by  the  efforts  of  a  few 
more  humane  and  more  prudent. 

Nor  could  he  obtain  safety  nor  liberty,  but  upon  the  condi- 
tion of  a  promise,  guaranteed  by  Col.  Neville,  that  he  would 
serve  no  other  process  on  the  west  side  of  the  Allegheny 
Mountain.  The  alternative  being  immediate  death,  extorted 
from  the  marshal  a  compliance  with  this  condition,  notwith- 
standing the  just  sense  of  official  dignity,  and  the  firmness 
of  character  which  were  witnessed  by  his  conduct  throughout 
the  trying  scenes  he  had  experienced. 


1790-95.  Attack  on  Neville.  481 

The  insurgents,  on  the  18th,  sent  a  deputation  of  two  of 
their  number  (one  a  justice  of  the  peace)  to  Pittsburgh,  to  re- 
quire of  the  marshal,  a  surrender  of  the  process  in  his  posses- 
sion, intimating  that  his  compliance  would  satisfy  the  people, 
and  add  to  his  safety  ;  and  also  to  demand  of  Gen.  Neville,  in 
peremptory  terms  the  resignation  of  his  office ;  threatening,  in 
case  of  refusal,  to  attack  the  place  and  take  him  by  force  ;  de- 
mands which  both  these  officers  did  not  hesitate  to  reject,  as 
alike  incompatible  with  their  honor  and  their  duty. 

As  it  was  well  ascertained  that  no  protection  was  to  be  ex- 
pected from  the  magistrates  or  inhabitants  of  Pittsburgh,  it 
became  necessary  to  the  safety,  both  of  the  inspector  and  the 
marshal,  to  quit  that  place;  and,  as  it  was  known  that  all  the 
usual  routes  to  Philadelphia  were  beset  by  the  insurgents, 
they  concluded  to  descend  the  Ohio,  and  proceed,  by  a  circuit- 
ous route,  to  the  seat  of  Government ;  which  they  began  to 
put  in  execution  on  the  night  of  the  19th  of  July. 

The  following  points,  which  are  of  great  importance,  do 
not  appear  in  the  above  narrative.  First,  it  seems  the  attack 
was  so  deliberate  that  a  committee  of  three  was  chosen  to 
superintend  it,  who  sat  upon  an  elevation,  and  directed  the 
various  movements.  Second,  it  seems  that  the  object  aimed 
at  was  the  destruction  of  official  papers,  and  not  property  or 
life.  Third,  McFarlane,  the  commander  of  the  rebels,  was  shot 
dead,  when  he  exposed  himself  in  consequence  of  a  call  from 
the  house  to  cease  firing ;  this  was  regarded  as  intentional  mur- 
der on  the  part  of  the  defenders.  Fourth,  there  is  no  doubt  as 
to  the  burning  having  been  authorized  by  the  committee  of 
attack.* 

The  attack  upon  Neville's  house  was  an  outrage  of  so  vio- 
lent a  character,  and  the  feeling  that  caused  it  was  of  so 
mixed  a  nature,  that  further  movements  were  of  necessity,  to 
be  expected.  Those  who  thought  themselves  justified,  as  the 
early  actors  in  the  Revolution  had  been,  would  of  course  go 
forward;  those  who  anticipated  the  vengeance  of  the  laws, 
thought  it  safer  to  press  on  and  make  the  rebellion  formidable, 
than  to  stop  and  so  be  unable  to  hope  for  terms  from  the  gov- 
ernment :  [which,  as  Brackenridge  states,  was  the  case  with 
Bradford,]  the  depraved  looked  for  plunder,  the  depressed  for 
a  chance  to  rise,  the  ambitious  had  the  great  men  of  France 
in  view  before  them,  and  the  cowardly  followed  what  they 
dared  not  try  to  withstand. 

*  American  State  Papers,  xx.  112. — Findley,  86,  87. — Breckenridge,  i.  18, 19. — Ameri- 
can Pioneer,  ii.  207. 


482  United  States  Mail  Robbed  by  Bradford.       1790-95. 

These  various  feelings  showed  themselves  at  a  meeting  held 
July  23d.  at  Mingo  creek,  the  particulars  of  which  are  given 
by  Brackenridge,  who  attended,  in  a  vivid  and  clear  narrative. 
The  masses  were  half-mad,  filled  with  true  Parisian  fury,  and 
drove  their  apparent  leaders  powerless  before  them.  At  this 
gathering,  a  general  convention  to  meet  on  the  14th  of  Au- 
gust, at  Parkinson's  Ferry,  now  Williamsport,  upon  the 
Monogahela,  was  agreed  on  ;  but  the  more  violent  meanwhile 
determined  upon  steps  that  would  entirely  close  the  way  to 
reconciliation  with  the  Government :  these  were,  first,  the  rob- 
bery of  the  mail,  by  which  they  expected  to  learn  who  were 
their  chief  opponents ;  next,  the  expulsion  from  the  country 
of  the  persons  thus  made  known ;  and,  lastly,  the  seizure  of 
the  United  States  arms  and  ammunition  at  Pittsburgh.  The 
leading  man  in  these  desperate  acts  was  David  Bradford,  an 
attorney  and  politician  of  some  eminence.  The  first  step  was 
successfully  taken  on  the  26th  of  July,  and  General  John  Gib- 
son, Colonel  Presly  Neville,  son  of  General  John  Neville,  and 
three  others,  were  found  to  have  written  letters  in  relation  to 
the  late  proceedings.  This  being  known,  the  people  of  Pitts- 
burgh were  requested  by  the  Jacobins  of  the  country  to  expel 
these  persons  forthwith,  and  such  was  the  fear  of  the  citizens 
that  the  order  was  obeyed,  though  unwillingly.*  But  the  third 
project  succeeded  less  perfectly.  In  order  to  effect  it,  a  meet- 
ing of  the  masses  had  been  called  for  August  1st,  at  Brad- 
dock's  field  ;  this  call  was  made  in  the  form  usual  for  militia 
musters,  and  all  were  notified  to  come  armed  and  equipped. 
Brackenridge  was  again  present,  though  in  fear  and  trembling. 
Terror,  indeed,  appears  to  have  ruled  as  perfectly  as  beyond 
the  Atlantic.  The  Pittsburgh  representatives  had  gone  to 
the  conference  from  fear  of  being  thought  lukewarm  in  the 
rebel  cause,  and  finding  themselves  suspected,  passed  the  day 
in  fear.  The  object  of  the  gathering,  an  attack  upon  the 
United  States  arsenal,  had  been  divulged  to  few,  and  upon 
further  consultation  was  abandoned.  But  it  was  determined 
to  march  to  Pittsburgh  at  any  rate,  for  the  purpose  of  intimi- 
dating the  disaffected,  robbing  a  few  houses,  and  burning  a 
few  stores.  The  women  of  the  country  had  gathered  to  see 

*  See  Brackenridge's  Incidents  of  the  Insurrection  of  1794,  i.  30,  39,  45,  52,  66.  vol  iii, 
148.  Findley's  History  of  the  Whisky  Insurrection,  pp.  91,  93,  95,  103.  American  Ko- 
neer,  i.  65. 


1790-55.  Plan  to  Attack  the  U.  S.  Arsenal  483 

the  sack  of  the  city  at  the  Fork — and  it  was  with  difficulty 
that  the  conflagration  and  robbery  were  prevented ;  the  lead- 
ers in  general  opposed  the  excesses  of  their  followers ;  the 
brother  of  the  murdered  McFarlane  protected  the  property  of 
Major  Kirkpatrick,  and  as  others  who  were  most  interested  in 
the  insurrection,  showed  equal  vigor  in  the  prevention  of  vio- 
lence, the  march  to  Pittsburgh  resulted  in  nothing  worse  than 
the  burning  of  a  few  barns  and  sheds.* 

When  acknowledge  of  the  attack  on  Neville's  house  and 
the  subsequent  proceedings  reached  the  Federal  Government, 
it  was  thought  to  be  time  to  take  decided  steps.  On  the  5th 
of  August,  Hamilton  laid  the  whole  matter  before  the  Presi- 
dent ;  Judge  Wilson  of  the  Supreme  Court,  having  on  the  4th 
certified  the  western  counties  to  be  in  a  state  of  insurrection ; 
and  upon  the  7th,  Washington  issued  his  Proclamation  giving 
notice  that  every  means  in  his  power  would  be  used  to  put 
down  the  rebelion.  As  it  was  his  wish,  however,  and  also 
that  of  Governor  Mifflin  of  Pennsylvania,  that  no  pains 
should  be  spared  to  prevent  a  recourse  to  arms,  Commission- 
ers were  appointed,  three  by  the  United  States  and  two  by  the 
State,  to  visit  the  West,  and  try  to  procure  an  abandonment 
of  the  insurrection  without  bloodshed.  [The  Commissioners 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  were  James  Ross,  a  Senator 
in  Congress,  and  a  gentleman  very  popular  with  the  people 
in  western  Pennsylvania,  Jasper  Yeates,  an  Associate  Judge 
of  the  Supreme  Court  of  that  State  ;  and  William  Bradford, 
the  Attorney  General  of  the  United  States.  Those  on  the 
part  of  Pennsylvania  were  Thomas  McKean,  Chief  Justice  of 
the  State ;  and  William  Irvine,  a  Representative  in  Congress. 
Their  instructions  are  in  the  American  State  Papers,  vol.  xx. 
p.  86.] 

When  these  messengers  reached  the  neighborhood  of  Pitts- 
burgh, the  meeting  at  Parkinson's  ferry  was  in  session,  and 
Gallatin  and  others  were  trying  to  prevent  matters  from  be- 
coming worse  than  they  already  were.  This  meeting,  upon 
receiving  notice  of  the  approach  of  the  Commissioners,  agreed 
to  send  a  committee  of  conference,  to  treat  with  them  ;  and 
at  the  same  time,  named  a  standing  committee,  one  from  each 

•  > 

t  See  correspondence  of  Gorernor  Mifflin  and  Mr.  Randolph  in  American  State  Papers 
xx.  97  to  106. 


484  Meeting  of  the  Committee  of  Conference.         1790-95. 

township,  making  sixty  in  number,  to  whom  the  former  were 
to  report,  and  who  were  authorized  to  call  a  new  meeting  of 
deputies  or  recall  the  old  ones,  in  order  to  accept  or  reject  the 
terms  offered  on  the  part  of  Government.  [The  conferees 
were  from  the  counties  of  Westmoreland,  Alleghany,  Fayette 
and  Washington  in  Pennsylvania,  and  Ohio  county  in  Vir- 
ginia.*] 

On  the  21st  of  August  the  Commissioners  and  Committee 
of  conference  met,  and  after  some  discussion  agreed  upon 
terms,  which  the  representatives  of  the  insurgents  thought 
their  constituents  would  do  well  to  accept.  They  were  then 
submitted  to  the  standing  committee,  but  in  that  body  so  much 
fear  and  mutual  distrust  prevailed,  as  to  lead  to  a  mere  recom- 
mendation to  the  people  to  accept  the  terms  offered,  by  a  vote 
of  thirty-four  to  twenty-three,  while  the  committee  themselves 
failed  to  give  the  pledges  which  had  been  required  of  them. 
This  state  of  things  and  the  knowledge  of  the  fact  that  even 
the  recommendation  was  obtained  only  by  shielding  the  voters 
through  a  vote  by  ballot,  proved  to  the  agents  for  Govern- 
ment that  little  was  yet  done  towards  tranquilizing  the  coun- 
try, All  the  committee-men  and  leaders  were  in  dread  of 
popular  violence,  and  after  various  letters  had  passed,  and  a 
second  committee  of  conference  had  agreed  that  it  would  be 
wise  to  adopt  the  terms  offered  by  the  Government,!  the  ques- 
tion was  referred  to  the  people  themselves,  who  were  to  sign 
their  names  to  pledges  prepared  for  the  purpose ;  by  which 
pledges  they  bound  themselves  to  obey  the  law  and  help  its 
operation,  or  unwilling  to  do  this  they  were  to  refuse  distinctly 
to  sign  any  such  promise.  This  trial  of  popular  sentiment 
was  to  take  place  on  the  llth  of  September,  in  the  presence 
of  persons  who  had  been  at  Parkinson  ferry  meeting,  or  of 
magistrates ;  and  the  result  of  the  vote  was  to  be  by  them 
certified  to  the  Commissioners.  It  would  have  been  well  to 
have  given  a  longer  time  that  the  good  disposition  of  the 
leaders  might  have  had  an  opportunity  of  spreading  among 
the  people,  but  as  the  President  in  his  proclamation  had  re- 

*  See  Boston  Independent  Chronicle,  Sept  1st,  1794 — United  States  Gazette,  Sept  9 — 
American  State  Papers,  vol.  xx.  93 — Brackenridge,  L  77,  aoto — U.  S.  Gazette,  August  22d, 
1794. 

t  American  State  Papers,  xx.  87  to  97;  U.  S.  Gazette,  September  6;  Brackenridge,  i. 
117  ;  Boston  Independent  Chronicle,  for  September  22d,  1794. 


1790-95.  Ending  of  the  Whisky  Riots.  485 

quired  a  dispersion  by  the  1st  of  September,  it  was  thought 
impossible  to  wait.  On  the  llth  a  vote  was  taken,  but  very 
imperfect  and  unsatisfactory.  In  some  portions  of  the  coun- 
try, men  openly  refused  obedience  to  the  law;  in  some,  they 
were  silent;  in  some  they  merely  voted  by  ballot  for  and 
against  submission ;  and  upon  the  whole  gave  so  little  proof 
of  a  disposition  to  support  the  legal  officers  that  the  judges  .of 
the  vote  did  not  feel  willing  to  give  certificates  that  offices  of 
inspection  could  be  safely  established  in  the  several  counties, 
and  the  Commissioners  were  forced  to  return  to  Philadelphia 
without  having  accomplished  their  objects.  On  the  24th  of 
September  they  reported  their  proceedings  and  failure  to  the 
President ;  who,  upon  the  25th,  called  the  militia  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, New  Jersey,  Maryland  and  Virginia,  into  the  field  under 
the  command  of  Henry  Lee,  Governor  of  the  State  last  named. 
Washington  himself  visited  the  troops  and  met  some  depu- 
tations from  the  western  counties,  but  was  unable  to  accom- 
pany the  army  to  Pittsburgh,  whither,  however,  General 
Hamilton  went  to  represent  the  Executive.  No  resistance 
was  offered  to  the  army,  although  the  soldiers  in  many  cases 
showed  a  spirit  as  bad  as  that  of  the  rebels,  and  most  needless 
cruelty  was  in  some  cases  practiced.  Bradford,  and  a  few  of 
the  most  prominent  friends  of  violence,  fled  to  the  Spanish 
provinces  of  the  south-west.  To  prevent  a  renewal  of  the 
insurrection,  and  secure  obedience  to  the  law,  an  armed  force 
under  General  Morgan  remained  through  the  winter  west  of 
the  mountains*  Thus,  at  a  cost  of  $669,992  34,  the  whisky 
riots  were  ended.* 

But  there  is  reason  ,to  think  that  the  money  was  well  spent; 
and  that  the  insurrection  was  a  wholesome  eruption.  It  serv- 
ed several  good  purposes;  it  alarmed  the  wiser  portion  of  the 
Democratic  party,  who  saw  how  much  of  Jacobin  fury  lay  hid- 
den in  the  American  people;  it  proved  to  the  wiser  part  of  the 
friends  of  the  administration,  that  the  societies  they  so  much 
hated,  even'  if  they  originated  the  evil  feelings  prevalent  in 
the  West,  would  not  countenance  the  riotous  acts  that  follow- 

*  American  State  Papers,  xx.  89,  90,  76,  97, 112;  also  vol.  Tii.  661.  United  States  Ga- 
zette, (1794,)  September  5th.  6th,  12th,  22d  and  26th.  Boston  Independent  Chronicle 
October  2d.  Sparks'  Washington,  x.  439,  441,  450.  Findley's  History  of  the  Insurrection. 
Brackenridge,  ii.  79,  and  many  other  pages.  American  Pioneer,  i.  213.  Marshall's  Wash- 
ington, T.  589. 

For  Washington's,  speech  of  November  19, 1794,  see  Sparks'  Washington,  xii.  44  to  52. 


486  Ending  of  the   Whisky  Riots.  1790-95 

ed.  The  unruly  portion  of  the  western  people  was  awed  by  the 
energy  of  the  Executive,  and  to  those  who  loved  order,  the 
readiness  of  the  militia  to  march  to  the  support  of  Govern- 
ment was  evidence  of  a  much  better  disposition  than  most  had 
hoped  to  find.  In  addition  to  these  advantages,  we  may  name 
the  activity  of  business,  caused  by  the  expenditure  of  so  large 
a  sum  in  the  west,  and  the  increase  of  frontier  population 
from  the  ranks  of  the  army.  [And  the  Editor  thinks  the  Gov- 
ernment learned  a  very  important  lesson,  that  mere  law, 
backed  by  force,  cannot  regulate  the  affairs  of  the  nation ; 
that  the  imposition  of  taxes  by  excise,  or  in  any  other  form, 
cannot  be  carried  out  by  mere  authority;  and  that,  while  our 
government  is  one  of  law,  it  is  also  one  of  enlightened  public 
opinion. 

A  few  additional  facts,  selected  from  Day's  Historical  Col- 
lections of  Pennsylvania,  p.  670,  will  close  this  sketch. 

The  province  of  Pennsylvania,  as  early  as  1756,  had  looked 
to  the  excise  on  ardent  spirits  for  the  means  of  sustaining  its 
bills  of  credit.  The  original  law,  passed  to  continue  only  ten 
years,  was  from  time  to  time  continued,  as  necessities  pressed 
upon  the  treasury.  During  the  revolution,  the  law  was  gene- 
rally evaded  in  the  west,  by  considering  all  spirits  as  for  do- 
mestic use,  such  being  excepted  from  excise;  but  when  the  debts 
of  the  revolution  began  to  press  upon  the  siates,  they  became 
more  vigilant  in  the  enforcement  of  the  law.  Opposition 
arose  at  once  in  the  western  counties.  Liberty-poles  were 
erected,  and  the  people  assembled  in  arms,  chased  off'  the  offi- 
cers appointed  to  enforce  the  law.  The  object  of  the  people 
was  to  compel  a  repeal  of  the  law,  but  they  hafl  not  the  least 
idea  of  subverting  the  government. 

The  pioneers  of  this  region,  descended  as  they  were  from 
North  Britain  and  Ireland,  had  come  very  honestly  by  their 
love  of  whiskey ;  and  many  of  them  had  brought  their  hatred 
of  an  exciseman  from  the  old  country.  The  western  insur- 
gents followed,  as  they  supposed,  the  recent  example  of  the 
American  revolution.  The  first  attempt  of  the  British  parlia- 
ment— the  very  cause  of  the  revolution,  had  been  an  excise 
law.  There  was 'nothing  in  that  day  disreputable  in  either 
making  or  drinking  whisky. 

No  temperance  societies  then  existed ;  to  drink  whisky 
was  as  common  and  honorable  as  to  eat  bread;  the  fame  of 
"  old  Monongahela"  was  proverbial,  both  at  the  east  and  the 
west.  Distilling  was  then  esteemed  as  moral  and  respectable 
as  any  other  business.  It  was  early  commenced,  and  exten- 
sively carried  on  in  western  Pennsylvania.  There  was  neither 
home  nor  foreign  market  for  rye,  their  principal  crop  ;  the 


1790-95  Remote  Causes  of  the  Insurrection.  487 

grain  would  not  bear  packing  across  the  mountains.  Whisky, 
therefore,  was  the  most  important  item  of  remittance  to  pay 
for  their  salt,  sugar  and  iron.  The  people  had  cultivated  their 
land  for  years  at  the  peril  of  their  lives,  with  little  or  no  pro- 
tection from  the  Federal  Government ;  and  when,  by  extraor- 
dinary efforts,  they  were  enabled  to  raise  a  little  more  grain 
than  their  immediate  wants  required,  they  were  met  with  a 
law  restraining  them  in  the  liberty  of  doing  what  they  pleas- 
ed with  the  surplus.  The  people  of  western  Pennsylvania 
regarded  a  tax  on  whisky  in  the  same  light  as  the  citizens  of 
Ohio  would  now  regard  a  United  States  tax  on  lard,  pork,  or 
flour. 

It  is  but  justice  to  General  John  Neville  and  his  descendants, 
that  we  should  give  the  following  extract  from  the  pen  of  the 
late  Judge  Wilkeson,  to  be  recorded.  It  is  to  be  found,  with 
much  other  valuable  matter,  in  his  "  Early  Recollections  of 
the  West."* 

In  order  to  allay  opposition,  (to  the  excise  law,)  as  far  as 
possible,  General  John  Neville,  a  man  of  the  most  deserved 
popularity,  was  appointed  collector  for  western  Pennsylvania. 
He  accepted  the  appointment  from  a  sense  of  duty  to  his  coun- 
try. He  was  one  of  the  few  men  of  wealth,  who  had  put  his 
all  at  hazard  for  independence.  At  his  own  expense,  he  rais- 
ed and  equipped  a  company  of  soldiers,  marched  them  to  Bos- 
ton, and  placed  them,  with  his  son,  under  the  command  of 
General  Washington.  He  was  the  brother-in-law  to  the  dis- 
tinguished General  Morgan,  and  father-in  law  to  Majors  Craig 
and  Kirkpatrick,  officers  highly  respected  in  the  western  coun- 
try. Besides  General  Neville's  claims  as  a  soldier  and  patriot, 
he  had  contributed  greatly  to  relieve  the  sufferings  of  the  set- 
tlers in  his  vicinity.  He  divided  his  last  loaf  with  the  needy; 
and  in  a  season  of  more  than  ordinary  scarcity,  he  opened  his 
fields  to  those  who  were  suffering  with  hunger.  If  any  man 
could  have  executed  this  odious  law,  General  Neville  was  that 
man.] 

[During  the  period  in  which  we  have  traced  the  "Annals  of 
the  West"  in  this  chapter,  we  must  not  omit  the  notice  of  set- 
tlements formed  in  that  part  of  the  North  Western  Territory, 
now  included  within  the  State  of  Ohio.  And  the  first  is  the 
settlement  of  Galliopolis,  commonly  called  Gallipolis.J 

In  May  or  June,  1788,  Joel  Barlow  left  this  country  for  Eu- 
rope, "authorized  to  dispose  of  a  very  large  body  of  land"  in 
the  west.  In  1790,  this  gentleman  distributed  proposals  in 
Paris,  for  the  sale  of  lands,  at  five  shillings  per  acre,  which 

•  'American  Pioneer,  ii.  207. — Day's  Pennsylvania,  671.  note. 


488  Settlements  formed  in  Ohio.  1790-95 

promised,  says  Volney,  "  a  climate  healthy  and  delightful ; 
scarcely  such  a  thing  as  frost  in  winter;  a  river,  called  by  way 
of  eminence,  '  The  Beautiful,'  abounding  in  fish  of  an  enor- 
mous size ;  magnificent  forests  of  a  tree  from  which  sugar 
flows,  and  a  shrub  which  yields  candles  :  venison  in  abun- 
dance, without  foxes,  wolves,  lions  or  tigers;  no  taxes  to  pay; 
no  military  enrolments;  no  quarters  to  find  for  soldiers.  Pur- 
chasers became  numerous,  individuals  and  whole  families  dis- 
posed of  their  property;  and,  in  the  course  of  1791,  some  em- 
barked at  Havre,  others  at  Bordeaux,  Nantes,  or  Rochelle," 
each  with  his  title  deed  in  his  pocket.  Five  hundred  settlers, 
among  whom  were  not  a  few  carvers  and  gilders  to  his  ma- 
jesty, coachmakers,  friseurs,  and  peruke  makers,  and  other  ar- 
tizans  and  artistes,  equally  well  fitted  for  a  backwoods  life, 
arrived  in  the  United  States  in  1791-92  ;  and,  acting  without 
conce'rt,  traveling  without  knowledge  of  the  language,  cus- 
toms or  roads,  they  at  last  managed  to  reach  the  spot  designat- 
ed for  their  residence,  after  expending  nearly  or  quite,  the 
whole  proceeds  of  their  sales  in  France.* 

They  reached  the  spot  designated,  but  it  was  only  to  learn, 
that  the  persons  whose  title  deeds  they  held,  did  not  own  one 
foot  of  land,  and  that  they  had  parted  with  all  their  worldly 
goods  merely  to  reach  a  wilderness,  which  they  knew  not  how 
to  cultivate,  in  the  midst  of  a  people,  of  whose  speech  and 
ways  they  knew  nothing,  and  at  the  very  moment  when  the 
Indians  were  carrying  destruction  to  every  white  man's  hearth. 
Without  food,  without  land,  with  little  money,  no  experience, 
and  with  want  and  danger  closing  rround  them,  they  were  in 
a  position  that  none  but  Frenchmen  could  be  in  without  de- 
spair. 

Who  brought  them  to  this  pass?  Volney  says,  the  Scioto 
Company,  which  had  bought  of  the  Ohio  Company;  Mr.  Hall 
says  in  his  Letters  from  the  West,  (p.  137,)  a  company  who 
had  obtained  a  grant  from  the  United  States;  and,  in  his  Sta- 
tistics of  the  West,  (p.  164,)  the  Scioto  Company,  which  was 
formed  from  or  by  the  Ohio  Company,  as  a  subordinate.  Bar- 
low, he  says,  was  sent  to  Europe  by  the  Ohio  Company;  and 
by  them  the  lands  in  question  were  conveyed  to  the  Scioto 

*  Volney's  view  of  the  climate  and  soil  of  the  United  States,  Ac.    The  sugar-tree  was 
the  maple,  and  the  wax-bearing  myrtle,  the  shrub  that  yielded  candles. 

Brackenridge's  Recollections,  p.  42. 


1790-95  Sufferings  of  Galliopolis  Settlers.  489 

Company.  Kilbourn  says,  "the  Scioto  Land  Company,  which 
intended  to  buy  of  Congress  all  the  tract  between  the  western 
boundary  of  the  Ohio  Company's  purchase  and  the  Scioto,  di- 
rected the  French  settlers  to  Galliopolis,  supposing  it  to  be 
west  of  the  Ohio  Company's  purchase,  though  it  proved  not 
to  be."  The  Company,  he  tells  us,  failed  to  make  their  pay- 
ments, and  the  whole  proposed  purchase  remained  with  gov- 
ernment.* 

The  truth  undoubtedly  is,  that  those  for  whom  Barlow  act- 
ed, were  the  persons  referred  to  by  Doctor  Cutler,  who  joined 
with  the  Ohio  Company  in  their  purchase  to  the  extent  of  three 
and  one-half  millions  of  acres;  among  whom,  he  says,  were 
many  of  the  principal  characters  of  America.  [This  is  demon- 
strated by  the  fact,  that  Col.  Duer,  who  applied  to  Dr.  Cutler 
"to  take  in  another  company,"  as  the  agent  of  the  Scioto  com- 
pany, did  receive  the  French  Immigrants  and  send  them  to 
Galliopolis. f]  These  persons,  however,  never  paid  for  their 
lands,  and  could  give  no  title  to  the  emigrants  they  had  allur- 
ed across  the  ocean.  Their  excuse  was,  that  their  agents  had 
deceived  them,  but  it  was  a  plea  good  neither  in  morals  or  law. 
Who  those  agents  were,  and  how  far  they  were  guilty,  and 
how  far  the  company  was  so,  are  points  which  seem  to  be  still 
involved  in  doubt.J 

But,  whatever  doubt  there  may  be  as  to  the  causes  of  the 
suffering,  there  can  be  none  as  to  the  sufferers.  The  pool* 
gilders,  and  carvers,  and  peruke-makers,  who  had  followed  a 
jack-a-lantern  into  the  "  howling  wilderness,"  found  that  their 
lives  depended  upon  their  labor.  They  must  clear  the  ground, 
baild  their  houses,  and  till  their  fields.  Now  the  spot  upon 
which  they  had  been  located  by  the  Scioto  Company  was  cov- 
ered in  part  with  those  immense  sycamore  trees,  which  are  so 
frequent  along  the  rivers  of  the  west,  andto  remove  which  is  no 
small  undertaking  even  for  the  American  woodman.  The  coach- 
makers  were  wholly  at  a  loss;  but  at  last,  hoping  to  conquer 
by  a  coup-de-main,  they  tied  ropes  to  the  branches,  and  while 
one  dozen  pulled  at  them  with  might  and  main,  another  dozen 
went  at  the  trunk  with  axes,  hatchets,  and  every  variety  of 
edged  tool,  and  by  dint  of  perseverance  and  cheerfulness,  at 

*  KilboUTE'a  Gazetteer,  1831. 

I  American  State  Papers,  xvi,  30. 

\  M.  Meulette,  one  of  the  settlera,  in  American  Pioneer,  ii.  185. 

31 


490  Settlements  in   Virginia  Reserve.  1790-95. 

length  overcome  the  monster,  though  not  without  some  hair- 
breadth escapes ;  for  when  a  mighty  tree,  that  had  been 
hacked  -on  all  sides,  fell,  it  required  a  Frenchman's  heels  to 
avoid  the  sweep  of  the  wide-spread  branches.  But  when 
they  had  felled  the  last  vegetable,  they  were  little  better  off 
than  before ;  for  they  could  not  move  or  burn  it.  At  last  a 
good  idea  came  to  their  aid ;  and  while  some  chopped  off  the 
limbs,  others  dug,  by  the  side  of  the  trunk,  a  great  grave,  into 
which,  with  many  a  heave,  they  rolled  their  fallen  enemy. 

Their  houses  they  did  not  build  in  the  usual  straggling 
American  style,  but  made  two  rows  or  blocks  of  log-cabins, 
each  cabin  being  about  sixteen  feet  square ;  while  at  one  end 
was  a  larger  room,  which  was  used  as  a  council-chamber  and 
ball-room. 

In  the  way  of  cultivation  they  did  little.  The  land  was 
not  theirs,  and  they  had  no  motive  to  improve  it;  and,  more- 
over, their  coming  was  in  the  midst  of  the  Indian  war.  Here 
and  there  a  little  vegetable  garden  was  formed :  but  their 
main  supply  of  food  they  were  forced  to  buy  from  boats  on  the 
river,  by  which  means  their  remaining  funds  were  sadly  bro- 
ken in  upqn.  Five  of  their  number  were  taken  prisoners  by 
the  Indians;  food  became  scarce  ;  in  the  fall,  a  marsh  behind 
the  town  sent  up  miasm  that  produced  fevers ;  then  winter 
came,  and,  despite  Mr.  Barlow's  promise,  brought  frost  in 
plenty  ;  and,  by  and  by,  they  heard  from  beyond  seas  of  the 
carnage  that  was  desolating  the  fire-sides  they  had  left. 
Never  were  men  in  a  more  mournful  situation ;  but  still, 
twice  in  the  week,  the  whole  colony  came  together,  and  to 
the  sound  of  the  violin  danced  off  hunger  and  care.  The 
savage  scout  that  had  been  lurking  all  day  in  the  thicket,  lis- 
tened to  the  strange  music,  and  hastening  to  his  fellows,  told 
them,  that  the  whites  would  be  upon  them,  for  he  had  seen 
them  at  their  war-dance ;  and  the  careful  Connecticut  man, 
as  he  guided  his  broadhorn  in  the  shadow  of  the  Virginia 
shore,  wondered  what  mischief  "  the  red  varmint"  were  at 
next;  or,  if  h,e  knew  the  sound  of  the  fiddle,  shook  his  head, 
as  he  thought  of  the  whisky  that  must  have  been  used  to 
produce  all  that  merriment. 

But  French  vivacity,  though  it  could  work  wonders,  could 
not  pay  for  land.  Some  of  the  Galliopolis  settlers  went  to 
Detroit,  others  to  Kaskaskia ;  a  few  bought  their  lands  of  the 


1790-95.       Contract  of  Nathaniel  Massie  and  others.  491 

Ohio  Company,  who  treated  them  with  great  liberality ;  and 
in  1795,  Congress,  being  informed  of  the  circumstances, 
granted  to  the  sufferers  twenty-four  thousand  acres  of  land 
opposite  Little  Sandy  River,  to  which,  in  1798,  twelver  hun- 
dred acres  more  were  added ;  which  tract  has  since  been 
known  as  French  Grant. 

The  influence  of  this  settlement  upon  the  State  was  unim- 
portant ;  but  it  forms  a  curious  little  episode  in  Ohio  history, 
and  affords  a  strange  example  of  national  character.* 

During  this  period,  however,  other  settlements  had  been 
taking  place  in  Ohio,  which  in  their  influence  upon  the  desti- 
nies of  the  State  were  deeply  felt ;  we  mean  that  of  the  Vir- 
ginia Reserve,  between  the  Scioto  and  Little.  Miami  rivers, 
that  of  the  Connecticut  Reserve,  and  that  of  Dayton. 

In  1787,  the  reserved  lands  of  the  Old  Dominion,  north  of 
the  Ohio,  were  examined,  and  in  August  of  that  year  entries 
were  commenced.  Against  the  validity  of  these  entries,  Con- 
gress, in  1788,  entered  their  protest.  This  protest,  which  was 
practically  a  prohibition  of  settlement,  was  withdrawn  in  1790. 
As  soon  as  this  was  done,  it  became  an  object  to  have  surveys 
made  in  the  reserved  region,  but  as  this  was  an  undertaking 
of  great  danger,  in  consequence  of  the  Indian  wars,  high 
prices  in  land  or  money  had  to  be  paid  to  the  surveyors.  The 
person  who  took  the  lead  in  this  gainful  but  unsafe  enterprise 
was  Nathaniel  Massie,  then  twenty-seven  years  old.  He  had 
been  for  six  years  or  more  in  the  west,  and  had  prepared  him- 
self in  Colonel  Anderson's  office  for  the  details  of  his  busi- 
ness. Thus  prepared,  in  December,  1790,  he  entered  into  the 
following  contract  with  certain  persons  therein  named  :f 

Articles  of  agreement  between  Nathaniel  Massie,  of  one 
part,  and  the  several  persons  that  have  hereunto  subscribed,  of 
the  other  part,  witnesseth,  that  the  subscribers  hereof  doth 
oblige  themselves  to  settle  in  the  town  laid  off,  on  the  north- 
west side  of  the  Ohio,  opposite  to  the  lower  part  of  the  Two 
Islands;  and  make  said  town,  or  the  neighborhood,  on  the 
north-west  side  of  the  Ohio,  their  permanent  seat  of  resi- 
dence for  two  years  from  the  date  hereof;  no  subscriber  shall 

*See  the  communication  of  Mr.  Meulette  referred  to  above.  \Ve  have  something  from 
oral  communication!.  Also  American  Pioneer,  i.  94,  95.  American  State  Papers,  xvi.  29. 

fMcDonald's  Sketches,  26.  American  Pioneer,  i.  72,  438.  Old  Journal*,  ir.  836. 
Passed  July  17th.  From  one-fourth  to  one-half  of  the  lands  surveyed,  ten  pounds,  Vir- 
ginia currency,  per  thousand  acres,  beside  chain-men's  expenses.  [McDonald,  28.] 


492  Connecticut  sells  her  Reserve.  1790-95. 

absent  himself  more  than  two  months  at  a  time,  and  during 
such  absence  furnish  a  strong,  able-bodied  man  sufficient  to 
bear  arms  at  least  equal  to  himself;  no  subscriber  shall  absent 
himself  the  time  above  mentioned  in  case  of  actual  danger, 
nor  shall  such  absence  be  but  once  a  year ;  no  subscriber 
shall  absent  himself  in  case  of  actual  danger,  or  if  absent 
shall  return  immediately.  Each  of  the  subscribers  doth  oblige 
themselves  to  comply  with  the  rules  and  regulations  that 
shall  be  agreed  on  by  a  majority  thereof  for  the  support  of 
the  settlement. 

In  consideration  whereof,  Nathaniel  Massie  doth  bind  and 
oblige  himself,  his  heirs,  &c.,  to  make  over  and  convey  to  such 
of  the  subscribers  that  comply  with  the  above  mentioned  con- 
ditions, at  the  expiration  of  two  years,  a  good  and  sufficient 
title  unto  one  in-lot  in  said  town,  containing  five  poles  in 
front  and  eleven  back,  one  out-lot  of  four  acres  convenient  to 
said  town,  in  the  bottom,  which  the  said  Massie  is  to  put 
them  in  immediate  possession  of,  also  one  hundred  acres  of 
land,  which  the  said  Massie  has  shown  to  a  part  of  the  sub- 
scribers; the  conveyance  to  be  made  to  each  of  the  subscribers, 
their  heirs  or  assigns. 

In  witness  whereof,  each  of  the  parties  have  hereunto  set 
their  hands  and  seals,  this  1st  day  of  December,  1790. 

The  town  thus  laid  off  was  situated  some  twelve  miles 
above  Maysville,  and  was  called  Manchester  ;  it  is  still  known 
to  the  voyager  on  the  Ohio.  From  this  point  Massie  and  his 
companions  made  surveying  expeditions  through  the  perilous 
years  from  1791  to  1796,  but  though  often  distressed  and  in 
danger,  they  were  never  wearied  nor  afraid ;  and  at  length, 
with  Wayne's  treaty  all  danger  of  importance  was  at  an 
end.* 

Connecticut,  as  we  have  stated,  had,  in  1786  resigned  her 
claims  to  western  lands,  with  the  exception  of  a  reserved 
tract  extending  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  beyond  Penn- 
sylvania. Of  this  tract,  so  far  as  the  Indian  title  was  extin- 
guished, a  survey  was  ordered  in  October,  1786,  and  an  office 
opened  for  its  disposal :  part  was  sold,  and  in  1792,  half  a 
million  of  acres  were  given  to  those  citizens  of  Connecticut, 
who  had  lost  property  by  the  acts  of  the  British  troops,  during 
the  Revolutionary  War,  at  New  London,  New  Haven  and 
elsewhere  ;  these  lands  are  known  as  the  "Firelands"  and  the 
"Sufferers'  lands,"  and  lie  in  the  western  part  of  the  Reserve. f 

*McDonald's  Sketeh  of  General  Massie. 
t  American  State  Papers,  T.  696. 


1790-92  Settlements  on  the  Miami.  493 

In  May,  1795,  the  Legislature  of  Connecticut  authorized  a 
committee  to  take  steps  for  the  disposal  of  the  remainder  of 
their  western  domain;  this  committee  made  advertisement 
accordingly,  and  before  autumn  had  disposed  of  it  to  fifty-six 
persons,  forming  the  Connecticut  Land  Company,  for  one  mil- 
lion two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and  upon  the  5th  or  9th  of 
September,  quit  claimed  to  the  purchasers  the  whole  title  of 
the  State,  territorial  and  juridical.*  These  purchasers,  on  the 
same  day,  conveyed  the  three  millions  of  acres  transferred  to 
them  by  the  State,  to  John  Morgan,  John  Caldwell,  and  Jona- 
than Brace,  in  trust;  and  upon  the  quit-claim  deeds  of  those 
trustees,  the  titles  to  all  real  estate  in  the  Western  Reserve, 
of  necessity,  rest.  Surveys  were  commenced  in  1796,  and  by 
the  close  of  1797,  all  the  lands  east  of  the  Cuyahoga  were  di- 
vided into  townships  five  miles  square.  The  agent  of  the 
Connecticut  Land  Company  was  General  Moses  Cleveland, 
and  in  honor  of  him  the  leading  city  of  the  Reserve,  in  1796, 
received  its  name.  That  township  and  five  others  were  re- 
tained for  private  sale,  and  the  remainder  were  disposed  of 
by  a  lottery,  the  first  drawing  in  which  took  place  in  February, 
1798.f 

Wayne's  treaty  also  led  at  once  to  the  foundation  of  Day- 
ton, and  the  peopling  of  that  fertile  region.  The  original 
proposition  by  Symmes  had  been  for  the  purchase  of  two 
millions  of  acres  between  the  Miamies;  this  was  changed 
very  shortly  to  a  contract  for  one  million,  extending  from  the 
Great  Miami  eastwardly  twenty  miles;  but  the  contractor  being 
unable  to  pay  for  all  he  wished,  in  1792,  a  patent  was  issued 
for  248,540  acres.  But  although  his  tract  was  by  contract 
limited  toward  the  east,  and  greatly  curtailed  in  its  extent 
toward  the^north,  by  his  failure  to  pay.  the  whole  amount  due, 
Judge  Symmes  had  not  hesitated  to  sell  lands  lying  between 
the  eastern  boundary  of  his  purchase  and  the  Little  Miami, 
.  and  even  after  his  patent  issued  continued  to  dispose  of  an 
imaginary  right  in  those  north  of  the  quantity  patented.  The 
first  irregularity,  the  sale  of  lands  along  the  Little  Mi- 
ami, was  cured  by  the  act  of  Congress  in  1792,  which  author- 
ized the  extension  of  his  purchase  from  one  river  to  the  other; 

"  *For  the  title  of  Connecticut  and  the  abore  fact?,  see  American  State  Papers,  xvi.  94  to 
98,  and  American  Pioneer,  ii.  24. 

|See  American  Pioneer,  ii.  23,  Ac. 


494  Settlement  of  Dayton.  1790-95. 

but  the  sales  of  territory  north  of  the  tract  transferred  to  him 
by  Congress,  were  so  entirely  unauthorized  in  the  view  of  the 
government,  that  in  1796  it  refused  to  recognize  them  as  valid, 
and  those  who  had  become  purchasers  beyond  the  patent 
line,  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  Federal  rulers,  until  an  act 
was  procured  in  their  favor  in  1799,  by  which  pre-emption 
rights  were  secured  to  them.  Among  those  who  were  thus 
left  in  suspense  during  three  years,  were  the  settlers  through- 
out the  region  of  which  Dayton  forms  the  centre.* 

Seventeen  days  after  Wayne's  treaty,  St.  Clair,  Wilkinson, 
Jonathan  Dayton  and  Israel  Ludlow  contracted  with  Symmes 
for  the  seventh  and  eighth  ranges  between  Mad  river  and  the 
Little  Miami.  Three  settlements  were  to  be  made,  one  at 
the  mouth  of  Mad  River,  one  on  the  Little  Miami,  in  the  sev- 
enth range,  and  another  on  the  Mad  river.  On  the  21st  of 
September,  1795,  Daniel  C.  Cooper  started  to  survey  and 
mark  out  a  road  in  the  purchase,  and  John  Dunlap  to  run  its 
boundaries,  which  was  done  before  the  4th  of  October.  Upon 
the  4th  of  November,  Mr.  Ludlow  laid  off  the  town  of  Day- 
ton, which  was  disposed  of  by  lottery.f 

From  1790  to  1795,  the  Governor  and  Judges  of  the  North- 
west Territory  published  sixty-four  statutes.  Thirty-four  of 
these  were  adopted  at  Cincinnati,  during  June,  July  and 
August  of  the  last  named  year,  and  were  intended  to  form  a 
pretty  complete  body  of  statutory  provisions :  they  are  known 
as  the  Maxwell  Code,  from  the  name  of  the  publisher,  but 
were  passed  by  Governor  St.  Clair  and  Judges  Symmes  and 
Turner.  Among  them  was  that  which  provided  that  the  com- 
mon law  of  England  and  all  statutes  in  aid  thereof  made 
previous  to  the  fourth  year  of  James  the  1st,  should  be  in  full 
force  within  the  territery.  Of  the  system,  as  a  whole,  Mr. 
Chase  says,  that  with  many  imperfections,  "it  may  be  doubted 
whether  any  colony,  at  so  early  a  period  after  its  first  estab- 
lishment, ever  had  one  so  good."J 

Just  after  the  conclusion  of  Wayne's  treaty,  a  speculation 
in  Michigan  of  the  most   gigantic  kind  was   undertaken  by 

*See  for  the  full  particulars  of  Symmes'  contract,  American  State  Papers,  xvL  75,  104 
127. 
f  See  B.  Vancleve's  Memoranda,  American  Pioneer,  ii.  294,  295. 

JSketch  of  History  of  Ohio,  p.  27.    For  the  laws  fiom  1790  to  1795,  see  Chase's  Statutes, 
i.  103  to  204. 


1790-95.  Various  Land  Speculations.  495 

certain  astute  New  Englanders,  named  Robert  Randall,  Chas. 
Whitney,  Israel  Jones,  Ebenezer  Allen,  &c.,  who,  in  connec- 
tion with  various  persons  in  and  about  Detroit,  proposed  to 
buy  of  the  Indians  eighteen  or  twenty  million  acres,  lying 
on  lakes  Erie,  Huron,  and  Michigan,  the  pre-emption  right  of 
which  they  hoped  to  obtain  from  the  United  States,  by  giving 
members  of  Congress  an  interest  in  the  investment.  Some  of 
the  members  who  were  approached,  however,  revealed  the 
plan,  and  Randall,  the  principal  conspirator,  having  been  re- 
primanded, the  whole  speculation  disappeared.* 

Another  enterprise,  equally  gigantic,  but  far  less  objectiona- 
ble, dates  from  the  20th  of  February,  1795;  we  refer  to  the 
North  American  Land  Company,  which  was  formed  in  Phila- 
delphia under  the  management  of  Robert  Morris,  John  Nichol- 
son, and  James  Greenleaf.  This  Company  owned  vast  tracts 
in  various  States,  which,  under  an  agreement  bearing  date  as 
above,  were  offered  to  the  public.f 

But  we  have  hitherto  taken  no  notice  of  Jay's  treaty  in  so 
far  as  it  concerned  the  west ;  nor  have  we  mentioned  the  nego- 
tiations with  Spain  which  secured  the  use  of  the  Mississippi. 
To  these  we  may  now  turn.  The  portion  of  Mr.  Jay's  treaty 
with  which  we  are  concerned,  is  the  second  article,  and  that 
is  as  follows : 

ART.  2.  His  Majesty  will  withdraw  all  his  troops  and  gar- 
rison from  all  posts  and  places  within  the  boundary  lines  as- 
signed by  the  treaty  of  peace  to  the  United  States.  This 
evacuation  shall  take  place  on  or  before  the  first  day  of  June, 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninety-six,  and  all  the  proper 
measures  shall  be  taken  in  the  interval  by  concert  between  the 
government  of  the  United  States  and  His  Majesty's  Gover- 
nor General  in  America,  for  settling  the  previous  arrange- 
ments which  may  be  necessary  respecting  the  delivery  of  the 
said  posts:  the  United  States,  in  the  mean  time,  at  their  dis- 
cretion, extending  their  settlements  to  any  part  within  the  said 
boundary  line,  except  within  the  precincts  or  jurisdiction  of  any 
of  the  said  posts.  All  settlers  and  traders  within  the  precincts  or 
jurisdiction  of  the  said  posts,  shall  continue  to  enjoy,  unmolested, 
all  their  property,  of  every  kind,  and  shall  be  protected  therein. 
They  shall  be  at  full  liberty  to  remain  there,  or  to  remove  with 
all  or  any  part  of  their  effects;  and  it  shall  also  be  free  to  them 
to  sell  their  lands,  houses  or  effects,  or  retain  the  property 

*  See  papers  and  evidence,    American  State  Papers,  xx.  125  to  133. 
t  Observations  on  the  North  American  Land  Company,  London,  1796.  Imlay  (Ed.  1797) 
p.  572. 


496  Treaty  with  Spain.  1790-95. 

thereof,  at  their  discretion  ;  such  of  them  as  shall  continue  to 
reside  within  the  said  boundary  lines  shall  not  be  compelled 
to  become  citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  to  take  any  oath 
of  allegiance  to  the  government  thereof;  but  they  shall  be  at 
full  liberty  so  to  do  if  they  think  proper ;  they  shall  make  and 
declare  their  election  within  one  year  after  the  evacuation 
aforesaid.  And  all  persons  who  shall  continue  there  after  the 
expiration  of  the  said  year,  without  having  declared  their  in- 
tention of  remaining  subjects  to  His  Britannic  Majesty,  shall 
be  considered  as  having  elected  to  become  citizens  of  the 
United  States.* 

Turning  to  the  negotiation  with  Spain,  we  find,  that  in 
November,  1794,  Thomas  Pinckney  was  despatched  to  treat 
with  the  court  of  Madrid,  in  relation  to  boundaries  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  to  general  trade.  Many  reams  of  paper  had  been 
spoiled  by  previous  messengers,  Jay,  Carmichael  and  Short,  to 
little  purpose,  and  it  was  a  matter  of  three  months'  farther 
correspondence,  to  mature  the  treaty  of  October  27th,  1795. 
This  treaty,  signed  by  plain  Thomas  Pinckney,  "a  citizen  of  the 
United  States,  and  their  envoy  extraordinary  to  His  Catholic 
Majesty,"  on  the  one  part,  and  on  the  other  by  "the  most  Ex- 
cellent Lord  Don  Manuel  de  Godoy  and  Alvarez  de  Faria, 
Rios,  Sanchez,  Zarzosa,  Prince  de  la  Paz,  Duke  de  la  Alcudia, 
Lord  of  the  Soto  de  Roma  and  of  the  State  of  Albala,  Gran- 
dee of  Spain  of  the  first  class,  Perpetual  Regidor  of  the  city 
of  Santiago,  Knight  of  the  illustrious  order  of  the  Golden 
Fleece  and  Great  Cross  of  the  royal  and  distinguished  Spanish 
order  of  Charles  III.,  commander  of  Valencia  del  Ventoso 
Rivera,  and  Aceuchal  in  that  of  Santiago,  Knight  and  Great 
Cross  of  the  religious- order  of  St.  John,  Counsellor  of  State, 
First  Secretary  of  State  and  Despatcho,  Secretary  to  the 
Queen,  Superintendent  General  of  the  Ports  and  Highways, 
Protector  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  the  noble  Arts  and  of  the 
Royal  Societies  of  Natural  History,  Botany,  Chemistry,  and 
Astronomy,  Gentleman  of  the  King's  Chamber,  in  employ- 
ment, Captain  General  of  his  armies,  Inspector  and  Major  of 
the  Royal  Corps  of  Body  Guards,  &c.  &c.  &c."f  contains,  among 
other  provisions,  the  following,  once  deeply  interesting  to  the 
West. 

*American  State  Papers,  i.  520.  For  the  treaty  and  correspondence  entire,  see  Ameri' 
can  State  Papers,  i.  470  to  525. 

fine  after  history  of  this  man  of  many  titles  is  a  lesson  worth  the  study  of  all  those  in 
power :  see  his  memoirs  translated,  London,  1836;  also  an  article  in  Westminster  Kevi«w, 
for  April,  1836. 


1790-95.  Treaty  with  Spain  497 

ART.  4.  It  is  likewise  agreed  that  the  Western  boundary  of 
the  United  States,  which  separates  them  from  the  Spanish 
colony  of  Louisiana,  is  in  the  middle  of  the  channel  or  bed  of 
the  river  Mississippi,  from  the  northern  boundary  of  the  said 
States  to  the  completion  of  the  thirty-first  degree  of  latitude 
north  of  the  equator.  And  his  Catholic  Majesty  has  likewise 
agreed  that  the  navigation  of  the  said  river  in  its  whole 
breadth,  from  its  source  to  the  ocean,  shall  be  free  only  to  his 
subjects  and  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  unless  he  should 
extend  this  privilege  to  the  subjects  of  other  powers  by  special 
convention. 

And  in  consequence  of  the  stipulations  contained  in  the 
fourth  article,  His  Catholic  Majesty  will  permit  the  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  for  the  space  of  three  years  from  this  time, 
to  deposit  their  merchandise  and  effects  in  the  port  of  New 
Orleans,  and  to  export  them  from  thence  without  paying  any 
other  duty  than  a  fair  price  for  the  hire  of  the  stores  ;  and  his 
Majesty  promises  either  to  continue  this  permission,  if  he 
finds,  during  that  time,  that  it  is  not  prejudicial  to  the  inter- 
ests of  Spain,  or  if  he  should  not  agree  to  continue  it  there, 
he  will  assign  to  them,  on  another  part  of  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi,  an  equivalent  establishment.* 

This  being  approved,  closed  the  Mississippi  question  and  de- 
feated the  plans  of  Sebastian. 

'American  State  Papers,  i.  547,  549.  For  treaty,  see  American  State  Papers,  i.  546  to 
549.  For  Pinckney's  Correspondence,  do.  533  to  546.  For  that  of  Jay,  Carmichael  and 
Short,  do.  131,  248  to  278, 328,  433  to  446. 


CHAPTER  XV. 
EXTENSION  OF  SETTLEMENTS. 

Survey  of  Chillicothe  and  Cleveland — Settlements  in  Ohio — Progress  in  Tennessee — Inter- 
ference of  Spain,  and  Power's  mission — Organization  of  Mississippi  Territory — Nullifica- 
tion in  Kentucky — First  Legislative  Assembly  of  the  Northwest — Constitution  of  Ken- 
tucky amended. 

The  great  event  of  1796,  was  the  final  transfer  of  the  north- 
ern posts  from  Britain  to  the  United  States,  under  Jay's  treaty. 
This  was  to  have  taken  place  on  or  before  the  1st  of  June,  but 
owing  to  the  late  period  at  which  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives, after  their  memorable  debate  upon  the  treaty,  passed 
the  necessary  appropriations,  it  was  July  before  the  American 
Government  felt  itself  justified  in  addressing  the  authorities  in 
Canada  in  regard  to  Detroit  and  the  other  frontier  forts.  When 
at  last  called  upon  to  give  them  up,  the  British  at  once  did  so, 
and  Wayne  transferred  his  head  quarters  to  the  neighborhood 
of  the  Lakes,  where  a  county  named  from  him  was  established, 
including  the  northwest  of  Ohio,  the  northeast  of  Indiana,  and 
the  whole  of  Michigan.*  Meanwhile,  the  treaty  with  Spain 
was  likely  to  become  ineffectual  in  consequence  of  the  alli- 
ance of  Spain  and  France  upon  the  19th  of  August,  and  the 
difficulties  which,  at  the  same  time,  arose  between  the  latter 
power  and  the  United  States.  Spain  took  advantage  of  the 
new  position  of  affairs  to  refuse  the  delivery  of  the  posts  on 
the  Mississippi  as  had  been  stipulated,  and  proceeded,  as  we 
have  already  related,  to  tempt  the  honesty  of  leading  western 
politicians. f 

During  this  year  settlements  went  on  rapidly  in  the  West. 
Early  in  the  year  Nathaniel  Massie,  of  whom  we  have  already 
spoken,  took  steps  to  found  a  town  upon  the  Scioto,  on  a  por- 
tion of  the  lands  which  he  had  entered.  This  town  he  named, 
when  surveyed,  Chillicothe. 

*  Washington's  speech,  American  State  Papers,  i.  30.    Chase's  Sketch  p.  27. 

t  Pitkins'  History  United  States,  ii.  484— American  State  Papers,  i.  559  to  760— Adams' 
Speech,  American  State  Papers,  i.  44.  Documents,  do.  it  20,  &c.  66, 4c.  78,  Ac. 


1796  Settlement  of  the  Western  Reserve.  499 

"  One  hundred  in  and  out-lots  in  the  town,  were  chosen  by 
lot,  by  the  first  one  hundred  settlers,  as  a  donation,  according 
to  the  original  proposition  of  the  proprietor.  A  number  of  in 
and  out-lots  were  also  sold  to  other  persons,  desiring  to  settle 
in  the  town.  The  first  choice  of  in-lots  were  disposed  of  for 
the  moderate  sum  of  ten  dollars  each.  The  town  increased 
rapidly,  and  before  the  winter  of  1796,  it  had  in  it  several 
stores,  taverns,  and  shops  for  mechanics.  The  arts  of  civiliz- 
ed life  soon  began  to  unfold  their  power  and  influence  in  a 
more  systematic  manner,  than  had  ever  been  witnessed  by 
many  of  its  inhabitants,  especially  those  who  were  born  and 
raised  in  the  frontier  settlements,  where  neither  law  nor  gos- 
pel were  understood  or  attended  to."* 

[There  were  three  places  in  Ohio,  called  Chillicothe  by  the 
Indians,  one  of  which  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  town 
site.  It  is  a  Shawanese  word,  and  denotes  place  or  site.  Old 
Chillicothe  was  on  the  Little  Miami,  and  the  other  was  on  or 
near  the  Maumee,  or  Miami  of  the  Lake.  The  Shawanese 
nation,  which  originated  from  the  Carolinas,  Georgia  and  Flo- 
rida, was  divided  into  four  tribes;  the  Piqua,  Mequachake, 
Kiskapocoke,  and  ChillicMhe  tribes. 

We  have  already  given  the  fact  of  the  reservation  made 
by  Connecticut,  of  the  tract  of  country  in  the   northeast  part 
of  Ohio,  known  as  the  "Western  Reserve,"  and  of  the  sale  of 
this  tract  to  the  "Connecticut  Land  Company." 

In  September,  1796,  the  town  of  Cleveland  was  surveyed, 
and  by  a  treaty  with  the  Iroquois,  all  their  claims  to  the  tract 
east  of  the  river  Cuyahoga,  were  surrendered  to  the  Connecti- 
cut Land  Company. 

Cleveland,  on  Lake  Erie,  was  regarded  as  an  important  site 
for  a  commercial  city.  It  is  on  a  dry,  sandy  plain,  between 
the  Lake  and  Cuyahoga  river ;  gently  sloping  towards  the 
Lake,  with  a  fine  water  view.  It  was  a  point  of  note  in  the 
journeyings  of  the  aborigines. 

The  Land  Company  already  mentioned,  was  organized  in 
Hartford,  Con.,  on  the  5th  of  September,  1795.  The  next  year, 
the  trustees  sent  out  forty-three  surveyors,  who  were  instruct- 
ed to  divide  that  part  of  the  Western  Reserve  that  lay  east  of 
the  Cuyahoga  river  into  townships,  five  miles  square.  The 

*  McDonald's  Sketches,  pp.  56,  60  to  64. 


500  Settlements  further  West.  1796 

first  resident  in  Cleveland  was  a  Mr.  Job  Stiles  and  family,  and 
Mrs.  Stiles  was  mother  of  the  first  white  child  born  on  the 
Reserve.  Immigrants  came  slowly  to  the  country;  a  majority 
being  from  Connecticut,  and  the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the 
puritans  of  that  ancient  state,  with  some  modifications,  still 
prevail  on  the  Western  Reserve.* 

In  the  western  section  of  the  present  state  of  Ohio,  settlers 
and  speculators  appeared  in  much  larger  numbers. 

A  detachment  of  American  troops,  consisting  of  sixty-five 
men,  under  the  command  of  Captain  Moses  Porter,  took  pos- 
session of  the  evacuated  fort  at  Detroit,  about  the  12th  of  July. 
In  September,  Winthrop  Sergeant,  Secretary  of  the  North 
Western  Territory,  proceeded  to  Detroit,  and  organized  the 
county  of  Wayne,  and  established  the  civil  authority  in  that 
quarter. 

This  year,  also,  the  settlements  in  the  Muskingum,  Scioto, 
and  Miami  valleys,  were  much  extended.  The  immigrants 
from  the  New  England  and  middle  states,  came  into  the  West 
by  way  of  Brownsville  and  Wheeling.  At  Brownsville  many 
fitted  up  flat  boats  and  descended  the  Ohio  to  Limestone,  and 
other  points  in  Kentucky,  or  else  landed  on  the  north  side  of 
the  Ohio.  Others  proceeded  by  land  from  Wheeling,  to  that 
section  of  the  territory  they  had  selected  for  their  future  homes. 
The  colonies  destined  for  the  valleys  of  the  Muskingum  and 
Scioto  chiefly  passed  by  this  route. 

Small  villages  and  farming  settlements  were  made  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio  and  its  tributaries  below  the  Muskingum. 
Symmes'  purchase,  on  the  Miami,  underwent  rapid  changes. 

Cincinnati  had  increased  its  population  and  improved  its 
style  of  buildings.  In  1792,  it  contained  about  thirty  log  cab- 
ins, besides  the  barracks  and  other  buildings  connected  with 
Fort  Washington;  and  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  inhabitants. 

The  first  house  of  worship,  for  the  first  Presbyterian  Church, 
was  erected.  In  the  beginning  of  the  year  1796,  Cincinnati 
had  more  than  one  hundred  log  cabins,  beside  twelve  or  fif- 
teen frame  houses,  and  a  population  of  about  six  hundred  per- 
sons.f 

Within  the  Virginia  Military  Land  District,  which  lay  be- 

*  See  an  article  by  Charles  Whittlesey,  Esq.  in  the  American  Pioneer,  ii.  22,  S3. 
t  Cincinnati  in  1841,  p.  28— Monette's  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  ii.  313. 


Settlements  further  West.  501 

tvveen  the  Little  Miami  and  Scioto  rivers,  several  new  settle- 
ments were  made,  and  surveys  were  executed  by  Nathaniel 
Massie,  the  enterprising  pioneer  of  the  Scioto  valley,  over  the 
most  fertile  lands  westward  to  the  Little  Miami,  as  far  north 
as  Todd's  fork,  and  on  all  the  branches  of  Paint  Creek,  and 
eastward  to  the  Scioto.  He  performed  much  service  as  a 
pioneer  in  extending  the  settlements  and  the  boundaries  of 
civilization  in  this  part  of  Ohio.  As  early  as  1790,  he  laid 
out  the  town  of  Manchester,  on  the  Ohio,  twelve  miles  above 
Limestone.  By  the  following  March,  he  had  his  stockade 
complete,  and  about  thirty  families  within  it. 

Emigrants  from  Virginia,  in  great  numbers,  advanced  into 
the  Scioto  valley,  and  settlements  extended  on  the  fine  lands 
lying  on  Paint  and  Deer  creeks,  and  other  branches  of  the 
Scioto. 

At  the  same  time  the  pioneers  of  civilization  were  gradually 
extending  settlements  along  the  Muskingum  as  far  as  the 
mouth  of  Licking.  It  was  in  this  year  that  Ebenezer  Zane 
obtained  the  grant  of  a  section  of  land  as  the  consideration 
of  opening  a  bridle-path  from  the  Ohio  river  at  Wheeling, 
across  the  country  by  Chillicothe  to  Limestone,  in  Kentucky, 
which  was  located  where  Zanesville  now  is.  The  United 
States'  mail  traversed  this  route  for  the  first  time  the  following 
year.* 

Before  the  close  of  the  year  1796,  the  white  population  of 
the  North  Western  Territory,  now  included  in  the  State  of 
Ohio,  had  increased  to  about  five  thousand  souls  of  all  ages. 
These  were  chiefly  distributed  in  the  lower  valleys  of  the 
Muskingum,  Scioto  and  Miami  rivers,  and  on  their  small  tribu- 
taries, within  fifty  miles  of  the  Ohio  river. 

With  this  progress  of  settlements,  the  end  of  the  Indian 
war  by  the  treaty  at  Greenville,  and  the  delivery  of  the  north- 
ern posts  by  the  British,  under  Jay's  treaty,  all  apprehension 
of  danger  on  the  part  of  the  whites  ceased,  and  friendly  in- 
tercourse with  the  natives  succeeded.  Such  disaffected  Indians 
as  persisted  in  their  feelings  of  hostility  to  the  Americans,  re- 
tired into  the  interior  of  the  North  Western  wilderness,  or  to 
their  allies  in  Canada.  Forts,  stations  and  stockades,  became 
useless,  and  were  abandoned  to  decay.  The  hardy  pioneer 
pushed  further  into  the  forest,  and  men  of  enterprize  and  capi- 

*  Monette's  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  ii.  316. 


502  Affairs  in  Tennessee.  1796 

tal  in  the  older  settlements,  became  interested  in  securing 
claims  and  titles  to  extensive  bodies  of  fertile  lands,  and  send- 
ing out  colonies  for  their  occupation.  Settlements  were  made, 
and  towns  and  villages  planted  in  Western  Virginia  and  Ken- 
tucky. 

During  the  period  in  which  the  "Annals"  of  the  northwest 
have  been  given,  in  this  and  the  preceding  chapters,  frequent 
acts  of  hostility  were  committed  by  the  Cherokees  and  other 
southern  Indians  on  the  settlements  in  Tennessee,  especially 
those  along  the  Cumberland  river.  These  depredations,  in 
which  many  persons  were  killed  and  scalped,  were  committed 
by  small  marauding  parties.  The  termination  of  the  Indian 
war  in  the  northwest,  was  followed  by  treaties  with  the  south 
western  Indians,  and  the  cessation  of  hostilities  in  that 
quarter. 

In  1790,  North  Carolina,  which  claimed  jurisdiction  over 
the  territorial  district  of  Tennessee,  ceded  to  the  Federal  gov- 
ernment all  this  territory.  The  ceded  country,  by  act  of  Con- 
gress, approved  May  20th,  was  erected  into  a  territory  of  the 
United  States,  under  the  name  of  the  "South  Western  Terri- 
tory." The  ordinance  of  1787,  for  the  North  Western  Terri- 
tory, (with  the  exception  of  the  sixth  article,  prohibiting  slave- 
ry,) was  adopted  as  the  fundamental  law  in  its  organiza- 
tion. 

Notwithstanding  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  Indians,  large 
numbers  of  emigrants,  each  year,  left  Virginia,  North  and 
South  Carolina,  and  even  Georgia,  for  this  district  of  country, 
and  settlements  continued  to  extend  into  the  wilderness.  In 
1793,  the  people  became  impatient  of  their  dependant  form  of 
government,  and  adopted  an  address  to  the  governor,  that  as 
the  territory  contained  more  than  five  thousand  free  white 
male  persons,  (the  requisite  number,  as  provided  by  the  ordi- 
nance of  1787,)  they  might  have  a  territorial  Legislature. 

In  December  of  that  year,  the  Governor  issued  his  procla- 
mation for  the  election  of  a  General  Assembly,  as  provided  by 
law. 

The  Legislature  assembled  atKnoxville,  in  February,  1794, 
and  passed  the  necessary  laws  to  open  roads,  protect  the  in- 
habitants from  Indian  depredations,  and  other  matters. 

(It  ought  to  have  been  noticed  in  its  proper  place,  that  owing 
to  the  tardy  and  vascillating  course  of  North  Carolina,  the  peo- 


1796  Stale  of  Fran/eland.  503 

pie,  after  several  efforts  to  obtain  what  they  supposed  to  be 
their  rights,  elected  five  deputies  from  each  county,  which  met 
at  Greenville,  in  November,  1785,  formed  a  constitution,  and 
proceeded  to  organize  the  "State  of  Frankl and."  A  Legislature 
was  chosen,  and  a  delegation  was  sent  to  Congress  with  their 
constitution,  asking  for  admission  into  the  confederation,  which 
was  rejected,  to  avoid  collision  with  North  Carolina.  The 
State  government  of  Frankland,  and  that  of  North  Carolina, 
attempted  to  exercise  jurisdiction  over  the  same  territory, 
which  collision  continued  for  two  years,  when  the  new  gov- 
ernment, very  reluctantly,  yielded.)* 

According  to  a  census  ordered  by  the  Territorial  Legisla- 
ture, in  1795,  the  aggregate  population  of  the  territory  was 
77,262  persons;  of  whom  66,490  were  whites,  and  the  remain- 
der slaves  and  free  persons  of  color.  This  amount  of  popula- 
tion more  than  entitled  them  to  a  State  government,  according 
to  the  provisions  of  the  ordinance  of  Congress. 

The  governor  of  the  territory  issued  his  proclamation  for 
an  election  of  five  persons  in  each  county,  to  meet  in  conven- 
tion, for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  constitution.  This  conven- 
tion assembled  at  Knoxville,  on  the  llth  of  January,  1796, 
and  formed  the  constitution,  and  on  the  9th  of  February,  gov- 
ernor Blount,  forwarded  to  Mr.  Pickering,  Secretary  of  State, 
a  copy.  This  was  sent  by  Mr.  McMinn,  who  was  instructed 
to  tarry  long  enough  in  Philadelphia,  to  ascertain  whether  the 
new  State  would  be  admitted  into  the  Union.  On  the  6th  of 
June,  the  act  was  passed  by  Congress  to  receive  the  State  of 
Tennessee. 

Four  years  after  the  organization  of  the  State  government, 
the  population  had  increased  to  105,602  souls,  including  13,- 
584  slaves  and  persons  of  color.f 

During  1796,  Samuel  Jackson  and  Jonathan  Sharpless  erect- 
ed "  Redstone  paper-mill,"  four  miles  east  of  Brownsville;  it 
being  the  first  manufactory  of  the  kind  west  of  the  Allegha- 
nies.J 

In  the  month  of  December,  1796,  General  Anthony  Wayne, 
being  on  his  way  from  Detroit  to  Philadelphia,  was  attacked 
with  sickness,  and  died  in  a  cabin,  at  or  near  Erie,  (Presqu'ile) 

*  Monette's  History,  ii.  270—272.  Haywood's  Civil  History,  140 — 160. 
f  Haywood's  Civil  and  Political  History  of  Tennessee — Monette,  ii.  280. 
J  American  Pioneer,  ii.  64. 


504  Interference  of  Spain  in  the  West.  1797 

in  the  north  part  of  Pennsylvania.  He  was  born  in  Chester 
county,  Pa.  January  1st,  1745;  hence  in  a  few  days,  had  he 
lived,  he  would  have  been  fifty-one  years  of  age.  He  was  a 
distinguished  officer  in  the  revolutionary  war,  a  man  of  unpar- 
alleled bravery,  and  led  the  forlorn  hope  in  the  attack  upon 
Stoney  Point.  His  remains  were  removed  from  Presqu'ile  in 
1809,  by  his  son,  Col.  Isaac  Wayne,  to  Radnor  church-yard, 
near  the  place  of  his  birth,  and  an  elegant  monument  erected 
on  his  tomb  by  the  Pennsylvania  Cincinnati  Society.* 

[Before  the  Spanish  posts  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  Missis- 
sippi were  surrendered  to  the  United  States,  according  to  the 
treaty  of  1795,  efforts  were  made  by  agents  of  France  and 
Spain,  to  induce  the  people  of  the  western  country  to  separate 
themselves  from  the  American  Union,  and  to  establish,  in  con- 
junction with  France  and  Spain,  an  independent  government 
in  the  Mississippi  valley.  After  the  death  of  Gen.  Wayne, 
Gen.  Wilkinson  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  United 
States'  troops  in  this  valley.  In  the  month  of  June,  1797,  the 
Baron  de  Carondelet,  Governor  General  of  Louisiana,  sent 
Thomas  Power,  one  of  his  agents,  to  General  Wilkinson,  with 
a  letter,  in  which  Wilkinson  was  requested  to  delay  the  march 
of  the  American  troops  for  the  posts  on  the  Mississippi,  until 
the  adjustment  of  certain  questions  which  were  then  pending 
between  the  government  of  the  United  States  and  that  of 
Spain.  The  real  object  of  the  mission  of  Power  was  to  ascer- 
tain the  opinions  and  sentiments  of  the  western  people,  on 
the  subject  of  a  separation  from  the  Union. 

In  the  mean  time,  and  for  some  years  preceding,  the  agents 
of  Spain  were  engaged  in  enlisting  the  Indians  in  the  south- 
west on  their  side,  and  the  officers  of  that  government  pro- 
ceeded to  reinforce  and  strengthen  their  posts  in  Upper  Lou- 
isiana. To  understand  the  design  of  the  mission  of  Power, 
it  is  necessary  to  lay  before  the  reader  the  secret  instructions 
of  the  Baron  de  Carondelet,  dated  on  the  26th  of  May,  1797. f 

"  On  your  journey,  you  will  give  to  understand  adroitly,  to 
those  persons  to  whom  you  have  an  opportunity  of  speaking, 
that  the  delivery  of  the  posts  which  the  Spaniards  occupy  on 
the  Mississippi,  to  the  troops  of  the  United  States,  is  directly 

*  Burnett's  Letters,  49 — Allen's  American  Biography — Day's  Historical  Collections  of 
Pennsylvania,  p.  216 — Encyclopedia  Americana,  vol.  xiii.  Artiele,  Wayne. 

t  Dillon's  Indiana,  i.  410— Butler's  Kentucky,  p.  256— Marshall's  Kentucky,  vol.  ii. 
219. 


1797  Interference  of  Spain  in  the  Southwest.  505 

opposed  to  the  interest  of  those  of  the  west,  who,  as  they  must 
one  day  separate  from  the  Atlantic  states,  would  find  them- 
selves without  any  communication  with  lower  Louisiana,  from 
whence  they  ought  to  expect  to  receive  powerful  succors  in 
artillery,  arms,  ammunition  and  money,  either  publicly  or  se- 
cretly, as  soon  as  ever  the  western  states  should  determine  on 
a  separation,  which  must  injure  their  prosperity  and  their  in- 
dependence; that,  for  this  reason,  Congress  is  resolved  on  risk- 
ing every  thing  to  take  those  posts  from  Spain  ;  and  that  it 
would  be  forging  fetters  for  themselves,  to  furnish  it  with  militia 
and  means,  which  it  can  only  find  in  the  western  states.  These 
same  reasons,  diffused  abroad  by  means  of  the  public  papers, 
might  make  the  strongest  impressions  on  the  people,  and  in- 
duce them  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  the  Atlantic  states. 
*  *  *  If  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  distributed  in  Kentucky 
would  cause  it  to  rise  in  insurrection,  I  am  very  certain,  that 
the  minister,  in  the  present  circumstances,  would  sacrifice  them 
with  pleasure;  and  you  may,  without  exposing  yourself  too 
much,  promise  them  to  those  who  enjoy  the  confidence  of  the 
people,  with  another  equal  sum  to  arm  them,  in  case  of  neces- 
sity, and  twenty  pieces  of  field  artillery. 

"You  will  arrive  without  danger,  as  bearer  of  a  despatch 
for  the  General,  where  the  army  may  be,  whose  force,  discip- 
line, and  disposition,  you  will  examine  with  care;  and  you  will 
endeavor  to  discover,  with  your  natural  penetration,  the  Gene- 
ral's disposition.  I  doubt  that  a  person  of  his  disposition  would 
prefer,  through  vanity,  the  advantages  of  commanding  the 
army  of  the  Atlantic  states,  to  that  of  being  the  founder,  the 
liberator,  in  fine,  the  Washington  of  the  Western  states :  his 
part  is  as  brilliant  as  it  is  easy ;  all  eyes  are  drawn  towards 
him;  he  possesses  the  confidence  of  his  fellow  citizens,  and  of 
the  Kentucky  volunteers :  at  the  slightest  movement,  the  peo- 
ple will  name  him  the  General  of  the  new  republic;  his  repu- 
tation will  raise  an  army  for  him,  and  Spain  as  well  as  France 
will  furnish  him  the  means  of  paying  it.  On  taking  Fort  Mas- 
sac,  we  will  send  him  instantly  arms  and  artillery;  and  Spain, 
limiting  herself  to  the  possession  of  the  forts  of  Natchez  and 
Walnut  Hills,  as  far  as  fort  Confederation,  will  cede  to  the 
western  states  all  the  eastern  bank  to  the  Ohio,  which  will 
form  a  very  extensive  and  powerful  republic,  connected  by  its 
situation  and  by  its  interest,  with  Spain,  and  in  concert  with 
it,  will  force  the  savages  to  become  a  party  to  it,  and  to  con- 
found themselves  in  time  with  its  citizens. 

"  The  public  are  discontented  with  the  new  taxes ;  Spain, 
and  France  are  enraged  at  the  connection  of  the  United  States 
with  England  ;  the  army  is  weak  and  devoted  to  Wilkinson  ; 
the  threats  of  Congress  authorize  me  to  succor,  on  the  spot, 
and  openly,  the  western  states  :  money  will  not  then  be  want- 
ing to  me,  for  I  shall  send  without  delay,  a  ship  to  Vera  Cruz 
32 


506  The  Mission  of  Thomas  Power.  1797 

in  search  of  it,  as  well  as  of  ammunition  ;  nothing  more  will 
consequently  be  required,  but  an  instant  of  firmness  and  reso- 
lution to  make  the  people  of  the  west  perfectly  happy.  If  they 
suffer  this  instant  to  escape  them,  and  we  are  forced  to  deliver 
up  the  posts,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  surrounded  by  the  said 
posts,  and  without  communication  with  Lower  Louisiana,  will 
ever  remain  under  the  oppression  of  the  Atlantic  states."* 

"  The  emissary,  Power,  passed  through  Tennessee,  Kentucky 
and  the  North  Western  Territory,  as  far  as  Detroit,  where  he 
found  General  Wilkinson,  and  communicated  his  message 
about  the  posts  down  the  Mississippi.  The  General  wrote  a 
letter  to  Captain  Robert  Buntin  of  Vincennes,  dated  "Detroit, 
September  4th,  1797,"  in  which  he  expresses  fears  that  the 
posts  would  not  be  surrendered  without  war,  but  suggests  the 
letter  "  may  be  a  mask  for  other  purposes." 

The  result  of  Power's  mission,  was  the  entire  defeat  of  the 
project.  Contrary  to  his  remonstrances,  he  was  obliged  to 
return  to  Louisiana  by  the  way  of  Vincennes  and  Fort  Mas- 
sac,  under  the  escort  of  Captain  Shaumberg,  of  the  American 
army.  It  appears  that  the  United  States'  government  got  in- 
formation of  this  nefarious  mission,  and  issued  orders  to  the 
governor  of  the  North  Western  Territory,  to  arrest  Power  and 
send  him  to  Philadelphia.!] 

The  "  occupying  claimant"  law  of  Kentucky — which  was 
intended  to  relieve  those  who  were  ejected  from  lands,  from 
the  hardship  of  paying  rent  for  the  time  they  had  held  them, 
while  their  improvements  were  not  paid  for  or  regarded — was 
also  passed  in  this  year.  It  was  afterwards  decided  by  the 
Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States,  to  be  unconstitutional, 
but  the  justice  of  that  decision  was  not  acquiesced  in  by  the 
best  men  of  Kentucky,  and  the  Appellate  Court  of  that  State 
never  recognized  it,  upon  the  ground  that  it  was  not  a  decision 
of  the  majority  of  the  Supreme  Court.J 

Detroit,  during  1797,  contained,  as  we  learn  from  Weld, 
three  hundred  houses.§ 

[The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  on  the  7th  of  April, 
1798,  passed  an  act  organizing  the  territory  of  the  Mississippi, 

*  American  State  Papers,  Miscellaneous  ii.  103. 
t  Butler's  Kentucky,  251 — Dillon's  Indiana,  i.  414.] 
t  Marshall,  ii.  208-221;— Butler,  266  to  279. 
\  Weld's  Travels,  ii.  183. 


1798.  Mississippi  Territory  organized.  507 

and  Winthrop  Sargent,  Secretary  of  the  North-western  Ter- 
ritory, was  appointed  the  Governor.*  Mr.  Sargent,  for  some 
cause;  was  an  unpopular  man  as  Secretary  and  acting  Gov- 
ernor in  the  absence  of  St.  Clair.  He  was  a  pompous,  over- 
bearing man ;  and  in  1801,  he  was  accused  of  misdoings  in 
Mississippi.!]  During  the  spring  of  this  year  General  Wil- 
kinson had  been  ordered  to  the  country  still  held  by  the  Span- 
iards, who,  however,  abandoned  the  region  in  dispute  with- 
out serious  opposition.  By  the  10th  of  October,  the  line 
dividing  the  possessions  of  Spain  and  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment was  in  a  great  measure  run,  and  the  head-quarters  of 
the  American  commander  were  fixed  at  Loftus  Heights,  six 
miles  north  of  the  3 1st  degree  of  North  latitude  .J 

The  appointment  of  Sargent  to  the  charge  of  the  South- 
west Territory,  led  to  the  choice  of  William  Henry  Harrison, 
who  had  been  aid-de-camp  to  General  Wayne  in  1794,  and 
whose  character  stood  very  high  in  the  estimation  of  all  who 
knew  him,  to  the  Secretaryship  of  the  North-west ;  which 
place  he  held  until  appointed  to  represent  that  territory  in 
Congress.^ 

The  North-western  Territory,  as  may  be  seen  by  a  reference 
to  the  ordinance  of  1787,  was  to  have  a  representative  assem- 
bly as  soon  as  its  inhabitants  numbered  five  thousand.  Upon 
the  29th  of  October,  Governor  St.  Clair  gave  notice  by  proc- 
lamation that  the  required  population  existed,  and  directed 
an  election  of  representatives  to  be  held  on  the  third  Monday 
in  December. 

[The  representatives,  when  assembled,  were  required  to 
nominate  ten  persons,  whose  names  were  sent  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  who  selected  five,  and  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate  appointed  them,  for  the 
Legislative  Council. 

In  this  mode  the  country  passed  into  the  second  grade  of  a 
territorial  government. ]|| 

During  the  summer  of  1798,  the  famous  alien  and  sedition 
laws  were  passed  by  Congress.  They  were,  by  the  Demo- 

*  American  State  Papers,  xx.  203. 

•f  For  particulars  reference  is  had  to  Burnett's  Letters,  p.  79 ;  the  Freeman's  Journal 
(Cincinnati)  November  26th,  1796 ;  and  American  State  Papers,  xx.  233  to  241. 
J  Wilkinson's  Memoirs,  i.  434  and  ii.  133. 
g  Burnet,  in  Ohio  Historical  Transactions,  part  2,  vol.  ii.  p.  69. 
|  Dillon  i.  431.    Burnet  in  Ohio  Historical  Transactions,  part  2,  vol.  i.  p.  70. 


508  Nullification  in  Kentucky.  1798. 

cratic  party  every  where  regarded  with  horror,  and  hated,  and 
in  Virginia  and  Kentucky  especially,  called  forth  in  opposi- 
tion the  most  able  men,  and  produced  the  most  violent  meas- 
ures. The  Governor  of  Kentucky  called  the  attention  of  the 
Legislature  to  them,  and  upon  the  8th  of  November  resolu- 
tions, prepared  by  Mr.  Jefferson,  were  introduced  into  the 
House,  declaring  that  the  United  States  are  "  united  by  a  com- 
pact under  the  style  and  title  of  a  constitution  for  the  United 
States  ;  that  to  this  compact,  each  State  acceded,  as  a  State, 
and  is  an  integral  party,  its  co-States  forming  to  itself  the 
other  party  ;  that  the  government  created  by  this  compact, 
was  not  made  the  exclusive  or  final  judge  of  the  extent  of 
the  powers  delegated  to  itself;  but  that,  as  in  all  other  cases 
of  compact  among  parties  having  no  common  judge,  each 
party  has  an  equal  right  to  judge  for  himself,  as  well  of 
infractions  as  the  mode  and  manner  of  redress."  And  this 
doctrine  was  further  developed  by  the  mover  of  the  resolu- 
tions, Mr.  John  Breckenridge :  said  he,  "  I  consider  the  co- 
States  to  be  alone  parties  to  the  federal  compact,  and  solely 
authorized  to  judge  in  the  last  resort  of  the  power  exercised 
under  the  compact — Congress  not  being  a  party,  but  merely 
the  creature  of  the  compact,  and  subject  as  to  its  assumption 
of  power,  to  the  final  judgment  of  those  by  whom,  and  for 
whose  use,  itself  and  its  powers  were  all  created."  In  an- 
other passage  he  says,  "  if  upon  the  representation  of  the 
States  from  whom  they  derive  their  powers,  they  should  nev- 
ertheless attempt  to  enforce  them,  I  hesitate  not  to  declare  it 
as  my  opinion,  that  it  is  then  the  right  and  duty  of  the  seve- 
ral States,  to  nullify  those  acts,  and  protect  their  citizens  from 
their  operation."* 

To  this  doctrine,  since  disclaimed  by  Kentucky,  in  a  clear 
and  formal  declaration,  in  1838,  William  Murray,  of  Frank- 
lin, alone  offered  a  steady  opposition,  and  took  the  ground 
since  occupied  by  Mr.  Webster  with  so  great  power ;  but  he 
argued  in  vain,  the  Senate  unanimously  passed  the  resolu- 
tions, the  House  acted  with  almost  equal  unanimity,  and  the 
Governor  gave  them  his  approbation.! 

*  Butler  from  285  to  287. 

t  Butler,  285,  <tc.  See  the  Virginia  resolutions,  the  alien  and  sedition  laws,  the  debate 
in  Virginia,  the  resolutions  of  other  States,  and  Madison's  "  Vindication,"  in  a  volume 
published  at  Richmond,  by  Robert  I.  Smith,  in  1132.  See  also  North  American  Review, 
vol.  31,  (Oct.  1840.)  This  is  a  very  full  and  able  paper.— Marshall,  iu  254,  Ac.,  317. 


1790.  North-Western  Legislature  organized.  509 

A  change  in  the  Penal  Code  of  Kentucky  took  place  dur- 
ing 1798,  by  which  the  punishment  of  death  was  confined  to 
the  crime  of  murder;  and  for  all  others  the  penitentiary  sys- 
tem was  substituted.* 

[The  election  of  Representatives  having  taken  place  in 
December,  they  met  on  the  22nd  of  January,  1799,  and  per- 
formed their  first  duty  by  nominating  ten  persons,  whose 
names  were  sent  to  the  President  of  the  United  States.  Gov- 
ernor St.  Clair  then  prorogued  the  session  until  the  16th  of 
September.  On  the  second  of  March,  President  Adams  se- 
lected from  the  list  of  ten  nominees,  the  names  of  Jacob 
Burnet,  James  Findlay,  Henry  Vanderburgh,  Robert  Oliver, 
and  David  Vance.  The  next  day  the  Senate  confirmed  the 
nomination  of  these  gentlemen  for  the  Legislative  Council, 
or  Upper  House,  in  the  Territorial  Legislature,  for  five  years. 

On  the  16th  of  September,  both  branches  of  the  legislature 
assembled  at  Cincinnati,  but  a  quorum  not  appearing,  the 
two  houses  were  not  organized  until  the  24th  of  September. 

As  this  was  the  first  House  of  Representatives  elected  by 
the  people  of  the  North-western  Territory,  it  is  deemed  neces- 
sary to  record  their  names  and  the  counties  they  represented. 

Hamilton  County. — William  Goforth,  William  McMillan, 
John  Smith,  John  Ludlow,  Robert  Benham,  Aaron  Cadwell, 
Isaac  Martin. 

Ross  County. — Thomas  Worthington,  Samuel  Finlay,  Elias 
Langham,  Edward  Tiffin. 

Wayne  County  (now  Michigan). — Solomon  Sibley,  Charles 
F.  Chobert  de  Joncaire,  Jacob  Visger. 

Adams  County. — Joseph  Darlington,  Nathaniel  Massie. 

Jefferson  County. — James  Pritchard. 

Washington  County. — Return  Jonathan  Meigs. 

Knox  County,  (including  the  Illinois  country) — Shadrach 
Bond,  from  Illinois. 

They  elected  Edward  Tiffin,  Speaker;  John  Reilly,  Clerk; 
Joshua  Rowland,  Door-keeper ;  and  Abraham  Gary,  Ser- 
geant-at-arms. 

Henry  Vanderburgh  was  chosen  President  of  the  Council, 
and  William  C.  Schenk,  Secretary. 

Both  houses  being  fully  organized,  were  addressed  by  Gov- 
ernor St.  Clair,  on  the  25th  day  of  September.  From  the 

*  Butler,  281.    Marshall,  ii.  238. 


510   W.  H.  Harrison  chosen  Delegate  from  N.  W.  Terr'y.    1799. 

letters  of  the  Hon.  Jacob  Burnet,  the  only  surviving  member 
of  this  body,  (in  1850,)  we  extract  the  following  account  of 
these  early  proceedings.] 

The  Governor  met  the  two  houses  in  the  representatives' 
chamber,  and  in  a  very  elegant  address,  recommended  such 
measures  as  he  thought  were  suited  to  the  condition  of  the 
country,  and  would  advance  the  safety  and  prosperity  of  the 
people.      The   legislative  body  continued  in  session  till  the 
19th  of  December,  when  having  finished  their  business,  the 
governor  prorogued  them,  at  their  request,  till  the  first  Mon- 
day in  November.     This  being  the  first  session,  it  was  neces- 
sarily a  very  laborious  one.     The  transition  from  a  colonial 
to  a  semi-independent  government,  called  for  a  general  revi- 
sion, as  well  as  a  considerable  enlargement  of  the  statute- 
book.     Some  of  the  adopted  laws  were  repealed,  many  others 
altered  and  amende'd,  and  a  long  list  of  new  ones  added  to 
the  code.     New  offices  were  to  be  created  and  filled — the  du- 
ties attached  to  them  prescribed,  and  a  plan  of  ways  and 
means  devised,  to  meet  the  increased  expenditures,  occasioned 
by  the  change  which  hadjust  taken  place.     As  the  number  of 
members  in  each  branch  was  small,  and  a  large  portion  of 
them  either  unprepared  or  indisposed  to  partake  largely  of  the 
labors  of  the  session,  the  pressure  fell  on  the  shoulders  of  a 
few.     Although  the  branch  to  which  I  belonged,  was  com- 
posed of  sensible,  strong-minded  men,  yet  they  were  unac- 
customed to  the  duties  of  their  new  station,  and  not  conver- 
sant with  the  science  of  law.     The   consequence  was,  that 
they  relied  chiefly  and  almost  entirely  on  me,  to  draft  and 
prepare  the  bills  and  other  documents,   which  originated   in 
the  council,  as  will  appear  by  referring  to  the  journal  of  the 
session.     One  of  the  important  duties  which  devolved  on  the 
legislature  was  the  election  of  a  delegate  to  represent  the 
territory  in  Congress.     As  soon  as  the  governor's  proclama- 
tion made  its  appearance,  the  election  of  a  person  to  fill  that 
station  excited  general  attention.     Before  the  meeting  of  the 
legislature,   public    opinion   had   settled   down   on    William 
Henry  Harrison,  and  Arthur  St.  Clair,  jun.,  who  were  event- 
ually the  only  candidates.     On  the  3d  of  October,  the  two 
houses  met  in  the  representatives'  chamber,   according  to  a 
joint  resolution,  and  proceeded  to  the  election.     The  ballots 
being  taken  and  counted,  it  appeared  that  William  Henry 


1799.  First  laws  of  the  Legislature.  511 

Harrison  had  eleven  votes,  and  Arthur  St.  Clair,  jun.,  ten 
votes ; — the  former  was  therefore  declared  to  be  duly  elected. 
The  legislature  by  joint  resolution,  prescribed  the  form  of  a 
certificate  of  his  election  :  having  received  that  certificate,  he 
resigned  the  office  of  Secretary  of  the  territory — proceeded 
forthwith  to  Philadelphia,  and  took  his  seat,  Congress  being 
then  in  session.  Though  he  represented  the  territory  but  one 
year,  he  obtained  some  important  advantages  for  his  constit- 
uents. He  introduced  a  resolution  to  subdivide  the  surveys 
of  the  public  lands,  and  to  offer  them  for  sale  in  small  tracts 
— he  succeeded  in  getting  that  measure  through  both  houses, 
in  opposition  to  the  interests  of  speculators  who  were,  and 
who  wished  to  be,  the  retailers  of  land  to  the  poorer  classes 
of  the  community.  His  proposition  became  a  law,  and  was 
hailed  as  the  most  beneficent  act  that  Congress  had  ever  done 
for  the  territory.  It  put  it  in  the  power  of  every  industrious 
man,  however  poor,  to  become  a  freeholder,  and  to  lay  a  foun- 
dation for  the  future  support,  and  comfort  of  his  family.  At 
the  same  session,  he  obtained  a  liberal  extension  of  time  for 
the  pre-emptioners  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Miami  pur- 
chase, which  enabled  them  to  secure  their  farms,  and  eventu- 
ally to  become  independent,  and  even  wealthy.* 

From  a  circular  by  Harrison  to  the  people  of  the  territory, 
dated  May  14,  1800,  we  quote  in  relation  to  this  matter  the 
following  passage : 

"  Amongst  the  variety  of  objects  which  engaged  my  atten- 
tion, as  peculiarly  interesting  to  our  territory,  none  appeared 
to  me  of  so  much  importance,  as  the  adoption  of  a  system  for 
the  sale  of  the  public  lands,  which  would  give  more  favorable 
terms  to  that  class  of  purchasers  who  are  likely  to  become 
actual  settlers,  than  was  offered  by  the  existing  laws  upon 
that  subject ;  conformably  to  this  idea,  I  procured  the  passage 
of  a  resolution  at  an  early  period  for  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  to  take  the  matter  into  consideration.  And  short- 
ly after  1  reported  a  bill  containing  terms  for  the  purchaser, 
as  favorable  as  could  have  been  expected.  This  bill  was 
adopted  by  the  house  of  representatives  without  any  mate- 
rial alteration  ;  but  in  the  senate,  amendments  were  intro- 
duced, obliging  the  purchaser  to  pay  interest  on  that  part  of 
the  money  for  which  a  credit  was  given  from  the  date  of  the 
purchase,  and  directing  that  one  half  the  land  (instead  of  the 
whole,  as  was  provided  by  the  bill  from  the  house  of  repre- 

*  Historical  Transactions  of  Ohio,  i.  71. 


512  Remarks  of  Mr.   Chase.  1799 

sentatives,)  should  be  sold  in  half  sections  of  three  hundred 
and  twenty  acres,  and  the  other  half  in  whole  sections  of  six 
hundred  and  forty  acres.  All  my  exertions,  aided  by  some  of 
the  ablest  members  of  the  lower  house,  at  a  conference  for 
that  purpose,  were  not  sufficient  to  induce  the  senate  to  re- 
cede from  their  amendments ;  but,  upon  the  whole,  there  is 
cause  of  congratulation  to  my  fellow-citizens  that  terms  as 
favorable  as  the  bill  still  contains,  have  been  procured.  This 
law  promises  to  be  the  foundation  of  a  great  increase  of  pop- 
ulation and  wealth  to  our  country  ;  for  although  the  minimum 
price  of  the  land  is  still  fixed  at  two  dollars  per  acre,  the  time 
for  making  payments  has  been  so  extended  as  to  put  it  in  the 
power  of  every  industrious  man  to  comply  with  them,  it  being 
only  necessary  to  pay  one-fourth  part  of  the  money  in  hand, 
and  the  balance  at  the  end  of  two,  three,  and  four  years ;  be- 
sides this,  the  odious  circumstance  of  forfeiture,  which  was 
made  the  penalty  of  failing  in  the  payments  under  the  old 
law,  is  entirely  abolished,  and  the  purchaser  is  allowed  one 
year  after  the  last  payment  is  due  to  collect  the  money ;  if 
the  land  is  not  then  paid  for,  it  is  sold,  and,  after  the  public 
have  been  reimbursed,  the  balance  of  the  money  is  returned 
to  the  purchaser.  Four  land-offices  are  directed  to  be  opentd 
— one  at  Cincinnati,  one  at  Chilicothe,  one  at  Marietta,  and 
one  at  Steubenville,  for  the  sale  of  the  lands  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  those  places."  (Life  of  Harrison,  by  Todd  and 
Drake,  p.  20.) 

To  the  foregoing  paragraphs  by  Judge  Burnet,  our  first 
law-maker,  may  be  properly  added  the  following  from  Mr. 
Chase,  the  first  collector  of  our  Northwestern  Statutes. 

The  whole  number  of  acts  passed  and  approved  by  the 
governor  was  thirty- seven.  Of  these  the  most  important  re- 
lated to  the  militia,  to  the  administration  of  justice,  and  to 
taxation.  Provision  was  made  for  the  efficient  organization 
and  discipline  of  the  military  force  of  the  territory;  justices 
of  the  peace  were  authorised  to  hear  and  determine  all  ac- 
tions upon  the  case,  except  trover,  and  all  actions  of  debt, 
except  upon  bonds  for  the  performance  of  covenants,  without 
limitation  as  to  the  amount  in  controversy  ;  and  a  regular 
system  of  taxation  was  established.  The  tax  for  territorial 
purposes,  was  levied  upon  lands ;  that  for  county  purposes, 
upon  persons,  personal  property,  and  houses  and  lots. 

During  this  session,  a  bill,  authorising  a  lottery  for  a  pub- 
lic purpose,  passed  by  the  council,  was  rejected  by  the  repre- 
sentatives. Thus  early  was  the  policy  adopted  of  interdict- 


1799.  Remarks  of  Mr.  Chase.  513 

ing  this  demoralizing  and  ruinous  mode  of  gambling  and  tax- 
ation ;  a  policy  which,  with  but  a  temporary  deviation,  has 
ever  since  honorably  characterized  the  legislature  of  Ohio. 

Before  adjournment,  the  legislature  issued  an  address  to 
the  people,  in  which  they  congratulated  their  constituents 
upon  the  change  in  the  form  of  government ;  rendered  an  ac- 
count of  their  public  conduct  as  legislators ;  adverted  to  the 
future  greatness  and  importance  of  this  part  of  the  American 
empire  ;  and  the  provision  made  by  the  national  government 
for  secular  and  religious  instruction  in  the  west ;  and  upon 
these  considerations,  urged  upon  the  people  the  practice  of 
industry,  frugality,  temperance  and  every  moral  virtue.  "  Re- 
ligion, morality  and  knowledge,"  said  theyy»"  are  necessary  to 
all  good  governments.  Let  us,  therefore,  inculcate  the 
principles  of  humanity,  benevolence,  honesty  and  punctu- 
ality in  dealing,  sincerity,  and  charity,  and  all  the  social  affec- 
tions." 

About  the  same  time  an  address  was  voted  to  the  President 
of  the  United* States,  expressing  the  entire  confidence  of  the 
legislature  in  the  wisdom  and  purity  of  his  administration, 
and  their  warm  attachment  to  the  American  constitution  and 
government.  The  vote  upon  this  address  proved  that  the 
differences  of  political  sentiment,  which  then  agitated  all  the 
states,  had  extended  to  the  territory.  The  address  was  carried 
by  eleven  ayes  against  five  noes. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  December,  this  protracted  session  of 
the  first  legislature  was  terminated  by  the  governor.  In  his 
speech  on  this  occasion  he  enumerated  eleven  acts,  to  which, 
in  the  course  of  the  session,  he  had  thought  fit  to  apply  his  ab- 
solute veto.  These  acts  he  had  not  returned  to  the  legislature, 
because  the  two  houses  were  under  no  obligation  to  consider 
the  reasons  on  which  his  veto  was  founded;  and,  at  any  rate, 
as  his  negative  was  unqualified,  the  only  effect  of  such  a  re- 
turn would  be  to  bring  on  a  vexatious,  and  probably  fruitless, 
altercation  between  the  legislative  body  and  the  executive. 
Of  the  eleven  acts  thus  negatived,  six  related  to  the  erection 
of  new  counties.  These  were  disapproved  for  various  rea- 
sons, but  mainly  because  the  governor  claimed  that  the  power 
exercised  in  enacting  them,  was  vested  by  the  ordinance,  not 
in  the  legislature,  but  in  himself.  This  free  exercise  of  the 
veto  power  excited  much  dissatisfaction  among  the  people, 


514  Kentucky  amends  her  Constitution.  1800 

and  the  controversy  which  ensued  between  the  governor  and 
the  legislature,  as  to  the  extent  of  their  respective  powers, 
tended  to  confirm  and  strengthen  the  popular  disaffection.* 

During  this  year  Kentucky  proceeded  to  amend  her  Consti- 
tution, now  seven  years  old.  It  is  not  our  purpose  to  enter 
into  the  details  of  the  several  State  charters,  and  we  shall 
only  mention  the  fact  that  the  earliest  born  of  our  western 
commonwealths,  when  change  was  made  in  her  fundamental 
law,  gave  it  a  more  democratic  and  popular  character.  This 
was  done  by  making  the  choice  of  the  senate  and  governor 
direct,  instead  of  being  as  formerly  through  a  college  of  elec- 
tors ;  and  by  limiting  the  veto  power.f 

In  1799,  Kentucky  began,  or  rather  threatened  to  begin,  a 
system  of  internal  improvements,  by  a  survey  of  the  river 
upon  which  her  capital  stands ;  the  work  recommended  by 
the  engineer,  however,  and  which  might  have  been  done  very 
cheaply,  was  not  undertaken. J 


CHAPTER  XVI. 
OHIO  AND  INDIANA. 

Territory  of  Indiana  organized — Difficulties  with  Governor  St.  Clair — Organization  of  the 
State  of  Ohio — Difficulties  with  Spain  renewed — Purchase  of  Louisiana  from  France — 
Reasons  for  its  sale  by  Napoleon  explained — History  of  Symmes'  College  Township — 
Detroit  burnt  and  re-built — Movements  and  Intrigues  of  Aaron  Burr — His  Trial  and 
Purposes — Extensive  purchases  from  the  Indians. 

The  great  extent  of  the  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  made 
the  ordinary  operations  of  Government  extremely  uncertain, 
and  the  efficient  action  of  Courts  almost  impossible.  The 
Committee  of  Congress,  who,  upon  the  3d  of  March,  1800,  re- 
ported upon  the  subject,  said : — 

*  Chase's  Sketch  p.  20. 

t  Marshall,  ii.  233,  246,  252,  292,  293,  etc.— Butler  290. 

J  Marshall,  ii.  317.— Butler,  293. 


1800  Indiana  Territory  Formed.  515 

In  the  three  western  countries  there  has  been  but  one  court 
having  cognizance  of  crimes  in  five  years;  and  the  immunity 
which  offenders  experience,  attracts,  as  to  an  asylum,  the  most 
vile  and  abandoned  criminals,  and  at  the  same  time  deters 
useful  and  virtuous  persons  from  making  settlements  in  such 
society.  The  extreme  necessity  of  judiciary  attention  and  as- 
sistance, is  experienced  in  civil  as  well  as  criminal  cases. 
The  supplying  to  vacant  places  such  necessary  officers  as  may 
be  wanted,  such  as  clerks,  recorders,  and  others  of  like  kind, 
is,  from  the  impossibility  of  correct  notice  and  information, 
utterly  neglected.  This  Territory  is  exposed,  as  a  frontier,  to 
foreign  nations,  whose  agents  can  find  sufficient  interest  in 
exciting  or  fomenting  insurrection  and  discontent,  as  thereby 
they  can  more  easily  divert  a  valuable  trade  in  furs  from  the 
United  States,  and  also  have  a  part  thereof  on  which  they 
border,  which  feels  so  little  the  cherishing  hand  of  their  pro- 
per Government,  or  so  little  dread  of  its  energy,  as  to  render 
their  attachment  perfectly  uncertain  and  ambiguous.  The 
committee  would  further  suggest,  that  the  law  of  the  3d  of 
March,  1791,  granting  land  to  certain  persons  in  the  western 
part  of  said  territory,  and  directing  the  laying  out  of  the  same, 
remains  unexecuted;  that  great  discontent,  in  consequence  of 
such  neglect,  is  excited  in  those  who  were  interested  in  the 
provisions  of  said  law,  and  which  require  the  immediate  atten- 
tion of  this  legislature.  To  minister  a  remedy  to  these  evils, 
it  occurs  to  this  committee  that  it  is  expedient  that  a  division 
of  said  territory  into  two  distinct  and  separate  governments 
should  be  made;  and  that  such  division  be  made,  by  a  line  be- 
ginning at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami  river,  running  direct- 
ly north,  until  it  intersects  the  boundary  between  the  United 
States  and  Canada.* 

In  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  this  resolution  an  act  was 
passed,  and  approved  upon  the  7th  of  May,  from  which  we 
extract  these  provisions : 

That  from  and  after  the  4th  day  of  July  next,  all  that  part 
of  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  northwest  of  the  Ohio 
river,  which  lies  to  the  westward  of  a  line  beginning  at  the 
Ohio,  opposite  to  the  mouth  of  Kentucky  river,  and  running 
thence  to  fort  Recovery,  and  thence  north,  until  it  shall  inter- 
sect the  territorial  line  between  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
shall,  for  the  purpose  of  temporary  government,  constitute  a 
separate  territory,  and  be  called  the  Indiana  territory. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  there  shall  be  estab- 
lished within  the  said  territory  a  government,  in  all  respects 
similar  to  that  provided  by  the  ordinance  of  Congress,  passed 
on  the  thirteenth  day  of  July,  one  thousand  seven  hundred 
and  eighty-seven,  for  the  government  of  the  territory  of  the 

*  American  State  Papers,  xx.  206. 


516  Indiana  Territory  Formed.  1800 

United  States  northwest  of  the  river  Ohio;  and  the  inhabitants 
thereof  shall  be  entitled  to,  and  enjoy,  all  and  singular,  the 
rights,  privileges  and  advantages,  granted  and  secured  to  the 
people  by  the  said  ordinance. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  so  much  of -the  or- 
dinance for  the  government  of  the  territory  of  the  United 
States  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river,  as  relates  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  General  Assembly  therein,  and  prescribes  the  powers 
thereof,  shall  be  in  force  and  operate  in  the  Indiana  Territory, 
whenever  satisfactory  evidence  shall  be  given  to  the  Governor 
thereof,  that  such  is  the  wish  of  a  majority  of  the  freeholders, 
notwithstanding  there  may  not  be  therein  five  thousand  free 
male  inhabitants  of  the  age  of  twenty-one  years  and  upwards: 
Provided,  that  until  there  shall  be  five  thousand  free  male  in- 
habitants, of  twenty-one  years  and  upwards,  in  said  territory, 
the  whole  number  of  Representatives  to  the  General  Assembly 
shall  not  be  less  than  seven,  nor  more  than  nine,  to  be  appor- 
tioned by  the  Governor  to  the  several  counties  in  said  territory, 
agreeably  to  the  number  of  free  males  of  the  age  of  twenty- 
one  years  and  upwards,  which  they  may  respectively  contain. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  nothing  in  this  act 
contained,  shall  be  construed  so  as  in  any  manner  to  affect 
the  government  now  in  force  in  the  territory  of  the  United 
States  northwest  of  the  Ohio  river,  further  than  to  prohibit  the 
exercise  thereof  within  the  Indiana  Territory,  from  and  after 
the  aforesaid  fourth  day  of  July  next:  Provided,  That,  when- 
ever that  part  of  the  territory  of  the  United  States  whichlies 
to  the  eastward  of  a  line  beginning  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great 
Miami  river,  and  running  thence,  due  north,  to  the  territorial 
line  between  the  United  States  and  Canada,  shall  be  erected 
into  an  independent  State,  and  admitted  into  the  Union  on  an 
equal  footing  with  the  original  States,  thenceforth  said  line 
shall  become  and  remain  permanently  the  boundary  line  be- 
tween such  State  and  the  Indiana  Territory,  any  thing  in  this 
act  contained  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding. 

SEC.  6.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  until  it  shall  be 
otherwise  ordered  by  the  Legislatures  of  the  said  Territories, 
respectively,  Chillicothe,  on  the  Scioto  river,  shall  be  the  seat 
of  the  government  of  the  Territory  of  the  United  States  north- 
west of  the  Ohio  river  ;  and  that  St.  Vincennes,  on  the  Wa- 
bash  river,  shall  be  the  seat  of  the  government  for  the  Indiana 
Territory."* 

[William  Henry  Harrison,  through  whose  agency  as  the  del- 
egate in  Congress,  the  formation  of  this  Territory  was  obtain- 
ed, was  appointed  Governor.] 

We  have  already  mentioned,  that  Connecticut  in  her  Re- 

*  Land  Laws,  451. 


1800  Governor  St.  Glair's  Speech.  517 

serve  had  retained  the  jurisdiction  thereof,  as  well  as  the  soil. 
When  she  disposed  of  the  soil,  however,  troubles  at  once 
arose,  for  the  settlers  found  themselves  without  a  government 
upon  which  to  lean.  Upon  their  representation,  the  mother 
state,  in  October  1797,  authorized  her  Senators  to  release  her 
jurisdiction  over  the  Reserve,  to  the  Union;  upon  the  21st  of 
March,  1800,  a  Committee  of  Congress  reported  in  favor  of 
accepting  this  cession,  and  upon  the  30th  of  May,  the  release 
was  made  by  the  Governor  of  the  State,  in  accordance  with  a 
law  passed  during  that  month  ;  the  United  States  issuing  let- 
ters patent  to  Connecticut  for  the  soil,  and  Connecticut  trans- 
ferring all  her  claims  of  jurisdiction  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment.* At  that  time,  settlements  had  been  commenced  in 
thirty-five  of  the  townships,  and  one  thousand  persons  had 
become  settlers;  mills  had  been  built,  and  seven  hundred  miles 
of  road  cut  in  various  directions.! 

[The  "Connecticut  Reserve"  continued  to  receive  numerous 
emigrants  from  the  New  England  States,  who  formed  settle- 
ments chiefly  near  Lake  Erie.  The  population  in  this  part  of 
the  territory  had  increased  so  fast,  that  in  December,  1800, 
the  county  of  Trumbull  was  organized.  About  this  period  a 
large  number  of  settlers  on  the  "Pennsylvania  Grants,"  north- 
west of  the  Alleghany  river,  who  had  made  an  unfortunate 
bargain  with  certain  rich  land  owners,  abandoned  their  im- 
provements, to  avoid  litigation,  and  retired  to  the  southern 
part  of  the  Western  Reserve.  They  were  an  acquisition  to 
this  part  of  Ohio,  and  by  industry  and  frugality,  in  a  few  years 
more  than  retrieved  the  loss  of  their  improvements. J] 

Congress  having  made  Chillicothe  the  Capital  of  the  north- 
western Territory,  on  the  3d  of  November,  1800,  the  General 
Assembly  met  at  that  place.  At  this  meeting  Governor  St. 
Clair  in  strong  terms  expressed  his  sense  of  the  want  of  pop- 
ularity under  which  he  labored;  he  said  : — 

"  My  term  of  office,  and  yours,  gentlemen  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  will  soon  expire. — It  is,  indeed,  very  uncer- 
tain, whether  I  shall  ever  meet  another  Assembly,  in  the  char- 
acter I  now  hold,  for  I  well  know,  that  the  vilest  calumnies  and 
the  greatest  falsehoods,  are  insidiously  circulated  among  the 

»  American  State  Papers,  xvi.  94  to  98— Chase's  Statutes,  i.  64  to  66. 
t  American  Stnte  Papers,  xvi.  97. 
J  American  Pioneer,  ii.  pp.  368,  371. 


518  Secret  Treaty  of  lldcfonso.  1800 

people,  with  a  view  to  prevent  it.  While  I  regret  the  base- 
ness and  malevolence  of  the  authors,  and  well  know  that  the 
laws  have  put  the  means  of  correction  fully  in  my  power, they 
have  nothing  to  dread  from  me  but  the  contempt  they  justly 
merit.  The  remorse  of  their  own  consciences  will  one  day  be 
punishment  sufficient: — Their  arts  may,  however,  succeed  : — 
Be  that  as  it  may,  of  this  I  am  certain,  that,  be  my  successor 
whom  he  may,  he  can  never  have  the  interests  of  the  people 
of  this  Territory  more  truly  at  heart  than  I  have  had,  nor  labor 
more  assiduously  for  their  good  than  I  have  done;  and  I  am 
not  conscious  that  any  one  act  of  my  administration  has  been 
influenced  by  any  other  motive  than  a  sincere  desire  to  pro- 
mote their  welfare  and  happiness.* 

Notwithstanding  the  general  dislike  felt  towards  him,  how- 
ever, St.  Clair  was  reappointed  in  1801,  to  the  place  he  had  so 
long  occupied. 

Toward  the  close  of  this  year  the  first  Missionary  to  the 
Connecticut  Reserve,  came  thither  under  the  patronage  of  the 
Connecticut  Missionary  Society.  He  found  no  township  con- 
taining more  than  eleven  families.f 

Upon  the  1st  of  October,  in  this  year,  the  secret  treaty  of  St. 
Ildefonso  was  made  bet  ween  Napoleon  as  First  Consul,  and  the 
King  of  Spain,  whereby  the  latter  agreed  to  cede  to  France 
the  province  of  Louisiana.! 

By  this  year's  census,  Kentucky  contained  179,875  whites  ; 
and  40,343  slaves;  an  increase  in  ten  years  of  118,742  whites, 
and  28,913  slaves.§ 

The  Governor  and  several  of  the  legislators  of  the  north- 
western Territory  having  been  insulted  during  the  autumn  of 
1801  at  Chillicothe,  while  the  Assembly  was  in  session — and 
no  measures  being  taken  by  the  authorities  of  the  Capitol  to 
protect  the  Executive — a  law  was  passed  removing  the  seat 
of  government  to  Cincinnati  again. J  But  it  was  not  des- 
tined that  the  Territorial  Assembly  should  meet  again  any- 

*  Burnet's  Letters,  p.  73. 

•f  American  Pioneer,  ii.  275. 

J  American  State  Papers,  ii.  507. 

I  Marshall,  ii.  332. 

JBurnet's  letters,  75.  We  state  the  fact  as  given  by  Judge  Burnet,  but  ctnnot  reconcile 
itwiththe  Journals.  On  the  16th  of  December  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  government  was 
broached  in  the  House.  (Journal  of  House,  62  ;)  on  the  19th  it  was  fully  debated,  (Jour- 
nal, 71  to  73  ;)  on  the  21st  was  passed  by  the  House,  (Journal  of  House,  77  ;)  on  the  same 
day  it  was  passed  by  the  Council,  (Journal  of  Council,  32,  33;)  on  the  24th  it  was  signed  by 
the  Speaker  and  President,  (Journal  of  Council,  35,)  and  given  the  Governor  for  his  appro- 


1800.  New  Orleans  closed  against  Americans.  519 

where.  The  unpopularity  of  St.  Clair,  already  referred  to, 
was  causing  many  to  long  for  a  State  government  and  self- 
rule.  This  unpopularity  arose  in  part  from  the  feelings  con- 
nected with  his  defeat ;  in  part  from  his  being  identified  with 
the  Federal  party  then  fast  falling  into  disrepute ;  and  in  part 
from  his  assuming  powers  which  most  thought  he  had  no 
right  to  exercise,  especially  the  power  of  sub-dividing  the 
counties  of  the  Territory. 

But  the  opposition,  though  very  powerful  out  of  the  Assem- 
bly, was  in  the  minority,  even  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  during  December,  1801,  was  forced  to  protest  against  a 
measure  brought  forward  in  the  Council  for  changing  the  Or- 
dinance of  1787  in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  the  Scioto  and 
a  line  drawn  from  the  intersection  of  that  river  and  the  Indian 
boundary  to  the  western  extremity  of  the  Connecticut  Re- 
serve, the  limit  of  the  most  eastern  State  to  be  formed  from 
the  territory.  This  change,  if  made,  would  long  have  post- 
poned the  formation  of  a  State  Government  beyond  the  Ohio, 
and  against  it  Tiffin,  Worthington,  Langham,  Darlinton,  Mas- 
sie,  Dunlavy,  and  Morrow,  recorded  solemnly  their  objections. 
Not  content  with  this  it  was  determined  that  some  one  should 
at  once  visit  Washington  on  behalf  of  the  objectors,  and  upon 
the  20th  of  December,  Thomas  Worthington  obtained  leave 
of  absence  for  the  remainder  of  the  session.  His  acts  and 
those  of  his  co-laborers  belong  to  the  next  year.* 

[From  1799  to  1803  the  territorial  legislature  met  annually, 
but  made  not  many  laws,  owing  to  the  extraordinary  powers 
conferred  on  the  Governor,  by  the  ordinance  of  1787,  and  the 
very  arbitrary  manner  by  which  he  vetoed  many  of  the  bills 
that  passed.  During  the  period  of  the  territorial  legislature, 
most  of  the  business  usually  done  by  territorial  legislatures 
since,  was  done  by  the  governor  of  the  territory.  He  erected 
new  counties,  fixed  county  seats,  and  issued  divers  procla- 
mations enacting  laws  by  his  own  authority,  and  put  his  veto 
upon  all  legislative  enactments,  which  he  fancied  encroached 

bation,  (Journal  of  House,  89.)  On  the  night  of  the  25th  and  26lh  the  only  riots  men- 
tioned in  the  Journals  took  place.  (Journal  of  Council,  39;  Journal  of  House,  98.)  On 
the  21st  of  December  Mr.  Burnet  asked  leave  of  absence  for  ten  days  which  was  granted; 
(Journal  of  Council,  33.)  The  Governor's  approbation  to  the  bill  was  given  January  1st; 
(Journal  of  House,  108.)  Possibly  his  consent  was  determined  by  the  riots. 

*Journal  of  House,  81  to  83  and  93.    See  also  Journal  of  Council,  16  and  17.    Journal 
of  House,  68. 


520  Worthington 's  Mission  to  Congress.  1802. 

on  his  prerogatives.     Hence  his  administration  became  singu- 
larly unpopular.*] 

By  the  treaty  with  Spain,  New  Orleans,  or  "  an  equivalent 
establishment,"  was  to  be  allowed  the  citizens  of  the  United 
States  as  a  place  of  deposite  for  property  sent  down  the  Mis- 
sissippi. Until  the  16th  of  October,  1802,  no  change  in  rela- 
tion to  this  place  of  deposit  took  place,  but  on  that  day  Mo- 
rales, the  intendant  of  Louisiana,  issued  an  order  putting  an 
end  to  the  cherished  and  all-important  privilege  granted  to 
the  Americans.  This  led  to  instant  excitement  and  remon- 
strance, and,  upon  the  7th  of  January  following,  to  a  resolu- 
tion by  the  House  of  Representatives,  affirming,  "  their  unal- 
terable determination  to  maintain  the  boundaries,  and  the 
rights  of  navigation  and  commerce  through  the  River  Missis- 
sippi as  established  by  existing  treaties."!  The  act  of  the 
Tntendant  had  not,  it  appeared,  been  authorized  by  the  Span- 
ish Government,  find  was  not  acquiesced  in  by  the  Governor 
of  Louisiana :  but  the  suspension  continued  notwithstanding, 
until  the  25th  of  February,  1803,  when  the  port  was  opened 
to  provisions,  upon  paying  a  duty  ;  and,  in  April,  orders  from 
the  King  of  Spain  reached  the  United  States,  restoring  the 
right  of  deposit.J 

In  January,  1802,  a  bill  was  passed  by  the  Assembly  of  the 
North- Western  Territory,  and  approved  by  the  Governor, 
establishing  a  university  in  the  town  of  Athens. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  dissatisfaction  with  Governor 
St.  Clair,  which  prevailed  in  the  North- Western  Territory,  and 
the  wish  of  a  party  therein  to  obtain  a  State  Government, 
although  not  yet  entitled  to  ask  it  under  the  ordinance.  Mr. 
Worthington  left  late  in  1801,  to  urge  upon  Congress  the  evils 
of  the  proposition  to  change  the  bounds  of  the  north-western 
States,  and  if  advisable,  to  procure  permission  to  call  a  con- 
vention for  the  formation  of  a  State,  having  the  boundaries 
mentioned  in  the  ordinance,  namely,  the  west  line  of  Penn- 
sylvania, the  north  and  south  lines  of  the  territory,  and  a  line 
drawn  due  north  from  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami. 

|  Atwater's  History  of  Ohio,  p.  167. 

*American  State  Papers,  ii.  556.  561. 

J  See  Documents,  American  State  Papers,  ii.  469  to  471,  527,  528,  531,  536,  544,  548. 


1802  Worthing  ton's  Mission  to  Congress.  521 

While  Worthington  was  journeying,  upon  the  4th  of  Jan- 
uary, Massie  presented  a  resolution  for  choosing  a  committee 
to  address  Congress  in  respect  to  the  proposed  State  Govern- 
ment. This,  upon  the  following  day,  the  House  refused  to  pass, 
however,  by  a  vote  of  twelve  to  five.  An  attempt  was  next 
made  to  procure  a  census  of  the  Territory,  and  an  act  for  that 
purpose,  passed  the  House,  but  the  council  postponed  the  con- 
sideration of  it  until  the  next  session,  which  was  to  commence 
at  Cincinnati  on  the  fourth  Monday  of  the  following  Novem- 
ber.* 

Worthington,  meantime,  at  Philadelphia,  pursued  the  ends 
of  his  mission,  and  used  his  influence  to  effect  that  organiza- 
tion, "  which,  terminating  the  influence  of  tyranny,"  was  to 
"meliorate  the  circumstances  of  thousands  by  freeing  them  from 
the  domination  of  a  despotic  chief."J  His  efforts  proved  suc- 
cessful, and  upon  the  4th  of  March  a  report  was  made  to  the 
House  in  favor  of  authorizing  a  State  Convention.  This  re- 
port went  upon  the  basis  that  the  Territory,  by  the  United 
States'  census  made  in  1800,  contained  more  than  forty-five 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  as  the  Government  since  that  time 
had  sold  half  a  million  of  acres,  that  the  territory  east  of  the 
Miami,  supposing  the  past  rate  of  increase  to  continue,  would, 
by  the  time  a  State  government  could  be  formed,  contain  the 
sixty  thousand  persons  contemplated  by  the  ordinance ;  and 
upon  this  basis  proposed  that  a  convention  should  be  held,  to> 
determine,  1st,  whether  it  were  expedient  to  form  a  State  Gov- 
ernment, and  2d,  to  prepare  a  Constitution,  if  such  an  organi- 
zation were  deemed  best.f  In  the  formation  of  this  State, 
however,  a  change  of  boundaries  was  proposed,  by  which,  in 
accordance  with  the  fifth  article  of  the  ordinance  of  1787,  all. 
of  the  territory  north  of  a  line  drawn  due  east  from  the  head" 
of  Lake  Michigan  to  Lake  Erie,  was  to  be  excluded  from  the 
new  government  about  to  be  called  into  existence.  The  re- 
port closed  as  follows  : 

The  committee  observe,  in  the  ordinance  for  ascertaining 
the  mode  of  disposing  of  lands  in  the  Western  Territory,  of  the 

*See  Journal  of  the  Council,  53  and  78;  and  Journal  of  the  House,  111,  115,  155. 

-{•See  his  letter  to  Mr.  Giles,  chairman  of  the  committee  of  Congress,  February  13th,  1802f 
(American  Stite  Papers,  xx.  328.)  See  letter  by  him  to  James  Finley,  chairman,  Feb.. 
ruary  12th,  1802.  (American  State  Papers,  xx.  329. 

{American  State  Papers,  xx.  326.) 

33 


522  Provisions  as  to  Lands  in  Ohio.  1802 

20th  of  May,  1785,  the  following  section,  which,  so  far  as  re- 
spects the  subject  of  schools,  remains  unaltered  : 

There  shall  be  reserved  for  the  United  States  out  of  every 
township,  the  four  lots,  being  numbered  8,  1 1,  26,  29  ;  and  out 
of  every  fractional  part  of  a  township  so  many  lots  of  the  same 
numbers  as  shall  be  found  thereon  for  future  sale.  There 
shall  be  reserved  the  lot  No.  16,  of  every  township,  for  the 
maintenance  of  public  schools  within  the  said  township  ;  also, 
one-third  part  of  all  gold,  silver,  lead,  and  copper  mines,  to  be 
sold,  or  otherwise  disposed  of  as  Congress  shall  hereafter  di- 
rect. 

The  committee  also  observe,  in  the  third  and  fourth  articles 
of  the  ordinance  of  the  13th  July,  1787,  the  following  stipula- 
tions, to  wit: 

Art.  3.  Religion, morality,  and  knowledge,  being  necessary 
to  good  government  and  the  happiness  of  mankind,  schools  and 
the  means  of  education  shall  forever  be  encouraged,  &c. 

Art.  4.  The  Legislatures  of  those  districts  or  new  States 
shall  never  interfere  with  the  primary  disposal  of  the  soil  by 
the  United  States  in  Congress  assembled,  nor  with  any  regula- 
tions Congress  may  find  necessary  for  securing  the  title  in  such 
soil  to  the  bona  fide  purchasers.  No  tax  shall  be  imposed  on 
lands  the  property  of  the  United  States;  and  in  no  case  shall 
non-resident  proprietors  be  taxed  higher  than  residents. 

The  committee,  taking  into  consideration  these  stipulations, 
viewing  the  lands  of  the  United  States  within  the  said  terri- 
tory as  an  important  source  of  revenue  ;  deeming  it  also  of  the 
highest  importance  to  the  stability  and  permanence  of  the 
union  of  the  eastern  and  western  parts  of  the  United  States, 
that  the  intercourse  should,  as  far  as  possible,  be  facilitated, 
.and  their  interests  be  liberally  and  mutually  consulted  and 
promoted,  are  of  opinion  that  the  provisions  of  the  afore.said 
articles  may  be  varied  for  the  reciprocal  advantage  of  the 

United  States  and  the  State  of when  formed,  and  the 

people  thereof;  they  have  therefore  deemed  it  proper,  in  lieu 
of  the  said  provisions,  to  offer  the  following  propositions  to 
the  convention  of  the  eastern  State  of  the  said  territory,  when 
formed,  for  their  free  acceptance  or  rejection,  without  any  con- 
dition or  restraint  whatever,  which,  if  accepted  by  the  conven- 
tion, shall  be  obligatory  upon  the  United  States  : 

1st.  That  the  section  No.  16,  in  every  township,  sold  or 
directed  to  be  sold  by  the  United  States,  shall  be  granted  to 
the  inhabitants  of  such  township  for  the  use  of  schools. 

2d.  That  the  six  miles  reservation,  including  the  salt 
springs,  commonly  called  the  Scioto  salt  springs,  shall  be 

granted  to  the  State  of when  formed,  for  the  use  of 

the  people  thereof;  the  same  to  be  used  under  such  terms, 


1802   Lands  sold  by  the  United  States  to  be  free  from  Taxes.    523 

conditions,  and  regulations,  as  the  Legislature  of  the  said 
State  shall  direct:  Provided,  the  said  Legislature  shall  never 

sell  nor  lease  the  same  for  a  longer  term  than years. 

3d.  That  one-tenth  part  of  the  nett  proceeds  of  the  lands 
lying  in  the  said  State,  hereafter  sold  by  Congress,  after  de- 
ducting all  expenses  incident  to  the  same,  shall  be  applied  to 
the  laying  out  and  making  turnpike  or  other  roads,  leading 
from  the  navigable  waters  emptying  into  the  Atlantic  to  the 

Ohio,  and  continued  afterwards  through  the  State  of ; 

such  roads  to  be  laid  out  under  the  authority  of  Congress, 
with  the  consent  of  the  several  States  through  which  the 
roads  shall  pass :  Provided,  that  the  convention  of  the  State  of 

shall,  on  its  part,  assent  that  every  and  each  tract  of  land 

sold  by  Congress  shall  be  and  remain  exempt  from  any  tax 
laid  by  order  and  under  authority  of  the  State,  whether  for 
State,  county,  township,  or  any  other  purpose  whatever,  for 
the  term  of  ten  years,  from  and  after  the  completion  of  the 
payment  of  the  purchase  money  on  such  tract,  to  the  United 
States.* 

In  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  their  commit- 
tee, Congress,  upon  the  30th  of  April,  passed  a  law,  carrying, 
with  slight  modifications,  the  view  above  given,  into  effect.f 
The  provisions  of  this  law  were  thought  by  many  in  the  Ter- 
ritory unauthorized,  but  no  opposition  was  offered  to  the  ap- 
pointment of  persons  to  attend  the  Convention,  and  the  Leg- 
islature even  gave  way  to  the  embryo  Government,  and 
failed  to  assemble  according  to  adjournment.  The  Conven- 
tion met  upon  the  1st  of  November ;  its  members  were  gen- 
erally JefFersonian  in  their  national  politics  and  had  been 
opposed  to  the  change  of  boundaries  proposed  the  previous 
year.  Before  proceeding  to  business,  Governor  St.  Clair  pro- 
posed to  address  them,  in  his  official  character,  as  the  chief 
executive  magistrate  of  the  territory.  This  proposition  was 
resisted  by  several  of  the  members;  but  after  discussion,  a 
motion  was  made,  and  adopted,  by  a  majority  of  five,  that, 
"Arthur  St.  Clair,  sen.,  Esquire,  be  permitted  to  address  the 
convention,  on  those  points  which  he  deems  of  importance." 
.  He  advised  the  postponement  of  a  State  organization  until 
the  people  of  the  original  eastern  division  were  plainly  en- 
titled to  demand  it,  and  were  not  subject  to  be  bound  by  con- 
ditions.:]; This  advice,  given  as  it  was,  caused  Jefferson  in- 

*American  State  Papers,  xx.  326. 
•fSee  this  act  in  Chase,  i.  70. 
JBurnet's  Letters,  108,  111. 


524  Northern  Boundary  of  Ohio.  1802 

stantly  to  remove  St.  Glair,  but  when  the  vote  was  taken  upon 
doing  that  which  he  advised  them  not  to  do,  but  one  of  thirty- 
three,  Ephraim  Cutler  of  Washington,  voted  with  the  Gov- 
ernor.* 

On  one  point,  the  proposed  boundaries  of  the  new  State 
were  altered. 

To  every  person  who  has  attended  to  this  subject,  and  who 
has  consulted  the  maps  of  the  western  country,  extant  at  the 
time  the  ordinance  of  1787  was  passed,  Lake  Michigan 
was  believed  to  be,  and  was  represented  by  all  the  maps  of 
that  day,  as  being  very  far  north  of  the  position  which  it  has 
since  been  ascertained  to  occupy.  I  have  seen  the  map  in  the 
department  of  state,  which  was  before  the  committee  of  Con- 
gress, who  framed  and  reported  the  ordinance  for  the  govern- 
ment of  the  territory.  On  that  map,  the  southern  boundary 
of  Michigan,  was  represented  as  being  above  the  forty-second 
degree  of  north  latitude.  And  there  was  a  pencil  line,  said  to 
have  been  made  by  the  committee,  passing  through  the  south- 
ern bend  of  the  lake,  to  the  Canada  line,  which  struck  the 
strait,  not  far  below  the  town  of  Detroit.  That  line  was  mani- 
festly intended  by  the  committee  and  by  Congress,  to  be  the 
northern  boundary  of  our  State ;  and  on  the  principles  by 
which  courts  of  chancery  construe  contracts,  accompanied  by 
plats,  it  would  seem  that  the  map,  and  the  line  referred  to, 
should  be  conclusive  evidence  of  our  boundary,  without  refer- 
ence to  the  real  position  of  the  lake.  When  the  convention 
sat,  in  1802,  the  prevailing  understanding  was,  that  the  old 
maps  were  nearly  correct,  and  that  the  line,  as  defined  in  the 
ordinance,  would  terminate  at  some  point,  on  the  strait,  above 
the  Maumee  bay.  While  the  convention  was  in  session,  a 
man  who  had  hunted,  many  years,  on  lake  Michigan,  and  was 
well  acquainted  with  its  position,  happened  to  be  in  Chilli- 
cothe  ;  and  in  conversation  with  one  of  its  members,  told  him, 
that  the  lake  extended  much  further  south  than  was  generally 
supposed,  and  that  a  map  of  the  countiy,  which  he  had  seen, 
placed  its  southern  bend  many  miles  north  of  its  true  position. 
This  information  excited  some  uneasiness,  and  induced  the 
convention  to  modify  the  clause,  describing  the  north  boun- 
dary, so  as  to  guard  its  being  depressed  below  the  most  north- 
ern cape  of  the  Maumee  bay.f 

With  this  change,  and  some  extension  of  the  school  and 
road  donations,  the  convention  agreed  to  the  proposal  of  Con- 
gress, and  upon  the  29th  of  November,  their  agreement  was 
ratified  and  signed,  as  was  also  the  Constitution  of  the  State 
of  Ohio.J  Of  this  Constitution  we  shall  say  nothing  farther 

*Burnet'g  Letters,  110. 

•(-Historical  transactions  of  Ohio,  p.  115. 

JChase's  Statutes,  i.  74  is  the  Resolution  of  November  29th. 


1802  Harrison   treats  with  Indians.  525 

than  that  it  bore  in  every  provision  the  marks  of  democratic 
feeling  ;  of  full  faith  in  the  people.  By  the  people  themselves, 
however,  it  was  never  examined  ;  but  no  opposition  was  of- 
fered to  it,  and  a  General  Assembly  was  required  to  meet  at 
Chillicothe  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  March,  1803. 

After  the  agreement  by  Congress  to  the  Constitution  of  Ohio, 
and  her  admission  into  the  Union,  the  Peninsula  of  Michigan 
was  wholly  within  the  territory  of  Indiana. 

On  the  17th  of  September,  1802,  Governor  Harrison  of  In- 
diana Territory,  at  Vincennes,  entered  into  an  agreement  with 
various  chiefs  of  the  Pottawatomie,  Eel  river,  Piankeshaw, 
Wea,  Kaskaskia  and  Kickapoo  tribes,  by  which  were  settled 
the  bounds  of  a  tract  of  land  near  that  place,  said  to  have 
been  given  by  the  Indians  to  its  founder  jand  certain  chiefs 
were  named  who  were  to  conclude  the  matter  at  Fort  Wayne. 
This  was  the  first  step  taken  by  Harrison  in  those  negotiations 
which  continued  through  so  many  years,  and  added  so  much 
to  the  dominions  of  the  Confederation.  He  found  the  natives 
jealous  and  out  of  temper,  owing  partly  to  American  injus- 
tice, but  also  in  a  great  degree,  it  was  thought,  to  the  arts  of 
the  British  traders  and  agents.! 

In  January  of  this  year,  Governor  Harrison  also  communi- 
cated to  the  President  the  following  letter,  detailing  some  of 
the  most  curious  land  speculations  of  which  we  have  any  ac- 
count : 

The  court  established  at  this  place,  under  the  authority  of 
the  State  of  Virginia,  in  the  year  1780,  (as  I  have  before  done 
myself  the  honor  to  inform  you,)  assumed  to  themselves  the 
right  of  granting  lands  to  every  applicant.  Having  exercised 
this  power  for  some  time  without  opposition,  they  began  to 
conclude  that  their  right  over  the  land  was  supreme,  and  that 
they  could  with  as  much  propriety  grant  to  themselves  as  to 
others.  Accordingly,  an  arrangement  was  made,  by  which 
the  whole  country  to  which  the  Indian  title  was  supposed  to 
be  extinguished,  was  divided  between  the  members  of  the 
court ;  and  orders  to  that  effect  entered  on  their  Journal,  each 
member  absenting  himself  from  the  court  on  the  day  that  the 
order  was  to  be  made  in  his  favor,  so  that  it  might  appear  to 
be  the  act  of  his  fellows  only.  The  tract  thus  disposed  of,  ex- 
tends on  the  Wabash  twenty-four  leagues  from  La  Pointe 
Coupee  to  the  mouth  of  White  River,  and  forty  leagues  into 
the  country  west,  and  thirty  east  from  the  Wabash,  excluding 

*Daw30u's  Harrison,  7  to  58. 


526  Treaty  vnth  France  for  Louisinaa.  1803 

only  the  land  immediately  surrounding  this  town,  which  had 
before  been  granted  to  the  amount  of  twenty  or  thirty  thou- 
sand acres. 

The  authors  of  this  ridiculous  transaction  soon  found  that 
no  advantage  could  be  derived  from  it,  as  they  could  find  no 
purchasers,  and  I  believe  that  the  idea  of  holding  any  part  of 
the  land  was,  by  the  greater  part  of  them,  abandoned  a  few 
years  ago  ;  however,  the  claim  was  discovered,  and  a  part  of 
it  purchased  by  some  of  those  speculators  who  infest  our  coun- 
try, and  through  these  people,  a  number  of  others  in  different 
parts  of  the  United  States  have  become  concerned,  some  of 
whom  are  actually  preparing  to  make  settlements  on  the  land 
the  ensuing  spring.  Indeed,  I  should  not  be  surprised  to  see 
five  hundred  families  settling  under  these  titles  in  the  course 
of  a  year.  The  price  at  which  the  land  is  sold  enables  any 
body  to  become  a  purchaser ;  one  thousand  acres  being  fre- 
quently given  for  an  indifferent  horse  or  a  rifle  gun.  And  as 
a  formal  deed  is  made  reciting  the  grant  of  the  court,  (made, 
as  it  is  pretended,  under  the  authority  of  the  State  of  Virginia,) 
many  ignorant  persons  have  been  induced  to  part  with  their 
little  all  to  obtain  this  ideal  property,  and  they  will  no  doubt 
endeavor  to  strengthen  their  claim,  as  soon  as  they  have  dis- 
covered the  deception,  by  an  actual  settlement.  The  extent 
of  these  speculations  was  unknown  to  me  until  lately.  I  am 
now  informed  that  a  number  of  persons  are  in  the  habit  of 
repairing  to  this  place,  where  they  purchase  two  or  three 
hundred  thousand  acres  of  this  claim,  for  which  they  get  a 
deed  properly  authenticated  and  recorded,  and  then  disperse 
themselves  over  the  United  States,  to  cheat  the  ignorant  and 
credulous. /"in  some  measure,  to  check  this  practice,  I  have 
forbidden  nie  recorder  and  prothonotary  of  this  county  from 
recording  or  authenticating  any  of  these  papers ;  being  de- 
termined that  the  official  seals  of  the  Territory  should  not  be 
prostituted  to  a  purpose  so  base  as  that  of  assisting  an  infa- 
mous fraud.*!  WM.  H.  HARRISON. 

To  JAS.  MADISON,  Sec'y.  of  State. 

During  the  session  of  1802,  the  Legislature  of  Kentucky 
chartered  an  "  Insurance  Company,"  whose  notes  payable  to 
bearer  were  to  be  transferred  or  assigned  by  delivery  ;  this 
feature  made  the  institution  a  Bank  of  circulation,  and  such 
it  became. f 

Upon  the  llth  of  January,  Mr.  Jefferson  sent  a  message  to 
the  Senate  nominating  Robert  R.  Livingston  and  James  Mon- 
roe ministers  at  the  Court  of  France,  and  Charles  Pinckney 
and  James  Monroe  at  that  of  Spain,  with  full  power  to  form 

*  American  State  Papers,  xvi,  123. 
tMarshall,  ii.  343. 


1793.  Treaty  with  France  for  Louisiana.  527 

treaties  for  "enlarging  and  more  effectually  securing  our  rights 
and  interests  in  the  river  Mississippi,  and  in  the  territories 
eastward  thereof."*  This  was  done  in  consequence  of  the  or- 
der by  Morales  taking  from  the  Americans  the  use  of  New 
Orleans  as  a  place  of  deposit ;  and  the  knowledge  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  that  in  some  form  a  treaty 
had  been  made  by  which  Spain  had  transferred  her  interest  in 
Louisiana  to  France. 

The  secretf  treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso  had  been  formed  on  the 
1st  of  October,  1800 ;  on  the  29th  of  the  next  March,  Rufus 
King,  then  Minister  in  London,  wrote  home  in  relation  to  a 
reported  cession  of  Louisiana,  and  its  influence  on  the  United 
States  :J  on  the  9th  of  June,  1801,  Mr.  Pinckney,  at  Madrid* 
was  instructed  in  relation  to  the  alleged  transfer,  and  upon 
the  28th  of  September,  Mr.  Livingston,  at  Paris,  was  written 
to  upon  the  same  topic.  On  the  20th  of  November,  Mr.  King 
sent  from  London  a  copy  of  the  treaty  signed  at  Madrid, 
March  21,  1801,  by  which  the  Prince  of  Parma,  (son-in-law 
of  the  King  of  Spain,)  was  established  in  Tuscany  ;  this  had 
been  the  consideration  for  the  grant  of  Louisiana  to  France 
in  the  previous  autumn,  and  that  grant  was  now  confirmed. 
From  that  time  till  July  1802,  a  constant  correspondence  went 
on  between  the  American  Secretary  of  State  and  the  Minis- 
ters at  Paris,  London,  and  Madrid,  relative  to  the  important 
question,  What  can  be  done  to  secure  the  interests  of  the 
Union  in  relation  to  the  Mississippi?  Mr.  Livingston,  in 
France,  was  of  opinion  that  a  cession  of  New  Orleans  might 
possibly  be  obtained  from  that  power ;  and  to  obtain  it  he 
advised  the  payment  of  "  a  large  price"  if  required.  Mr. 
Livingston  at  the  same  time  wrote  and  laid  before  the  French 
leaders  an  elaborate  memoir,  intended  to  show  that  true  pol- 
icy required  France  not  to  retain  Louisiana,  but  when,  on  the 
last  of  August,  he  again  made  propositions,  Talleyrand  told 
him  that  the  First  Consul  was  not  ready  to  receive  them. 
Still  the  sagacious  Ambassador  felt  "  persuaded  that  the  whole 
would  end  in  a  relinquishment  of  the  country,  and  transfer  of 
the  Capital  to  the  United  States  ;"  and  pursued  his  labors  in 

*  American  State  Papers,  ii.  475. 

t  In  regard  to  the  secresy  practised,  see  Mr.  Liringston's  letters,  American  State  Papers, 
ii  612,  513. 

J  American  State  Papers,  ii.  509. 


528  Proposed  cession  of  New  Orleans.  1803 

hope  ; — asking  from  his  Government  only  explicit  instructions 
as  to  how  much  he  might  offer  France  for  the  Floridas, 
which  it  was  supposed  she  would  soon  get  from  Spain,  and 
also  for  New  Orleans.  His  views  were  acquiesced  in  by  the 
President,  and  Mr.  Monroe  went  out  in  March,  1803,  bearing 
instructions,  the  object  of  which  was  "  to  procure  a  cession  of 
New  Orleans  and 'the  Floridas  to  the  United  States."  All 
idea  of  purchasing  Louisiana  west  of  the  Mississippi,  was 
thus  far  disclaimed  by  Mr.  Livingston,  in  October,  1802,  and 
by  Mr.  Jefferson  in  January,  1803.  Upon  the  10th  of  the  lat- 
ter month,  however,  Mr.  Livingston  proposed  to  the  Minister 
of  Napoleon  to  cede  to  the  United  States  not  only  New  Or- 
leans and  Florida,  but  also  all  of  Louisiana  above  the  River 
Arkansas.  But  such  were  not  the  views  entertained  in  the 
Cabinet  of  the  United  States,  and  upon  the  2d  of  March  the 
instructions  sent  to  Messrs.  Livingston  and  Monroe,  gave  a 
plan  which  expressly  left  to  France  "  all  her  territory  on  the 
west  side  of  the  Mississippi.*  In  conformity  with  these  or- 
ders, when  Talleyrand,  on  the  llth  of  the  next  month,  asked 
Livingston  if  he  wished  all  of  Louisiana,  he  answered  that 
his  Government  desired  only  New  Orleans  and  Florida, 
though'in  his  opinion,  good  policy  would  lead  France  to  cede 
all  west  of  the  Mississippi  above  the  Arkansas,  so  as  to  place 
a  barrier  between  her  own  Colony  and  Canada.  Talleyrand 
still  suggested  the  cession  of  the  whole  French  domain  in 
North  America,  and  asked  how  much  would  be  given  for  it ; 
Mr.  Livingston  intimated  that  twenty  millions  (of  francs,) 
might  be  a  fair  price ;  this  the  Minister  of  Bonaparte  said 
was  too  low,  but  asked  the  American  to  think  of  the  matter. 
He  did  think  of  it,  and  this  thought  was  that  the  purchase  of 
Louisiana  entire  was  too  large  an  object  for  the  United,States, 
and  that,  if  acquired,  it  ought  to  be  exchanged  with  Spain  for 
the  Floridas,  reserving  only  New  Orleans.  On  the  12th  of 
April  Mr.  Monroe  reached  Paris,  and  upon  the  13th  the  Minis- 
ter of  the  Treasury,  Marbois,  who  was  a  personal  friend  of 
Livingston,  had  with  him  a  long  conversation,  from  which  it 
appeared  that  Napoleon,  then  about  to  renew  his  wars  with 
England,  wished  to  sell  Louisiana  entire,  and  that  the  only 
question  was  as  to  price.  Bonaparte  had  named  what 
equalled  125  millions  of  francs,  but  to  this  the  Republicans 

*  For  the  documents  on  this  subject,  see  American  State  Papers,  vol.  ii.  pp.  525  to  544. 


1803.  Bargain  and  purchase  of  Louisiana.  529 

turned  a  deaf  ear,  offering  only  40  or  50  millions.  In  a 
short  time,  however,  a  compromise  took  place',  and  the  Amer- 
ican negotiators,  going  entirely  beyond  the  letter  of  their  in- 
structions, agreed  to  pay  80  millions  of  francs  for  the  vast 
territory  upon  and  beyond  the  river  first  navigated  by  Mar- 
quette : — the  treaty  was  arranged  upon  the  30th  of  the  month 
in  which  the  purchase  had  first  been  suggested.  This  act  of 
the  Ministers,  though  unauthorized  and  unexpected,  was  at 
once  agreed  to  by  the  President.  Congress  was  summoned  to 
meet  upon  the  17th  of  October,  and  on  that  day  the  treaty 
was  laid  before  the  Senate  :  by  the  21st  the  transfer  was 
ratified,  and  upon  the  20th  of  the  following  December,  the 
Province  of  Louisiana  was  officially  delivered  over  to  Gov- 
ernor Claiborne  of  Mississippi,  and  General  Wilkinson,  who 
were  empowered  to  assume  the  Government. 

To  this  transfer  of  Louisiana,  Spain  at  first  objected,  as  she 
alleged  "on  solid  grounds,"  but  early  in  1804  renounced  her 
opposition.* 

From  what  has  been  said  it  will  be  seen,  that  Mr.  Jefferson 
had  no  agency  in  the  purchase  of  Louisiana  beyond  the  ap- 
proval of  the  unlooked-for  act  of  his  Ministers  in  France.  If 
any  person  deserves  to  be  remembered  in  connection  with 
that  great  bargain,  it  was  Mr.  Livingston,  whose  efforts  were 
constant  and  effectual.  An  account  of  them  may  be  found  in 
his  letters,  read  in  the  following  order  :  1st,  that  of  May  12, 
1802,  (American  State  papers,  ii.  557 ;)  2d,  that  of  December 
30,  1801,  (do.  512;)  and  after  that  in  the  order  of  dates  and 
arrangement.  The  person  through  whom  Mr.  Livingston  ob- 
tained the  ear  of  Napoleon  was  Joseph  Bonaparte. 

[It  is  here  proper,  in  as  few  words  as  possible,  to  explain  the 
circumstances  which  surrounded  Napoleon  as  First  Consul, 
and  the  motives  by  which  he  was  influenced  in  the  sale  of 
Louisiana.  These  may  be  found  in  detail,  with  many  other 
original  facts,  in  the  "  History  of  Louisiana,"  by  M.  de  Barbe 
Marbois,  a  translation  of  which,  was  published  in  Philadel- 
phia in  1830.  M.  Marbois  had  been  for  some  time  a  member 
of  the  cabinet,  and  minister  of  the  Public  Treasury,  and  he 

*  For  the  various  documents  see  American  State  Papers,  ii.  552,  553,  557  to  560,  566, 

572,  581  to  583.    For  the  treaty  see  pp.  507  to  508,  Laws  of  Missouri,  1842,  i.  1  to  4 

Marbois  Louisiana,  Appendix,  403  to  412.  For  the  objections  of  Spain,  see  American 
State  Papers,  ii.  567  to  572,  and  583. 


530  Motives  for  the  Sale  of  Louisiana.  1803. 

held  this  post  during  the  negotiations  for  the  cession  of  Lou- 
isiana, was  confidential  Secretary  of  Napoleon,  and  to  him 
was  confided  the  whole  transactions,  as  the  plenipotentiary  on 
the  part  of  the  French  republic.  His  pen  drew  up  the 
treaty. 

The  crisis  was  an  alarming  one  to  France.  The  Court  of 
St.  James  had  learned  the  purport  of  the  secret  treaty  of  St. 
Ildefonso,  by  which  Louisiana  had  been  re-ceded  to  France. 
The  latter  government  had  its  fleet  fitted  out  ostensibly,  for 
America.  The  King  of  England  became  alarmed,  and  in 
quick  succession  sent  messages  to  Parliament,  and  prompt 
action  was  taken  to  fit  out  the  navy.  Napoleon  dreaded  the 
maritime  power  of  England.  To  Marbois  he  said  : — 

"  The  principles  of  a  maritime  supremacy  are  subversive 
of  one  of  the  noblest  rights  that  nature,  science,  and  genius 
have  secured  to  man  ;  I  mean  the  right  of  traversing  every  sea 
with  as  much  liberty  as  the  bird  flies  through  the  air ;  of  mak- 
ing use  of  the  waves,  winds,  climates,  and  productions  of  the 
globe  ;  of  bringing  near  to  one  another,  by  a  bold  navigation, 
nations  that  have  been  separated,  since  the  creation  ;  of  car- 
rying civilization  into  regions  that  are  a  prey  to  ignorance 
and  barbarism."* 

The  discussions  in  the  French  Cabinet  continued  at  inter- 
vals for  several  days.  Mr.  Livingston  was  the  American 
minister  to  the  French  Republic,  and  for  two  years  had  been 
negotiating  for  indemnity  for  maritime  spoliations.  Mr.  Mon- 
roe was  on  his  way  thither,  with  instructions  to  secure  the 
navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  and  even  to  purchase  New 
Orleans  and  some  small  part  of  the  vast  territory  of  Louisi- 
ana. Napoleon  wanted  money,  and  he  foresaw  the  proba- 
bility that  this  province  would  fall  into  the  hands  of  England, 
and  that  a  sale  of  the  whole  country  to  the  United  States, 
would  add  to  its  national  greatness  and  make  this  govern- 
ment a  formidable  rival  of  Great  Britain.  After  the  close 
of  the  conference  with  his  counsellors,  Napoleon  said  to 
Marbois : — 

"  Irresolution  and  deliberation  are  no  longer  in  season ;  I 
renounce  Louisiana.  It  is  not  only  New  Orleans  that  I  will 
cede;  it  is  the  whole  country  without  any  reservation." 


Marbois  Louisiana,  p.  258. 


1803.  Views  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte.  531 

"If  I  should  regulate  my  terms,  according  to  the  value  of 
these  vast  regions  to  the  United  States,  the  indemnity  would 
have  no  limits.  I  will  be  moderate,  in  consideration  of  the 
necessity  in  which  I  am  of  making  a  sale.  But  keep  this  to 
yourself.  I  want  fifty  millions,  [of  francs]  and  for  less  than 
that  sum  I  will  not  treat ;  1  would  rather  make  a  desperate 
attempt  to  keep  these  fine  countries.  To-morrow  you  shall 
have  full  powers."  ******* 

"  Perhaps  it  will  also  be  objected  to  me,  that  the  Americans 
may  be  found  too  powerful  for  Europe  in  two  or  three  centu- 
ries ;  but  my  foresight  does  not  embrace  such  remote  fears. 
Besides,  we  may  hereafter  expect  rivalries  among  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Union.  The  confederations,  that  are  called  per- 
petual, only  last  until  one  of  the  contracting  parties  finds  it 
to  its  interest  to  break  them,  and  it  is  to  prevent  the  danger, 
to  which  the  collosal  power  of  England  exposes  us,  that  I 
would  provide  a  remedy." 

The  Minister  (Barbois,  who  gives  this  conversation)  made 
no  reply.  The  First  Consul  continued  : — 

"  Mr.  Monroe  is  on  the  point  of  arriving.  To  this  minister 
going  two  thousand  leagues  from  his  constituents,  the  Presi- 
dent must  have  given,  after  defining  the  object  of  his  mission, 
secret  instructions,  more  extensive  than  the  ostensible  author- 
ization of  Congress,  for  the  stipulation  of  the  payments  to  be 
made. 

"  Neither  this  minister  nor  his  colleague  is  prepared  for  a 
decision  which  goes  infinitely  beyond  anything  that  they  are 
to  ask  of  us.  Begin  by  making  them  the  overture,  without 
any  subterfuge.  You  will  acquaint  me,  day  by  day,  hour  by 
hour,  of  your  progress.  The  Cabinet  of  London  is  informed 
of  the  measures  adopted  at  Washington,  but  can  have  no 
suspicion  of  those  which  I  am  now  taking.  Observe  the 
greatest  secresy,  and  recommend  it  to  the  American  minis- 
ters ;  they  have  not  a  less  interest  than  yourself  in  confjrm- 
ing  to  this  council."* 

The  conferences  began  the  same  day  between  Mr.  Living- 
ston and  M.  Barbe  Marboi's,  to  whom  the  First  Consul  con- 
fided the  negotiation.  The  American  minister  had  not  the 
necessary  powers,  and  he  had  become  distrustful  of  the  French 
cabinet.  Such  an  offer  as  the  sale  of  the  whole  of  Louisiana, 
came  so  unexpected,  and  being  ignorant  of  course,  as  he  was, 
of  the  motives  and  views  of  Napoleon,  he  suspected  artifice. 
Mr.  Monroe  arrived  on  the  12th  of  April,  with  more  extensive 
powers,  but  heard  with  surprise  and  distrust  the  offer  of  the 
French  ambassador.  The  historian  says  : 

*  Marbois'  History  of  Louisiana,  pp.  260,  280. 


532  The  Negotiation  completed.  1 803. 

"As  soon  as  the  negotiation  was  entered  on,  the  American 
ministers  declared  they  were  ready  to  treat  on  the  footing  of 
the  cession  of  the  entire  colony,  and  they  did  not  hesitate  to 
take  on  themselves  the  responsibility  of  augmenting  the  sum 
that  they  had  been  authorized  to  offer.  The  draft  of  the  prin- 
cipal treaty  was  communicated  to  them.  They  prepared 
another  one,  but  consented  to  adopt  provisionally,  as  the  basis 
of  their  conferences,  that  of  the  French  negotiator,  and  they 
easily  agreed  to  the  declaration  contained  in  the  first  article." 

The  negotiations  being  finished,  the  treaty  for  the  sale  and 
purchase  of  Louisiana,  was  completed  on  the  30th  of  April, 
and  signed  on  the  3d  of  May.  The  intelligence  of  this  ne- 
gotiation was  not  less  astounding  to  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  than  the  proposition  to  sell  the  whole  country  by  Mar- 
bois,  was  to  Messrs.  Livingston  and  Monroe.  The  Federal 
party  rallied  to  defeat  it;  Mr.  Jefferson  and  the  plenipoten- 
tiaries were  assailed  in  their  public  journals,  and,  as  is  com- 
mon, under  high  party  excitement,  extravagant  tales  were 
told  on  both  sides.  Yet,  as  the  prominent  actors  have  passed 
away,  and  the  transaction  is  now  viewed  in  the  perspective  of 
history,  the  purchase  and  possession  has  long  been  regarded 
as  one  of  the  most  valuable  and  splendid  achievements  ever 
acquired  by  this  nation. 

The  following  words  from  Napoleon,  after  the  conclusion  of 
the  treaty,  give  us  insight  to  his  reflections  : 

To  Marbois,  he  said  : 

"This  accession  of  territory,  strengthens  forever  the  power 
of  the  United  States;  and  I  have  just  given  to  England  a 
maritime  rival,  that  will  sooner  or  later  humble  her  pride."* 

The  English  ministry,  when  they  were  informed  of  the 
mission  of  Mr.  Monroe  to  France,  and  its  object,  made  a 
proposition  to  Rufus  King,  the  American  envoy  at  London,  to 
undertake  the  conquest  of  Louisiana,  with  the  concurrence  of 
the  United  States,  and  retrocede  it  to  our  government,  as  soon 
as  peace  should  be  made  with  France.  But  it  appears,  the 
British  ministry  had  no  knowledge  of  the  nature  and  extent 
of  the  negotiations  at  Paris,  until  they  were  concluded.  The 
result  was  communicated  without  delay,  and  Mr.  King  receiv- 
ed a  satisfactory  answer  from  Lord  Hawkesbury,  respecting 
the  cession. 

The  treaty  was  forwarded  to  Washington,  with  as  much 
despatch  as  possible,  where  it  arrived  on  the  14th  of  July. 

*  Marbois,  312. 


1803.  Another  Difficulty  with  Spain.  533 

And  now,  another  difficulty  arose  with  Spain.  The  Span- 
ish minister,  having  received  orders  from  his  government, 
made  a  solemn  protest  against  the  ratification  of  the  treaty, 
alledging  that  France  had  contracted  with  Spain  not  to  retro- 
cede  the  province  to  any  other  power. 

The  Federalists,  who  opposed  the  treaty,  imputed  to  France 
a  disgraceful  deception  ;  that  there  was  a  secret  concert,  and 
that  Spain  was  acting  under  the  influence  of  that  government. 
Amidst  a  series  of  complicated  embarrassments,  Mr.  Jefferson 
convened  Congress,  which  met  on  the  17th  of  October,  and 
laid  the  treaties  (for  there  were  three  separate  documents)  be- 
fore the  Senate.  Both  the  nature  of  the  contract,  and  the 
magnitude  of  the  sum,  opened  a  wide  field  of  debate. 

The  opposers  of  the  treaty,  contended  that  Congress  had  no 
power  to  annex  by  treaty  new  territories  to  the  confederacy  ; 
as  that  right  could  only  belong  to  the  whole  people  of  the 
United  States.  But  after  a  free  debate,  the  Senate  ratified  the 
treaties  on  the  20th  day  of  October,  by  a  majority  of  twenty- 
four  votes  against  seven,  to  which  the  President  gave  his  sanc- 
tion the  next  day.  All  the  documents  were  communicated  to 
the,  House  of  Representatives,  and  after  a  short  debate  the 
necessary  law  to  create  the  stock,  and  carry  out  the  treaty, 
was  passed  without  any  formidable  opposition. 

The  next  step  was  to  make  the  regular  transfer  from  Spain 
to  France  and  from  France  to  the  United  States,  for  the  secret 
treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso  had  not  been  carried  into  effect  in  Lou- 
isiana. 

M.  Laussat  had  been  appointed  the  Plenipotentiary  of  the 
French  republic,  and  on  the  30th  of  November  he  met  the 
Spanish  Commissioners  in  the  Council  Chamber  at  New  Or- 
leans, received  in  due  form  the  keys  of  the  city,  and  issued  a 
proclamation  to  the  Louisianians,  informing  them  of  the  re- 
trocession of  the  country  to  France,  and  by  that  government 
to  the  United  States.  At  a  signal,  given  by  the  firing  of  can- 
non, the  Spanish  flag  was  lowered  and  the  French  hoisted. 

The  French  sovereignty  lasted  only  twenty  days,  during 
which  M.  Laussat,  as  Governor  General,  provided  for  the 
administration  of  justice  only  in  summary  and  urgent  matters. 

General  Wilkinson,  having  command  of  the  United  States 
troops,  established  his  camp  on  the  19th  of  December,  a  short 
distance  above  New  Orleans ;  at  the  same  time  the  Spanish 


534  Transfer  to  the  United  States.  1803 

troops  embarked  and  sailed  for  Havana.  The  next  day,  dis- 
charges of  artillery  from  the  forts  and  vessels  announced  the 
farewell  of  the  French  officers.  On  the  20th,  M.  Laussat, 
with  a  numerous  retinue  went  to  the  City  Hall,  while  by  pre- 
vious arrangement,  the  American  troops  entered  the  capital. 
General  Wilkinson  and  Governor  Claiborne,  American  Com- 
missioners, were  received  in  due  form  in  the  Hall. 

The  treaty  of  cession,  the  respective  powers  of  the  Com- 
missioners, and  the  certificate  of  exchange  of  ratifications, 
were  read.  M.  Laussat  then  pronounced  these  words  : — 

"  In  conformity  with  the  treaty,  I  put  the  United  States  in 
possession  of  Louisiana  and  its  dependencies.  The  citizens 
and  inhabitants  who  wish  to  remain  here  and  obey  the  laws, 
are  from  this  moment  exonerated  from  the  oath  of  fidelity  to 
the  French  republic." 

Mr.  Claiborne,  the  Governor  of  the  territory  of  Mississippi, 
exercising  the  power  of  Governor  General  and  Intendent  of 
the  Province  of  Louisiana,  delivered  a  congratulatory  discourse 
to  the  Louisianians. 

"  This  cession,"  said  he,  "  secures  to  you  and  your  descend- 
ants the  inheritance  of  liberty,  perpetual  laws,  and  magis- 
trates, whom  you  will  elect  yourselves." 

The  ceremonies  closed  with  the  exchange  of  flags,  which 
was  done  by  lowering  the  one  and  raising  the  other.  When 
they  met  midway,  they  were  kept  stationary  for  a  moment, 
while  the  artillery  and  trumpets  celebrated  the  Union.  The 
American  flag  then  rose  to  its  full  height,  and  while  it  waived 
in  the  air  the  Americans  expressed  their  joy  in  a  tremendous 
shout.* 

The  American  Government  went  into  operation  quietly, 
and  the  French  and  Spanish  population  soon  became  accus- 
tomed to  the  new  order  of  things,  and  after  a  lapse  of 
forty-six  years  no  distinction  appears,  except  in  family  names. 

Thus,  in  a  persevering  effort  to  gain  the  free  navigation  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  the  port  of  New  Orleans,  by  an  unexpect- 
ed and  fortuitous  train  of  circumstances,  the  United  States 
gained  the  immense  territories  of  Louisiana  and  extended  her 
boundaries  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

We  now  return,  to  bring  up  a  series  of  events  pertaining  to 
1803,  in  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  territory  of  Indiana. 

*  Marbois'  History,  320,  335. 


1083.  Affairs  in  Indiana  and  Ohio.  535 

During  the  month  of  June,  certain  Indian  chiefs,  agreeable 
to  their  promise  made  at  Vincennes  the  preceding  year,  met 
at  Fort  Wayne,  and  transferred  to  Governor  Harrison  the 
lands  claimed  by  the  United  States  about  Post  Vincennes,  and 
their  act  was  confirmed  at  Vincennes,  on  the  7th  of  August, 
by  various  chiefs  and  warriors.  On  the  13th  of  August,  the 
Illinois  tribes,  including  the  Kaskaskias,  Michiganies,  Caho- 
kias  and  Tamarois,  made  a  conveyance  to  the  United  States, 
their  right  to  a  large  portion  of  the  Illinois  country  south  of 
the  Illinois  river.* 

Upon  the  15th  of  April,  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
the  new  State  of  Ohio,  signed  a  bill  respecting  a  College 
Township  in  the  District  of  Cincinnati.  The  history  of  this 
township  is  somewhat  curious,  and  we  give  it  in  the  words  of 
Judge  Burnet. 

"  The  ordinance  adopted  by  Congress,  for  the  disposal  of 
the  public  domain,  did  not  authorize  a  grant  of  college  land, 
to  the  purchasers,  of  less  than  two  millions  of  acres.     The 
original   proposition    of  Mr.  Symmes  being  for  that  quantity, 
entitled  him  to  the  benefit  of  such  a  grant.     It  was  his  inten- 
tion, no  doubt,  to  close  his  contract,  in  conformity  with  his 
proposal.     He  therefore  stated,  in  his  printed  publication,  be- 
fore referred  to,  that  a  college  township  had  been  given ;  and 
he  described  his  situation  to  be,  as  nearly  opposite  the  mouth 
of  Licking  river,  as  an  entire  township  could  be  found,  eligi- 
ble in  point  of  soil  and  situation.     He  also  selected  in  good 
faith,  one  of  the   best  townships  in  the  purchase,  answering 
the  description,  and  marked  it  on  his  map,  as  the  college  town- 
ship.     The  township  thus  selected,  was  the  third  of  the  first 
entire  range  on  which  the  town  of  Springdale  now  stands. — 
The  tract  was  reserved  from  sale,  and  retained  for  the  intend- 
ed purpose  :  until  Mr.  Symmes  ascertained,  that  his  agents 
had  relinquished  one  half  of  his  proposed  purchase,  by  clos- 
ing a  contract  for  one  million  of  acres,  by  which  his  right  to 
college  lands  was  abandoned,  and  of  course  not  provided  for 
in  the  contract.     He  then,  very  properly,  erased  the  endorse- 
ment from  the  map,  and  offered  the  township  for  sale,  and  as 
it  was  one  of  the  best,  and  most  desirable  portions  of  his  pur- 
chase, it  was  rapidly  located.     The  matter  remained  in  this 
situation,  till  the  application  in  1792,  to  change  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  purchase,  and  to  grant  a  patent  for   as  much  land 
as  his  means  would  enable  him  to  pay  for.     When  the  bill  for 
that  purpose  was  under  consideration,  General   Dayton,  the 
agent,  and  one  of  the  associates  of  Mr.  Symmes,  being  then 
an  influential  member  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  pro- 
posed a  section,  authorising  the  President  to  convey  to  Mr. 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  687,  688. 


536  Affairs  in  Indiana  and  Ohio.  1083. 

Symmes  and  his  associates,  one  entire  township  in  trust,  for 
the  purpose  of  establishing  an  academy,  and  other  schools  of 
learning,  conformably  to  an  order  of  Congress,  of  the  2nd  of 
October,  1787.      The  fact  was,  that  the  right,  under  the  order 
referred  to,  had  been  lost,  by  the  relinquishment  of  half  the 
proposed  purchase,  in  consequence  of  which  the  contract  con- 
tained no  stipulation  for  such  a  grant.   Notwithstanding,  from 
some  cause,  either  want  of  correct  information,  or  a  willing- 
ness then,  to  make  the  gratuity,  —  most  probably  the  latter  — 
the  section  was  adopted  and  became  a  part  of  the  law.     At 
that  time  there  was  not  an  entire  township  in  the   purchase, 
undisposed  of.     Large  quantities   of  all  of  them,  had   been 
sold  by  Mr.  Symmes,  after  his  right  to  college  lands  had  been 
lost,  by  the  conduct  of  his  agents,  Dayton  and  Marsh,     It  was 
not,  therefore,  in  his  power  to  make  the  appropriation  requir- 
ed by  the  act  of  Congress,  though  in  arranging  his  payment 
at  the  treasury,  he  was  credited  with  the  price  of  the  town- 
ship.     The  matter  remained  in  that  situation,  till  about  the 
time  the  legislature  was  elected,  under  the  second  grade  of  the 
territorial  government,  in  1799.     Mr.  Symmes  then  feeling  the 
embarrassment  of  his  situation,  and  aware  that  the  subject 
would  be  taken  up  by  the  legislature,  made  a  written  propo- 
sition to  the  governor,  offering  the  second  township  of  the  se- 
cond fractional  range,  for  the  purposes  of  a  college.     On  ex- 
amination, the  governor  found,  that  he  had  sold  an  undivided 
moiety  of  that  township,  for  a  valuable  consideration,  in  1788; 
that  the  purchaser  had  obtained  a  decree  in  the  circuit  court 
of  Pennsylvania,  for  a  specific  execution  of  the  contract ;  and 
that  he  had  also  sold  several  smaller  portions  of  the  same 
township  to  others,  who  then  held  contracts  for  same.      As  a 
matter  of  course,  the  township  was  refused.    He  then  appeal- 
ed from  the  decision  of  the  governor,  to  the  territorial  legisla- 
ture.    They  also  refused  to  receive  it,  for  the  same  reasons 
which  had  been  assigned  by  the  governor.     A  similar  refusal 
was  afterward  made,  for  the  same  reason,  by  the  state  legisla- 
ture; to  whom  it  was  again  offered.     I  had  the  charity  to  be- 
lieve, that  when  Mr.  Symmes  first  proposed  the  township,  to 
the  governor,  it  was  his  intention  to  buy  up  the  claims  against 
it,  which  he  probably  might  have  done  at  that  time,  on  fair 
and  moderate  terms ;  but  he   omitted  to  do  so,  till  that  ar- 
rangement became  impracticable,   and   until  his  embarrass- 
ments, produced  by  the  refusal  of  Congress  to  confirm  his  con- 
tract for  the  land  he  had  sold  out  of  his  patent,  rendered  it 
impossible  for  him,  to  make  any  remuneration  to  government, 
or  the  intended  beneficiaries  of  the  grant.     The  delegates  re- 
presenting the   territory  in    Congress,  were  instructed,  from 
time  to  time,  to  exert  their  influence  to  induce  the  government 
in -some  form,  to  secure  the  grant  to  the  people  of  the  Miami 
purchase.      But  nothing  effectual  was  accomplished,  till  the 


1803.  Transfer  of  Upper  Louisiana.  537 

establishment  of  the  state  government  in  1803  ;  when  a  law 
was  passed  by  Congress  vesting  in  the  legislature  of  Ohio,  a 
quantity  of  land  equal  to  one  entire  township,  to  be  located 
under  their  direction,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  an  acade- 
my, in  lieu  of  the  township  already  granted,  for  the  same 
purpose,  by  virtue  of  the  act,  entitled  "  an  act  authorising 
the  grant  and  conveyance  of  certain  lands,  to  John  C.  Symmes 
and  his  associates."  Under  the  authority  of  an  act  of  the 
Ohio  legislature,  passed  in  April,  1803,  Jacob  White,  Jere- 
miah Morrow,  and  William  Ludlow,  made  a  location  of  these 
lands,  amounting  to  thirty-six  sections,  as  they  are  now  held 
by  the  Miami  University.  In  consequence  of  the  early  sales, 
by  Judge  Symmes,  these  lands  were  necessarily  located  west 
of  the  Great  Miami  river;  and  consequently  without  the  limit 
of  Symmes'  purchase.* 

[One  of  the  prominent  events  of  1804,  was  the  ceremony 
of  the  transfer  of  Upper  Louisiana,  at  St.  Louis,  on  the  9th 
and  10th  of  March. 

Amos  Stoddard,  a  captain  of  artillery  in  the  service  of  the 
United  States,  and  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  an  admira- 
ble historical  sketch  of  Louisiana,  was  constituted  the  agent 
of  the  French  republic,  for  receiving  from  the  Spanish  author- 
ities, the  possession  of  Upper  Louisiana. 

He  arrived  at  St.  Louis  early  in  March,  and  on  the  9th  day, 
received  in  due  form  possession  of  the  province  in  the  name 
of  the  French  republic,  and  the  next  day  made  the  transfer  to 
the  United  States  government,  which  he  represented. 

Mr.  Primm  says  : — 

"  When  the  transfer  was  completely  effected — when  in  the 
presence  of  the  assembled  population,  the  flag  of  the  United 
States  had  replaced  that  of  Spain  —  the  tears  and  lamenta- 
tions of  the  ancient  inhabitants,  proved  how  much  they  were 
attached  to  the  old  government,  and  how  much  they  dreaded 
the  change  which  the  treaty  of  cession  'had  brought  about. "f 

Congress,  on  the  20th  of  March,  divided  Louisiana  into 
two  territories.  The  southern  province  was  denominated  the 
territory  of  Orleans ;  the  northern  was  called  Upper  Louisi- 
ana. Captain  Stoddard  was  appointed  temporarily  the  Gov- 
ernor, with  all  the  powers  and  prerogatives  of  the  Spanish 
Lieutenant  Governor  in  Upper  Louisiana. 

*See  Chase's  Statutes,  i.  72; — American  Pioneer,  i.  269  ; — Historical  Transactions  of 
Ohio,  i.  152-155. 

isc  ourse  at  the  Celebration,  February  15, 1847. 

34 


538  St.  Louis  in  1804.  1804. 

In  his  sketches  of  Louisiana,  Major  Stoddard,  (for  that  was 
soon  his  title)  says : — 

"  St.  Louis  has  two  long  streets,  running  parallel  to  the 
river,  with  a  variety  of  others  intersecting  them  at  right  an- 
gles. It  contains  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  houses,  and 
the  best  of  them  are  built  of  stone.  Some  of  them  include 
large  gardens,  and  even  squares,  attached  to  them,  are  en- 
closed with  high  stone  walls ;  and  these,  together  with  the 
rock  scattered  along  the  shore  and  about  the  streets,  render 
the  air  uncomfortably  warm  in  summer.  A  small  sloping 
hill  extends  along  in  the  rear  of  the  town,  on  the  summit  of 
which  is  a  garrison,  and  behind  it  an  extensive  prairie,  which 
affords  plenty  of  hay,  as  also  pasture  for  the  cattle  and  horses 
of  the  inhabitants."* 

Mr.  Primm  says, 

"  This  statement  is  only  partially  correct,  for  the  street  now 
called  Third  street  then  existed,  and  was  known  as,  "  La  Rue 
des  Granges,"  the  street  of  the  barns.  And  in  the  common  par- 
lance of  the  country,  First  [or  Main]  street  bore  the  appella- 
tion of  "  La  Rue  principale,"  the  principal  street  ;  and  Second 
street  that  of  "  La  Rue  de  L'Eglise,"  the  street  of  the  Church, 
from  the  fact  that  the  only  church  building  in  the  town  front- 
ed on  that  street. 

"  This  was  a  structure  of  hewn  logs,  planted  upright  in  the 
ground,  and  covered  with  a  roof,  the  eaves  of  which  pro- 
jected beyond  the  body  of  the  building,  and  formed  a  kind  of 
gallery  or  promenade  around  it.f 

On  entering  upon  the  office,  Major  Stoddard  published  the 
following  address  to  the  inhabitants  of  Upper  Louisiana : 

"  The  period  has  now  arrived,  when,  in  consequence  o'f 
amicable  negotiations,  Louisiana  is  in  the  possession  of  the 
United  States.  The  plan  of  a  permanent  territorial  govern- 
ment for  you,  is  already  under  the  consideration  of  Congress, 
and  will  doubtless  be  completed  as  soon  as  the  importance  of 
the  measure  will  admit.  But  in  the  meantime,  to  secure  your 
rights,  and  prevent  a  delay  of  justice,  his  excellency  William 
C.  C.  Claiborne,  governor  of  the  Mississippi  territory,  is  in- 
vested with  those  authorities  and  powers  (derived  from  an  act 
of  Congress)  usually  exercised  by  the  governor  and  intendant 
general  under  his  Catholic  Majesty ;  and  permit  me  to  add 
that,  by  virtue  of  the  authority  and  power  vested  in  him  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  he  has  been  pleased  to 
commission  me  as  first  civil  commander  of  Upper  Louisiana. 

*  Stoddard's  Sketches,  p.  218,  219. 
t  Discourse,  12. 


1804.  Address  of  Major  Stoddard.  539 

"  Directed  to  cultivate  friendship  and  harmony  among  you, 
and  to  make  known  the  sentiments  of  the  United  States  rela- 
tive to  the  security  and  preservation  of  all  your  rights,  both 
civil  and  religious,  I  know  of  no  mode  better  calculated  to 
begin  the  salutary  work,  than  a  circular  address. 

"  It  will  not  be  necessary  to  advert  to  the  Various  prelimi- 
nary arrangements  which  have  conspired  to  place  you  in  your 
present  political  situation  ;  with  these  it  is  presumed  you  are 
already  acquainted.  Suffice  it  to  observe,  that  Spain  in  1800, 
and  in  1801,  retroceded  the  colony  and  province  of  Louisiana 
to  France  ;  and  that  France  in  1803,  conveyed  the  same  ter- 
ritory to  the  United  States,  who  are  now  in  the  peaceable  and 
legal  possession  of  it.  These  transfers  were  made  with  hon- 
orable views,  and  under  such  forms  and  sanctions  as  are  usu- 
ally practised  among  civilized  nations. 

"  Thus  you  will  perceive,  that  you  are  divested  of  the  char- 
acter of  subjects,  and  clothed  with  that  of  citizens.  You 
now  form  an  integral  part  of  a  great  community,  the  powers 
of  whose  government  are  circumscribed  and  defined  by  char- 
ter, and  the  liberty  of  the  citizen  extended  and  secured.  Be- 
tween this  government  and  its  citizens,  many  reciprocal  du- 
ties exist,  and  the  prompt  and  regular  performance  of  them  is 
necessary  to  the  safety  and  welfare  of  the  whole.  No  one 
can  plead  exemption  from  these  duties;  they  are  equally  ob- 
ligatory on  the  rich  and  the  poor ;  on  men  in  power,  as  well 
as  on  those  not  intrusted  with  it.  They  are  not  prescribed  as 
whim  and  caprice  may  dictate ;  on  the  contrary,  they  result 
from  the  actual  or  implied  compact  between  society  and  its 
members,  and  are  founded  not  only  on  the  sober  lessons  of 
experience,  but  in  the  immutable  nature  of  things.  If,  there- 
fore, the  government  be  bound  to  protect  its  citizens  in  the 
enjoyment  of  their  liberty,  property,  and  religion,  the  citizens 
are  no  less  bound  to  obey  the  laws,  and  to  aid  the  magis- 
trate in  the  execution  of  them  ;  to  repel  invasion,  and  in. 
periods  of  public  danger,  to  yield  a  portion  of  their  time 
and  exertions  in  defence  of  public  liberty.  In  governments 
differently  constituted,  where  popular  elections  are  unknown, 
and  where  the  exercise  of  power  is  confided  to  those  of  high 
birth,  and  great  wealth,  the  public  defence  is  committed  to 
men  who  make  the  science  of  war  an  exclusive  trade  and 
profession ;  but  in  all  free  republics,  where  the  citizens  are 
capacitated  to  elect,  and  to  be  elected,  into  offices  of  emol- 
ument and  dignity,  permanent  armies  of  any  considerable 
extent  are  justly  deemed  hostile  to  liberty  ;  and  therefore  the 
militia  is  considered  as  the  palladium  of  their  safety.  Hence 
the  origin  of  this  maxim,  that  every  soldier  is  a  citizen,  and 
every  citizen  a  soldier. 

"  With  these  general  principles  before  you,  it  is  confidently 


540  Address  of  Major  Stoddard.  1804. 

expected,  that  you  will  not  be  less  faithful  to  the  United 
States,  than  you  have  been  to  his  Catholic  majesty. 

"  Your  local  situation,  the  varieties  in  your  language  and 
education,  have  contributed  to  render  your  manners,  laws, 
and  customs,  and  even  your  prejudices,  somewhat  different 
from  those  of  your  neighbors,  but  not  less  favorable  to  virtue, 
and  to  good  order  in  society.  These  deserve  something  more 
than  mere  indulgence ;  they  shall  be  respected. 

"  If,  in  the  course  of  former  time,  the  people  on  different 
sides  of  the  Mississippi,  fostered  national  prejudices  and  anti- 
pathies against  each  other,  suffer  not  these  cankers  of  human 
happiness  any  longer  to  disturb  your  repose,  or  to  awaken 
your  resentment ;  draw  the  veil  of  oblivion  over  the  past, 
and  unite  in  pleasing  anticipations  of  the  future  ;  embrace 
each  other  as  brethren  of  the  same  mighty  family,  and  think 
not,  that  any  member  of  it  can  derive  happiness  from  the 
misery  or  degradation  of  another. 

"  Little  will  the  authority  and  example  of  the  best  magis- 
trates avail,  when  the  public  mind  becomes  tainted  with  per- 
verse sentiments,  or  languishes  under  an  indifference  to  its 
true  interests.  Suffer  not  the  pride  of  virtue,  nor  the  holy 
fire  of  religion,  to  become  extinct.  If  these  be  different  in 
their  nature,  they  are  necessary  supports  to  each  ohter. 
Cherish  the  sentiments  of  order  and  tranquility,  and  frown  on 
the  disturbers  of  the  public  peace.  Avoid  as  much  as  possi- 
ble all  legal  contests  ;  banish  village  vexation,  and  unite  in 
the  cultivation  of  the  social  and  moral  affections. 

"  Admitted  as  you  are  into  the  embraces  of  a  wise  and  mag- 
nanimous nation,  patriotism  will  gradually  warm  your  breasts, 
and  stamp  its  features  on  your  future  actions.  To  be  useful, 
it  must  be  enlightened ;  not  the  effect  of  passion,  local  preju- 
dice, or  blind  impulse.  Happy  the  people  who  possess  inval- 
uable rights,  and  know  how  to  exercise  them  to  the  best  ad- 
vantage ;  wretched  are  those  who  do  not  think  arid  act  freely. 
It  is  a  sure  test  of  wisdom  to  honor  and  support  the  govern- 
ment under  which  you  live,  and  to  acquiesce  in  the  decisions 
of  the  public  will,  when  they  be  constitutionally  expressed. 
Confide,  therefore,  in  the  justice  and  integrity  of  our  federal 
president;  he  is  the  faithful  guardian  of  the  laws;  he  enter- 
tains the  most  beneficent  views  relative  to  the  glory  and  hap- 
piness of  this  territory;  and  the  merit  derived  from  the  ac- 
quisition of  Louisiana,  without  any  other,  will  perpetuate  his 
fame  to  posterity.  Place  equal  confidence  in  all  the  other 
constituted  authorities  of  the  Union.  They  will  protect  your 
rights,  and  indeed  your  feelings,  and  all  the  tender  felicities 
and  sympathies,  so  dear  to  rational  and  intelligent  creatures. 
A  very  short  experience  of  their  equitable  and  pacific  policy, 
will  enable  you  to  view  them  in  their  proper  light.  I  flatter 
myself  that  you  will  give  their  measures  a  fair  trial,  and  not 
precipitate  yourselves  into  conclusions,  which  you  may  after- 


1804.  Address  of  Major  Stoddard.  541 

wards  see  cause  to  retract.  The  first  official  acts  of  my  pres- 
ent station,  authorized  by  high  authority,  will  confirm  these 
remarks. 

"  The  United  States,  in  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana,  were 
actuated  by  just  and  liberal  views.  Hence  the  admission  of 
an  article  in  the  treaty  of  cession,  the  substance  of  which  is, 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  territory  shall  be  incorpo- 
rated into  the  Union,  and  admitted  as  soon  as  possible  to  the 
enjoyment  of  all  the  rights,  advantages  and  immunities  of 
citizens  of  the  United  States  :  and,  in  the  meantime,  be  main- 
tained and  protected  in  the  free  enjoyment  of  their  liberty, 
property  and  religion. 

"  From  these  cursory  hints  you  will  be  enabled  to  compre- 
hend your  present  political  situation,  and  to  anticipate  the 
future  destinies  of  your  country.  You  may  soon  expect  the 
establishment  of  a  territorial  government,  administered  by 
men  of  wisdom  and  integrity,  whose  salaries  will  be  paid  out 
of  the  treasury  of  the  United  States.  From  your  present 
population,  and  the  rapidity  of  its  increase,  this  territorial 
establishment  must  soon  be  succeeded  by  your  admission  as  a 
State  into  the  Federal  Union.  At  that  period,  you  will  be  at 
liberty  to  try  an  experiment  in  legislation,  and  to  frame  such 
a  government  as  may  best  comport  with  your  local  interests, 
manners,  and  customs  ;  popular  suffrage  will  be  its  basis.  The 
enaction  of  laws,  and  the  appointment  of  judges  to  expound 
them,  and  to  carry  them  into  effect,  are  among  the  first  privi- 
leges of  organized  society.  Equal  to  these,  indeed,  and  con- 
nected with  them,  is  the  inestimable  right  of  trial  by  jury. 
The  forms  of  judicial  processes,  and  the  rules  for  the  admis- 
sion of  testimony  in  courts  of  justice,  when  firmly  established, 
are  of  great  and  obvious  advantage  to  the  people.  It  is  also 
of  importance,  that  a  distinction  be  made  between  trials  of  a 
capital  nature,  and  those  of  an  inferior  degree,  as  like- 
wise between  all  criminal  and  civil  contestations.  In  fine, 
Upper  Louisiana,  from  its  climate,  population,  soil,  and  pro- 
ductions, and  from  other  natural  advantages  attached  to  it, 
will,  in  all  human  probability,  soon  become  a  star  of  no  in- 
considerable magnitude  in  the  American  constellation. 

"Be  assured  that  the  United  States  feel  all  the  ardor  for  your 
interests,  which  a  warm  attachment  can  inspire.  I  have  rea- 
son to  believe  that  it  will  be  among  some  of  their  first  objects, 
to  ascertain  and  confirm  your  land  titles.  They  well  know 
the  deranged  state  of  these  titles  and  of  the  existence  of  a 
multitude  of  equitable  claims  under  legal  surveys,  where 
no  grants  or  concessions  have  been  procured.  What  ultimate 
measures  will  be  taken  on  this  subject,  does  not  become  me 
to  conjecture  ;  but  thus  much  I  will  venture  to  affirm,  that  the 
most  ample  justice  will  be  done  ;  and  that,  in  the  final  adjust- 
ment of  claims,  no  settler  or  landholder,  will  have  any  just 
cause  to  complain.  Claimants  of  this  description  have  hith- 


542  Population  of  Upper  Louisiana.  1804 

erto  invariably  experienced  the  liberality  of  government ;  and 
surely  it  will  not  be  less  liberal  to  the  citizens  of  Upper 
Louisiana,  who  form  a  strong  cordon  across  an  exposed  fron- 
tier of  a  vast  empire,  and  are  entitled  by  solemn  stipluations 
to  all  the  rights  and  immunities  of  freemen. 

"  My  duty,  not  more  indeed  than  my  inclination,  urges  me 
to  cultivate  friendship  and  harmony  among  you,  and  between 
you  and  the  United  States.  I  suspect  my  talents  to  be  une- 
qual to  the  duties  which  devolve  on  me  in  the  organization 
and  temporary  administration  of  the  government;  the  want 
of  a  proper  knowledge  of  your  laws  and  language,  is  among 
the  difficulties  I  have  to  encounter.  But  my  ambition  and 
exertions  bear  some  proportion  to  the  honor  confered  on  me  ; 
and  the  heavy  responsibility  attached  to  my  office,  admonishes 
me  to  be  prudent  and  circumspect.  Inflexible  justice  and  im- 
partiality shall  guide  me  in  all  my  determinations.  If,  how- 
ever, in  the  discharge  of  a  variety  of  complicated  duties,  al- 
most wholly  prescribed  by  the  civil  law  and  the  code  of  the 
Indies,  I  be  led  into  error,  consider  it  as  involuntary,  and  not 
as  the  effect  of  inattention,  or  of  any  exclusive  favors  or  affec- 
tions. Destined  to  be  the  temporary  guardian  of  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  at  least  ten  thousand  people,  I  may  not  be 
able  to  gratify  the  just  expectations  of  all ;  but  your  prosperity 
and  happiness  will  claim  all  my  time  and  talents  ;  and  no 
earthly  enjoyment  could  be  more  complete,  than  that  derived 
from  your  public  and  individual  security,  and  from  the  increase 
of  your  opulence  and  power." 

Upper  Louisiana,  included  all  that  part  of  the  ancient 
province  which  lay  north  of  a  spot  on  the  Mississippi,  called 
"  Hope  Encampment,"  nearly  opposite  the  Chickasaw  bluffs  : 
including  the  territory  now  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
States  of  Arkansas,  Missouri,  Iowa,  a  large  part  of  the  terri- 
tory of  Minnesota,  and  all  the  vast  regions  of  the  west,  far 
as  the  Pacific  Ocean,  south  of  the  forty-ninth  degree  of  north 
latitude,  not  claimed  by  Spain. 

The  civilized  population  of  this  territory  is  given  by  Major 
Stoddard,  with  as  much  accuracy  as  the  nature  of  the  case  ad- 
mitted. The  settled  portions  had  been  divided  into  "  Districts," 
for  purposes  of  local  government.  The  population  in  1803, 
in  the  settlements  of  Arkansas,  Little  Prairie  and  New  Mad- 
rid, was  estimated  on  such  data  as  could  be  obtained,  at  one 
thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  ;  of  which  about  two-thirds 
were  Anglo-Americans,  and  the  other  third  French. 

The  District  of  Cape  Girardeau,  included  the  territory  be- 
tween Tywappaty  bottom  and  Apple  creek — population  in 
1804,  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy  whites,  and  a 


1804.  Population  of  Upper  Louisiana.  643 

few  slaves.     Excepting  three  or  four  families,  all  were  emi- 
grants from  the  .United  States. 

The  District  of  Ste.  Genevieve  extended  from  Apple  creek 
to  the  Merrimac.  The  settlerrients,  (besides  the  village  of  Ste. 
Genevieve)  included  settlements  on  the  head  waters  of  the 
St.  Francois  and  the  lead  mines.  Population  in  1804,  two 
thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  whites,  and  five  hundred  and 
twenty  slaves.  More  than  half  were  Anglo-Americans. 

The  District  of  St.  Louis,  included  the  territory  lying  be- 
tween the  Merrimac  and  Missouri  rivers.  It  contained  the  vil- 
lages of  St.  Louis,  Carondelet  and  St.  Ferdinand,  with  several 
good  settlements  extending  westward  into  what  is  now  Frank- 
lin county. 

The  village  of  Carondelet  contained  between  forty  and  fifty 
houses,  population  chiefly  Canadian-French.  St.  Ferdinand 
contained  sixty  houses.  The  population  of  the  district  was 
about  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty  whites,  and  five 
hundred  blacks.  St.  Louis  contained  about  one  hundred  and 
eighty  houses,  which,  allowing  six  persons  to  each  house, 
would  make  the  population  one  thousand  and  eighty.  About 
three-fifths  of  the  population  in  this  District  were  Anglo- 
Americans.  Each  of  the  Districts  extended  indefinitely  west. 

The  largest  and  most  populous  settlement  in  St.  Louis  Dis- 
trict, was  called  St.  Andrews.  It  was  situated  near  the  Mis- 
souri, in  the  north-western  part  of  the  present  county  of  St. 
Louis. 

The  District  of  St.  Charles,  included  all  the  inhabited  coun- 
try between  the  Missouri  and  Mississippi  rivers.  It  had  two 
compact  villages,  St.  Charles  and  Portage  des  Sioux,  the  in- 
habitants of  which  were  French  Creoles  and  Canadians. — 
Femme  Osage  was  an  extensive  settlement  of  Anglo-Ameri- 
can families.  The  population  of  the  District  in  1804,  was 
about  one  thousand  four  hundred  whites  and  one  hundred  and 
fifty  blacks.  The  American  and  French  population  were 
about  equally  divided.* 

The  aggregate  population  of  Upper  Louisiana  at  the  pe- 
riod of  the  cession,  was  about  10,120,  of  which  3,760  were 
French,  including  a  few  Spanish  families;  6,090  were  Anglo- 
Americans,  who  had  immigrated  to  the  country  after  1790; — 

*See  Stoddord's  Sketches,  p.  211,  224. 


544  Population  of  Upper  Louisiana.  1804. 

and  1,270  black  people,  who  were  slaves,  with  very  few  ex- 
ceptions. '   i  '*' 

Several  circumstances  gave  impulse  to  migration  to  this 
province.  The  transfer  of  the  Illinois  country  to  the  British 
crown  in  1765,  caused  many  wealthy  and  respectable  fami- 
lies to  retire  across  the  Mississippi. 

The  ordinance  of  1787,  which  prohibited  involuntary  servi- 
tude in  the  north-western  territory,  caused  slave  holders,  who 
were  disposed  to  preserve  this  species  of  property,  to  abandon 
their  ancient  possessions.  The  proffered  aid  of  Clark  in  1779, 
(ante  page  250)  when  he  apprehended  an  attack  from  Cana- 
da, and  more  especially  the  projected  attack  on  the  Spanish 
possessions  along  the  Mississippi,  from  the  same  quarter,  in 
1797,  induced  a  friendly  feeling  towards  Americans. 

Major  Stoddard  says : — 

"  The  distance  of  this  province  from  the  capital,  [New  Or- 
leans,] added  to  a  wilderness  of  nearly  a  thousand  miles  in 
extent  between  them,  seemed  to  point  out  the  necessity  of 
strengthening  it ;  and  she  conceived  it  good  policy  to  popu- 
late it  by  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  especially  as  they 
appeared  disposed  to  act  with  vigor  against  the  English.  Ad- 
ditional prospects,  therefore,  were  held  out  to  settlers,  and 
pains  were  taken  to  disseminate  them  in  every  direction. — 
Large  quantities  of  land  were  granted  them,  attended  with 
no  other  expenses  than  those  of  office  fees,  and  surveys,  which 
were  not  exorbitant ;  and  they  were  totally  exempted  from 
taxation.  This  sufficiently  accounts  for  the  rapid  population 
of  Upper  Louisiana;  which,  in  1804,  consisted  of  more  than 
three-fifths  of  English  Americans."  f 

Why  did  so  many  American  citizens  expatriate  themselves, 
place  themselves  and  their  posterity  under  Spanish  despotism, 
and  beyond  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  conscience  ?  This 
is  a  question  of  grave  and  momentous  import,  and  if  it  re- 
mained unanswered,  might  leave  a  suspicion  on  the  charac- 
ter and  motives  of  the  American  emigrants.  Happily,  we 
have  the  opportunity  for  explanation.  We  have  been  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  a  large  number  of  these  pioneers,  a 
few  of  whom  still  linger  amongst  us,  and  more  than  thirty 
years  since  we  heard  their  own  explanations. 

They  acted  under  a  presentiment,  that,  in  some  way,  the  juris- 
diction of  the  United  States  would  be  extended  over  this  country. — 
They  projected  no  violent  action — no  revolutionary  schemes. 
The  impression,  doubtless,  had  its  origin  in  the  efforts  in  the 

t  Sketches  of  Louisiana,  225. 


1804.  Indian   Treaties  Made.  545 

western  country  to  obtain  the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi. 
Of  the  character  of  the  American  population,  we  ought  to 
say  a  word,  to  correct  an  erroneous  notion  that  has  prevailed 
in  the  Atlantic  States,  concerning  frontier  emigration. 

"A  very  small  number  had  fled  their  country  to  avoid  the 
consequences  of  crime  or  improvidence.  But  a  very  large 
majority  were  peaceable,  industrious,  moral  and  well-disposed 
persons,  who,  from  various  motives,  had  crossed  the  "  Great 
Water ;"  some  from  the  love  of  adventure  ;  some  from  that 
spirit  of  restlessness,  which  belongs  to  a  class;  but  a  much 
larger  number  with  the  expectation  of  obtaining  large  tracts 
of  land,  which  the  government  gave  to  each  settler  for  the 
trifling  expense  of  surveying  and  recording. 

"  Under  the  Spanish  government  the  Roman  Catholic  faith 
was  the  established  religion  of  the  province,  and  no  other 
Christian  sect  was  tolerated  by  the  laws  of  Spain.  Each  emi- 
grant was  required  to  be  un  bon  Catholique,  as  the  French  ex- 
pressed it ;  yet  by  the  connivance  of  the  commandants  of  Up- 
per Louisiana,  and  by  the  use  of  a  legal  fiction  in  the  exami- 
nation of  Americans,  who  applied  for  lands,  toleration  in  fact 
existed. 

"  Many  Protestant  families,  communicants  in  Baptist,  Meth- 
odist, and  Presbyterian,  and  other  Churches,  settled  in  the  pro- 
vince, and  remained  undisturbed  in  their  religious  principles. 
Protestant  itinerant  clergymen  passed  over  from  Illinois,  and 
preached  in  the  log  cabins  of  the  settlers  unmolested,  though 
they  were  occasionally  threatened  with  imprisonment  in  the 
calabozo  at  St.  Louis.  Yet  these  threats  were  never  execu- 
ted.*' 

No  religious  society  was  organized  amongst  these  emigrants 
until  after  the  treaty  of  cession. 

We  now  return  to  events  in  the  territory  of  Indiana.  Dur- 
ing the  month  of  August,  a  series  of  treaties  were  made  by 
Governor  Harrison  at  Vincennes,  by  which  the  claims  of  sev- 
eral Indian  nations  to  large  tracts  of  land  in  Indiana  and  Illi- 
nois, were  relinquished  to  the  United  States,  for  due  conside- 
ration. The  Delawares  sold  their  claim  to  a  large  tract  be- 
tween the  Wabash  and  Ohio  rivers  ;  and  the  Piankeshaws 
gave  up  their  title  to  lands  granted  by  the  Kaskaskia  Indians 
the  preceding  year. 

It  should  be  understood  by  all,  that,  in  most  instances,  Indian 
claims  are  vague  and  undefined  ;  that  several  tribes  set  up  a 
claim  to  the  same  tract ;  and  that  the  policy  of  the  tJnited 

*Life  of  Boone  in  Sparks'  Biography,  vol.  xxiii.  pp.  166,  167,  169,  170. 


V 


546  Detroit  Described  in  1804.  1804. 

States  has  been  to  negotiate  with  each  claimant,  without  re- 
gard to  priority  of  right. 

In  November,  Governor  Harrison  negotiated  with  the  chiefs 
of  the  united  nations  of  Sacs  and  Foxes,  for  their  claim  to 
the  immense  tract  of  country  lying  between  the  Mississippi, 
Illinois,  Fox  river  of  Illinois,  and  Wisconsin  rivers,  compre- 
hending about  fifty  millions  of  acres.  The  consideration  giv- 
en was  the  protection  of  the  United  States,  and  goods  deliv- 
ered at  the  value  of  two  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
four  dollars  and  fifty  cents,  and  an  annuity  of  one  thousand 
dollars,  ($600  to  the  Sacs  and  $400  to  the  Foxes)  forever. — 
An  article  in  this  treaty  provided,  that  as  long  as  the  United 
States  remained  the  owner  of  the  land,  "  the  Indians  belong- 
ing to  the  said  tribes  shall  enjoy  the  privilege  of  living  and 
hunting"  on  the  land. 

The  remark  just  made  applies  to  this  case.  When  the 
French  discovered  and  took  possession  of  Illinois,  neither  the 
Sacs  nor  Foxes  had  any  claim  or  existence  on  this  tract  of 
country.*] 

During  this  year  measures  were  adopted  to  learn  the  facts 
as  to  the  settlements  about  Detroit,  and  an  elaborate  report 
upon  them  was  made  by  C.  Jouett,  the  Indian  Agent  in  Mi- 
chigan. From  that  report,  we  take  some  sentences  illustra- 
tive of  the  state  of  the  capital. 

The  town  of  Detroit. — The  charter,  which  is  for  fifteen 
acres  square,  was  granted  in  the  time  of  Louis  XIV.  of  France, 
and  is  now  from  the  best  information  I  have  been  able  to  col- 
lect, at  Quebec.  Of  those  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  acres, 
only  four  are  occupied  by  the  town  and  Fort  Lenault.  The 
remainder  is  a  common,  except  twenty-four,  which  were  ad- 
ded twenty  years  ago  to  a  farm  belonging  to  William  Ma- 
comb.  As  to  the  titles  to  the  lots  in  town,  I  should  conceive 
that  the  citizens  might  legally  claim,  from  a  length  of  undis- 
turbed and  peaceable  possession,  even  in  the  absence  of  a 
more  valid  and  substantial  tenure.  Several  of  those  lots  are 
held  by  the  commanding  officer  as  appendages  of  the  garri- 
son. A  stockade  encloses  the  town,  fort,  and  citadel.  The 
pickets,  as  well  as  the  public  houses,  are  in  a  state  of  grad- 
ual decay,  and  in  a  few  days,  without  repairs,  they  must  fall 
to  the  ground.  The  streets  are  narrow,  straight,  regular,  and 
intersect  each  other  at  right  angles.  The  houses  are,  for  the 
most  part,  low  and  inelegant;  and  although  many  of  them 
are  convenient  and  suited  to  the  occupations  of  the  people, 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  689,  690,  663.    Dawson's  Life  of  Harrison,  59. 


1806.  Territory  of  Michigan  Organized.  547 

there  are  perhaps  a  majority  of  them  which  require"Very  con- 
siderable reparation.* 

Congress,  during  1804,  granted  a  township  of  land  in  Mi- 
chigan for  the  support  of  a  College.f 

On  the  llth  of  January,  1805,  Congress  made  Michigan  a 
separate  territory,  with  William  Hull  for  its  Governor :  the 
change  of  Government  was  to  take  place  on  June  30th.  On 
the  llth  of  that  month  a  fire  at  Detroit  destroyed  all  the 
buildings  at  that  place,  public  and  private,  together  with  much 
of  the  personal  property  of  the  inhabitants.  On  the  29th  of 
June,  the  Presiding  Judge  reached  the  Strait,  and  upon  the 
1st  of  July,  the  Governor  arrived  there.  They  found  the  peo- 
ple, in  part,  encamped  on  and  near  the  site  of  the  destroyed 
town,  and  in  part  scattered  through  the  country .J  From  their 
report  to  Congress,  made  in  October,  we  extract  the  follow- 
ing passages : 

"  The  place  which  bore  the  appellation  of  the  town  of  De- 
troit, was  a  spot  of  about  two  acres  of  ground,  completely 
covered  with  buildings  and  combustible  materials,  the  narrow 
intervals  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  feet,  used  as  streets  or  lanes, 
only  excepted;  and  the  whole  was  environed  with  a  very 
strong  and  secure  defence  of  tall  and  solid  pickets.  The  cir- 
cumjacent ground,  the  bank  of  the  river  alone  excepted,  was 
a  wide  commons ;  and  though  assertions  are  made  respecting 
the  existence,  among  the  records  of  Quebec,  of  a  charter  from 
the  King  of  France,  confirming  this  commons  as  an  appurte- 
nance to  the  town,  it  was  either  the  property  of  the  United 
States,  or  at  least  such  as  individual  claims  did  not  pretend  to 
cover.  The  folly  of  attempting  to  rebuild  the  town,  in  the 
original  mode,  was  obvious  to  every  mind:  yet  there  existed 
no  authority,  either  in  the  country,  or  in  the  officers  of  the 
new  government,  to  dispose  of  the  adjacent  ground.  Hence 
had  already  arisen  a  state  of  dissension  which  urgently  re- 
quired the  interposition  of  some  authority  to  quiet.  Some  of 
the  inhabitants,  destitute  of  shelter,  and  hopeless  of  any 
prompt  arrangements  of  Government,  had  re-occupied  their 
former  ground,  and  a  few  buildings  had  already  been  erected 
in  the  midst  of  the  old  ruins.  Another  portion  of  the  inhabi- 
tants had  determined  to  take  possession  of  the  adjacent  pub- 
lic ground,  and  to  throw  themselves  on  the  liberality  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  either  to  make  them  a  do- 

*  American  State  Papers,  xvi.  190  to  192.     On  titles  in  Michigan,  see  American  State 
Papers,  Public  Lands,  vol.  i.  from  283  to  508. 

f  Lannan,  230. 

JLanman,  169. — American  State  Papers,  xvi.  247. — Land  Laws,  514. 


548  Detroit  Re-surveyed.  1805. 

nation  of  the  ground,  as  a  compensation  for  their  sufferings, 
or  to  accept  of  a  very  moderate  price  for  it.  If  they  could 
have  made  any  arrangement  of  the  various  pretensions  of  in- 
dividuals, or  could  have  agreed  on  any  plan  of  a  town,  they 
would  soon  have  begun  to  build.  But  the  want  of  a  civil  au- 
thority to  decide  interfering  claims,  or  to  compel  the  refracto- 
ry to  submit  to  the  wishes  of  a  majority,  had  yet  prevented 
them  from  carrying  any  particular  measure  into  execution. — 
On  the  morning  of  Monday,  the  1st  day  of  July,  the  inhabi- 
tants had  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  resolving  on  some  de- 
finitive mode  of  procedure.  The  Judges  prevailed  on  them 
to  defer  their  intentions  for  a  short  time,  giving  them  assuran- 
ces that  the  Governor  of  the  territory  would  shortly  arrive, 
and  that  every  arrangement  in  the  power  of  their  domestic 
Government  would  be  made  for  their  relief.  On  these  repre- 
sentations they  consented  to  defer  their  measures  for  one  fort- 
night. In  the  evening  of  the  same  day  the  Governor  arrived; 
it  was  his  first  measure  to  prevent  any  encroachments  from 
being  made  on  the  public  land.  The  situation  of  the  distress- 
ed inhabitants  then  occupied  the  attention  of  the  members  of 
the  Government  for  two  or  three  days.  The  result  of  these 
discussions  was,  to  proceed  to  lay  out  a  new  town,  embracing 
the  whole  of  the  old  town  and  the  public  lands  adjacent;  to 
state  to  the  people  that  nothing  in  the  nature  of  a  title  could 
be  given  under  any  authorities  then  possessed  by  the  Govern- 
ment ;  and  that  they  could  not  be  justified  in  holding  out  any 
charitable  donations  whatever,  as  a  compensation  for  their 
sufferings,  but  that  every  personal  exertion  would  be  made  to 
obtain  a  confirmation  of  the  arrangements  about  to  be  made, 
and  to  obtain  the  liberal  attention  of  the  Government  of  the 
United  States  to  their  distresses. 

A  town  was  accordingly  surveyed  and  laid  out,  and  the 
want  of  authority  to  impart  any  regular  title,  without  the  sub- 
sequent sanction  of  Congress,  being  first  impressed  and  clearly 
understood,  the  lots  were  exposed  to  sale  under  that  reserva- 
tion. Where  the  purchaser  of  a  lot  was  a  proprietor  in  the 
old  town,  he  was  at  liberty  to  extinguish  his  former  property 
in  his  new  acquisition,  foot  for  foot,  and  \vas  expected  to  pay 
only  for  the  surplus,  at  the  rate  expressed  in  his  bid.  A  con- 
siderable part  of  the  inhabitants  were  only  tenants  in  the  old 
town,  there  being  no  means  of  acquiring  any  new  titles.  The 
sale  of  course  could  not  be  confined  merely  to  former  proprie- 
tors, but,  as  far  as  possible,  was  confined  to  former  inhabitants. 
After  the  sale  of  a  considerable  part,  by  auction,  the  remain- 
der was  disposed  of  by  private  contract,  deducting  from  the 
previous  sales  the  basis  of  the  terms.  As  soon  as  the  neces- 
sities of  the  immediate  inhabitants  were  accommodated,  the 
sales  were  entirely  stopped,  until  the  pleasure  of  Government 
could  be  consulted.  As  no  title  could  be  made,  or  was  pre- 


1805.     /  Tecumt/te  and  his  brother  appear.  549 

tended  to  be  made,  no  payments  were  required,  or  any  moneys 
permitted  to  be  received,  until  the  expiration  of  one  year,  to 
afford  time  for  Congress  to  interpose.  The  remaining  part 
was  stipulated  to  be  paid  in  four  successive  annual  instal- 
ments. The  highest  sum  resulting  from  the  bids  was  seven 
cents  for  a  square  foot,  and  the  whole  averaged  at  least  four 
cents.  In  this  way  the  inhabitants  were  fully  satisfied  to  com- 
mence their  buildings,  and  the  interfering  pretensions  of  all 
individuals  were  eventually  reconciled.* 

In  this  same  report  attention  was  called  to  the  unsettled 
southern  boundary  of  Michigan,  to  the  state  of  the  land  titles 
generally,  and  other  important  points.  [Only  six  regular  titles 
were  found  in  Michigan.-]-] 

While  in  Michigan  the  territorial  government  was  taking 
shape,  Indiana  passed  to  the  second  grade  of  the  same,  as 
provided  by  the  ordinance,  and  obtained  her  General  Assembly; 
while  various  treaties  with  the  northern  tribes  were  transfer- 
ring to  the  United  States  the  Indian  title  to  large  and  valuable 
tracts  of  country.  On  the  4th  of  July,  the  Wyandots  and 
others,  at  Fort  Industry,  on  the  Maumee,  ceded  all  their  lands 
as  far  west  as  the  western  boundary  of  the  Connecticut  Re- 
serve; upon  the  21st  of  August,  Governor  Harrison,  at  Vin- 
cennes,  received  from  the  Miamies  a  region  containing  two 
million  acres  within  what  is  now  Indiana  ;  and  upon  the  30th 
of  December,  at  the.  same  place,  purchased  of  the  Pianke- 
shaws  a  tract  eighty  or  ninety  miles  wide,  extending  from  the 
Wabash  west  to  the  cession  by  the  Kaskaskias  in  1803.  At 
this  time,  although  some  murders  by  the  red  men  had  taken 
place  in  the  far  west,  the  body  of  natives  seemed  bent  on 
peace. J  But  mischief  was  gathering.  Tecumthe,  his  brother 
the  Prophet  and  other  leading  men,  had  formed  at  Greenville 
the  germ  of  that  union  of  tribes  by  which  the  whites  were  to 
be  restrained  in  their  invasions.  We  are  by  no  means  satis- 
fied that  the  Great  Indian  of  later  days  used  an}'  concealment, 
or  meditated  any  treachery  toward  the  United  States,  for 
many  years  after  this  time.  The  efforts  of  himself  and  his 
brother  were  directed  to  two  points  :  first,  the  reformation  of 
the  savages,  whose  habits  unfitted  them  for  continuous  and 
heroic  effort ;  and  second,  such  a  union  as  would  make  the 

*  American  State  Papers,  xvL  247. 

•f  American  State  Papers,  xvi.  263  to  284;  305  to  557  and  592. 

JAmerican  State  Papers,  v.  605,  695,  696,  791,  702,  704,  705. 


550  Policy  of  Tccumthe.  1805 

purchase  of  land  by  the  United  States  impossible,  and  give  to 
the  aborigines  a  strength  that  might  be  dreaded.  Both  these 
objects  were  avowed,  and  both  were  pursued  with  wonderful 
energy,  perseverance  and  success  ;  in  the  whole  country  bor- 
dering upon  the  lakes,  the  power  of  the  Prophet  was  felt,  and 
the  work  of  reformation  went  on  rapidly.* 

[The  policy  of  Tecumthe  was  to  bring  into  one  grand  con- 
federation all  the  nations  of  Indians  that  had  any  intercourse 
with  the  United  States,  and  admit  of  no  treaties,  or  sales  of 
land,  without  the  united  consent  of  all  the  tribes.  Such  a  con- 
federation never  had  existed,  and  magnificent  as  was  the 
scheme,  it  was  wholly  impracticable  in  the  nature  of  things. 
Tecumthe  could  read  and  write,  and  he  had  for  his  confiden- 
tial secretary  and  adviser,  Billy  Caldwell,  a  half-breed,  an 
educated  man,  and  subsequently  head  chief  of  the  Pottawato- 
mie  nation,  who  died  in  1845,  near  Council  Bluffs  in  Iowa. 
Mr.  Caldwell.  who  gave  the  editor  these  facts,  had  a  trunk  full 
of  papers,  including  the  "talks,"  and  negotiations  sent  to  va- 
rious Indian  tribes  before  the  war  of  1812-15.  The  interview 
was  in  Chicago,  in  1833,  where  he  then  resided.] 

It  was  during  this  year  that  Burr  paid  his  first  visit  to  the 
West.  On  the  llth  of  July,  1804,  he  had  shot  General  Ham- 
ilton, an  event  which  he  felt  would  "ostracise  "  him;  would 
force  him  to  seek  elsewhere  for  power,  money,  and  fame.  On 
the  2d  of  March,  1805,  the  Vice  President  took  his  celebrated 
leave  of  the  Senate,  and  upon  the  29th  of  April  was  at  Pitts- 
burgh. His  purpose  in  going  westward  was  not  the  gratifica- 
tion of  curiosity  merely,  and  from  Wilkinson  we  learn  that 
he  was  concerned  with  Dayton  and  others  in  the  projected 
canal  round  the  Falls,  at  Louisville  ;  a  proposal  which  had 
been  before  the  United  States'  Senate  in  January.  From 
Pittsburgh  he  proceeded  down  the  Ohio  to  Louisville,  thence 
went  to  Lexington  and  Nashville  by  land,  and  from  the  latter 
place  passed  down  the  Cumberland,  and  upon  the  6th  of  June 
reached  Fort  Massac.  During  his  visit  to  Tennessee  he  was 
treated  with  great  attention,  and  both  then  and  previously  had 
some  conversation  relative  to  a  residence  in  that  state,  with  a 
view  to  political  advancement.  His  intentions,  however,  seem 
to  have  been  entirely  vague  :  among  other  plans,  he  had  some 
thought  of  trying  to  displace  Governor  Claiborne  of  the  Or- 

*Drake's  Tecumseh,  88,  93,  103. 


1806  Burr's  Plans  mature.  551 

leans  territory,  and  took  from  Wilkinson,  whom  he  met  at  Fort 
Massac,  a  letter  to  Daniel  Clark,  the  Governor's  most  violent 
foe.  On  the  25th  of  June,  Burr  reached  the  capitol  of  the 
south-west,  where  he  remained  until  the  10th  of  July,  when 
he  crossed  by  land  to  Nashville,  and  spent  a  week  with  Gene- 
ral Jackson — and  upon  the  20th  of  August,  was  at  Lexing- 
ton again:  from  Lexington,  he  went  by  the  Falls,  Vincennes 
and  Kaskaskia,  to  St.  Louis,  where  he  met  General  Wil- 
kinson about  the  middle  of  September.  By  this  time,  all  his 
plans  appear  to  have  undergone  a  change  again.  At  New 
Orleans  he  had  been  made  aware  of  the  existence  of  an  asso- 
ciation to  invade  Mexico  and  wrest  it  from  Spain ;  he  was 
asked  to  join  it,  but  refused.  He  saw,  however,  at  that  time, 
if  not  before,  that,  should  the  dispute  relative  to  boundaries 
then  existing  between  the  United  States  result  in  war,  an  op- 
portunity would  be  given  to  men  of  spirit  to  conquer  and  rule 
Mexico,  and  this  idea  thenceforth  became  his  leading  one. 
But  in  connection  with  this  plan  of  invasion,  in  case  of  war, 
there  arose  whispers  in  relation  to  effecting  a  separation  of 
the  western  from  the  Atlantic  States ;  of  this  we  have  know- 
ledge by  a  letter  from  Daniel  Clark  to  General  Wilkinson, 
written  September  7th.  What  Burr's  conversations  with  the 
commander  at  St.  Louis  were,  we  are  not  particularly  told, 
but  we  learn  that  he  suggested  the  Mexican  plan,  and  also  in- 
timated that  the  Union  was  rotten  and  the  western  people 
dissatisfied.  Such  was  the  effect  of  his  talk  that  soon  after  he 
left,  Wilkinson  wrote  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  advising 
the  government  to  have  an  eye  on  Burr,  as  he  was  "  about 
something,  but  whether  internal  or  externl,"  he  could  not  learn. 
Thus,  during  1805,  the  idea  of  a  separation  of  the  western 
states  from  the  Union  by  Burr  and  Wilkinson,  had  become 
familiar  to  many  minds,  even  though  the  principals  themselves 
may  have  had  no  more  thought  of  such  a  thing  than  of  taking 
possession  of  the  moon,  and  dividing  her  among  their  friends.* 

Upon  the  23d  of  September,  Lieutenant  Pike,  on  his  way 
up  the  Mississippi,  bought  of  the  Sioux  two  tracts,  one  at  the 

*For  all  these  facts  see  Davis'  Memoirs  of  Burr,  ii.  327,  367,  363  to  370,  378,  379,  380.— 
Wilkinson's  Memoirs,  ii.  274  to  278;  Spence's  Deposition,  ii.  283,  note; — also,  ibid,  Ap- 
pendix, 2,  xviii.  Col.  Lyon's  Deposition.  American  State  Papers,  xx.  571.  Ibid,  ii.  660  to 
669.  Also,  Burr's  Trial  at  Kichmond,  Va. 


552  Lewis  and  Claris  Expedition.  1806 

mouth  of  the  St.  Croix  river,  the  other  at  the  mouth  of  the 
St.  Peters,  including  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony.* 

In  the  bih  authorizing  Ohio  to  become  a  State,  was  the  fol- 
lowing provision : 

Third,  that  one  twentieth  part  of  the  nett  proceeds  of  the 
lands  lying  within  the  said  State,  sold  by  Congress,  from  and 
after  the  thirtieth  day  of  June  next,  after  deducting  all  expen- 
ses incident  to  the  same,  shall  be  applied  to  the  laying  out 
and  making  public  roads,  leading  from  the  navigable  waters 
emptying  into  the  Atlantic,  to  the  Ohio,  to  the  said  State,  and 
through  the  same  ;  such  roads  to  be  laid  out  under  the  au- 
thority of  Congress,  with  the  consent  of  the  several  States 
through  which  the  road  shall  pass.f 

In  conformity  with  this  clause,  steps  were  taken  during 
1805,  which  resulted  in  the  making  of  the  Cumberland  or  Na- 
tional road. 

During  the  year  1806,  the  conviction  became  more  and 
more  strong  that  the  north-western  tribes  were  meditating 
hostilities  against  the  United  States,  but  nothing  of  conse- 
quence took  place ;  although  Tecumthe  and  the  Prophet 
constantly  extended  and  confirmed  their  influence.  J 

In  September,  1806,  Messrs.  Lewis  and  Clarke  returned 
from  their  exploration  of  the  Missouri  and  Oregon  rivers- 
This  expedition  had  been  suggested  by  Mr.  Jefferson  in  Janu- 
ary, 1803.  His  views  being  sanctioned  by  Congress,  Captain 
Lewis  and  Lieutenant  Clarke  entered  the  Missouri,  May  14, 
1804.  The  ensuing  winter  they  spent  among  the  Mandans, 
and  in  April,  1805,  again  set  forward.  With  great  difficulty 
the  mountains  were  passed,  in  the  September  following,  and 
the  Pacific  reached  upon  the  17th  of  November.  Here  the 
winter  of  1805-6  was  passed.  On  the  27th  of  March,  1806, 
the  return  journey  was  begun,  and  the  mountains  were 
crossed  late  in  June. 

The  difficulties  with  Spain  began  early  in  the  year  to  as- 
sume a  serious  appearance  ;  in  February,  acts  of  a  semi-hos- 

«American  State  Papers,  v.  753,  755.    Pike's  Expedition  up  the  Mississippi,  in  1805,  '6 
7,  published  in  Philadelphia,  1810. 
f  Land  Laws,  476. 

t  DawEon's  Harrison,  83  to  90.    Drake's  Tecumseh,  89  to  91. 
American  State  Papers,  v.  684,  705.    Lewis  and  Clarke's  Journal. 

. 


1806.  Burr's  Movements.  553 

tile  character  took  place,*  and  in  August,  Spanish  troops  crossed 
the  Sabine  and  took  possession  of  the  territory  east  of  that  riv- 
er. This  led  first  to  a  correspondence  between  Gov.  Claiborne 
and  the  Spaniard  in  command ;  and  next  to  a  movement  by 
General  Wilkinson  and  his  army  to  the  contested  border. 
While  his  troops  were  at  Natchitoches,  in  immediate  expecta- 
tion of  an  engagement,  Samuel  Swartwout  reached  Wilkin- 
son's camp,  with  letters  from  Burr  and  Dayton  of  such  a 
character  as  to  bring  matters  in  relation  to  the  conquest  of 
Mexico  almost  instantly  to  a  crisis. f 

[Burr  had  not  entirely  given  up  his  chance  as  a  politician 
in  the  Atlantic  states,  as  may  be  seen  in  the  letter  of  Gene- 
ral Adair,  in  Wilkinson's  Memoirs  of  his  Own  Times,  vol.  ii. 
Appendix,  Ixxvii.] 

Burr,  from  January  to  August,  Mr.  Davis  tells  us,  was  most 
of  the  time  in  Washington  and  Philadelphia,  but  not  idle, 
for  in  a  letter  to  Wilkinson,  dated  April  16th,  the  conspirator 
says,  "  Burr  will  be  throughout  the  United  States  this  sum- 
mer ;"  and  refers  to  "  the  association,"  as  enlarged,  and  to 
the  "  project"  as  postponed  till  December.  In  July,  Commo- 
dore Truxton  learned  from  Burr  that  he  was  interested  largely 
in  lands  upon  the  Washita,  which  he  proposed  to  settle  if  his 
Mexican  project  failed  ;  and  in  August  we  find  that  he  left 
for  the  west.  On  the  21st  of  that  month  he  was  in  Pittsburgh, 
and  there  suggested  to  Colonel  George  Morgan  and  his  son  the 
probable  disunion  of  the  States,  growing  out  of  the  extreme 
weakness  of  the  Federal  Government;  a  suggestion  similar 
to  that  said  to  have  been  made,  though  in  a  much  more  dis- 
tinct and  strong  form,  to  General  Eaton,  in  the  March  preced- 
ing. His  plans,  indeed,  whatever  their  extent,  were  before 
this  time  fixed  and  perfected,  for  it  was  upon  the  29th  of  July 
that  he  wrote  from  Philadelphia  to  General  Wilkinson  the 
letter  confided  to  Swartwout,  which  led  to  the  development 
of  the  whole  business  ;  this  letter  we  extract,  together  with 
Wilkinson's  deposition  of  December  26th,  explanatory  of 
Burr's  plans.J 

*  American  State  Papers,  ii.  798. 

•f  American  State  Papers,  ii.  803  to  804.  See  for  documents  Wilkinson's  Memoirs,  ii.. 
appendix,  Ix.  Ixxxvii,  to  xciii.  Also,  American  State  Papers,  xx,  661  to  563,  565. 

J  Davis'  Memoirs,  ii.  375; — Wilkinson's  Memoirs,  ii.  Appendix,  Ixxxiii; — American; 
State  Papers,  xx.  471,  472,  493  to  696. 

35 


554  Burr's  Letter  to  Wilkinson.  1806. 

[Yours,  post-marked  13th  of  May,  is  received.]*  I,  Aaron 
Burr,  have  obtained  funds,  and  have  actually  commenced  the 
enterprise.  Detachments  from  different  points,  and  under 
different  pretences,  will  rendezvous  on  Ohio,  1st  November — 
every  thing  internal  and  external  favors  views  :  protection  of 

England  is  secured.     T is  going  to  Jamaica,  to  arrange 

with  the  Admiral  on  that  station ;  it  will  meet  on  the  Missis- 
sippi.— England. — Navy  of  the1  United  States  are  ready  to 
join,  and  final  orders  are  given  to  my  friends  and  followers; 
it  will  be  a  host  of  choice  spirits.  Wilkinson  shall  be  second 
to  Burr  only  :  Wilkinson  shall  dictate  the  rank  and  promotion 
of  his  officers.  Burr  will  proceed  westward  1st  of  August, 
never  to  return  :  with  him  go  his  daughter  :  the  husband  will 
follow  in  October,  with  a  corps  of  worthies. 

Send  forth  an  intelligent  and  confidential  friend  with  whom 
Burr  may  confer  ;  he  shall  return  immediately  with  further 
interesting  details  :  this  is  essential  to  concert  and  harmony 
of  movement ;  send  a  list  of  all  persons  known  to  Wilkinson, 
west  of  the  mountains,  who  may  be  useful,  with  a  note  delinea- 
ting their  characters.  By  your  messenger  send  me  four  or  five 
commissions  of  your  officers*  which  you  can  borrow  under  any 
pretence  you  please;  they  shall  be  returned  faithfully.  Al- 
ready are  orders  to  the  contractor  given,  to  forward  six 
months  provisions  to  points  Wilkinson  may  name ;  this  shall 
not  be  used  until  the  last  moment,  and  then  under  proper  in- 
junctions :  the  project  is  brought  to  the  point  so  long  desired. 
Burr  guarantees  the  result  with  his  life  and  honor,  with  the 
lives,  the  honor  and  fortune  of  hundreds,  the  best  blood  of 
our  country.  Burr's  plan  of  operations  is,  to  move  down  rap- 
idly from  the  Falls  on  the  15th  November,  with  the  first  500, 
or  1000  men,  in  light  boats  now  constructing  for  that  purpose, 
to  be  at  Natchez  between  the  5th  and  15th  of  December ; 
there  to  meet  Wilkinson  ;  there  to  determine  whether  it  will 
be  expedient  in  the  first  instance  to  seize  on  or  pass  by  Baton 
Rouge :  on  receipt  of  this  send  an  answer  ;  draw  on  Burr  for 
all  expenses,  &c.  The  people  of  the  country  to  which  we 
are  going,  are  prepared  to  receive  us  :  their  agents  now  with 
Burr  say,  that  if  we  will  protect  their  religion  and  will  not 
subject  them  to  a  foreign  power,  that  in  three  weeks  all  will 
be  settled.  The  gods  invite  to  glory  and  fortune  :  it  remains 
•to  be  seen  whether  we  deserve  the  boon :  the  bearer  of  this 
goes  express  to  you ;  he  will  hand  a  formal  letter  of  introduc- 
tion to  you  from  Burr:  he  is  a  man  of  inviolable  honor  and 
perfect  discretion  ;  formed  to  execute  rather  than  to  project; 
capable  of  relating  facts  with  fidelity,  and  incapable  of  rela- 
ting them  otherwise ;  he  is  thoroughly  informed  of  the  plans 

*  The  par's  in  brackets  were  omitted  in  the  copy  which  Wilkinson  u>ed,  in  causing  the 
arrest  of  Bollman  and  others.  (See  American  State  Papers,  xx.  471,  472.)  This  omission 
was  the  ground  of  the  accusation  hereafter  referred  to 


1806.  Wilkinson's  affidavit.  555 

and  intentions  of  [Burr,]  and  will  disclose  to  you  as  far  as 
you  inquire,  and  no  further :  he  has  imbibed  a  reverence  for 
your  character,  and  may  be  embarrassed  in  your  presence  : 
put  him  at  ease  and  he  will  satisfy  you.* 
JULY  29. 

I  instantly  resolved — says  Wilkinson  in  his  affidavit — to 
avail  myself  of  the  reference  made  to  the  bearer,  and,  in  the 
course  of  some  days,  drew  from  him  (the  said  Swartwout)  the 
following  disclosure  :  "  That  he  had  been  despatched  by  Col- 
onel Burr  from  Philadelphia ;  had  passed  through  the  States 
of  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  and  proceeded  from  Louisville  for  St. 
Louie,  where  he  expected  to  find  me ;  but  discovering  at  Kas- 
kaskias  that  I  had  descended  the  river,  he  procured  a  skiff, 
hired  hands,  and  followed  me  down  the  Mississippi  to  Fort 
Adams ;  and  from  thence  set  out  for  Natchitoches,  in  company 
with  Captain  Sparks  and  Hooke,  under  the  pretence  of  a  dis- 
position to  take  part  in  the  campaign  against  the  Spaniards, 
then  depending.  That  Colonel  Burr,  with  the  support  of  a 
powerful  association  extending  from  New  York  to  New  Or- 
leans, was  levying  an  armed  body  of  seven  thousand  men 
from  the  State  of  New  York  and  the  western  States  and  ter- 
ritories, with  a  view  to  carry  an  expedition  against  the  Mexi- 
can provinces ;  and  that  five  hundred  men,  under  Colonel 
Swartwout  and  a  Colonel  or  Major  Tyler,  were  to  descend 
the  Alleghany,  for  whose  accommodation  light  boats  had  been 
built  and  were  ready."  I  inquired  what  would  be  their  course; 
he  said,  "  this  territory  would  be  revolutionized,  where  the 
people  were  ready  to  join  them  ;  and  that  there  would  be 
some  seizing,  he  supposed,  at  New  Orleans  ;  that  they  expected 
to  be  ready  to  embark  about  the  1st  of  February;  and  intend- 
ed to  land  at  Vera  Cruz,  and  to  march  from  thence  to  Mex- 
ico." I  observed  that  there  were  several  millions  of  dollars 
in  the  bank  of  this  place  ;  to  which  he  replied,  "  we  know  it 
full  well ;"  and,  on  my  remarking  that  they  certainly  did  not 
mean  to  violate  private  property,  he  said,  "  they  meant  to 
borrow,  and  would  return  it ;  that  they  must  equip  themselves 
in  New  Orleans ;  that  they  expected  naval  protection  from 
Great  Britain  ;  that  the  captains  and  the  officers  of  our  navy 
were  so  disgusted  with  the  Government  that  they  were  ready 
to  join;  that  similar  disgusts  prevailed  throughout  the  west- 
ern country,  where  the  people  were  zealous  in  favor  of  the 
enterprise  ;  and  that  pilot-boat  built  schooners  were  contract- 
ed for  along  our  southern  coast  for  their  service  ;  that  he  had 
been  accompanied  from  the  falls  of  Ohio  to  Kaskaskias,  and 
from  thence  to  Fort  Adams,  by  a  Mr.  Ogden,  who  had  pro- 
ceeded on  to  New  Orleans  with  letters  from  Colonel  Burr  to 
his  friends  there."  Swartwout  asked  me  whether  I  had 

*  Wilkinson's  Memoirs,  ii,  3 


566  Suspicions  as  to  Burr's  Plans.  1806- 

heard  from  Dr.  Bollman  ;  and,  on  my  answering  in  the  nega- 
tive, he  expressed  great  surprise,  and  observed,  "  that  the 
Doctor  and  a  J^Ir.  Alexander  had  left  Philadelphia  before  him 
with  despatches  for  me  ;  and  that  they  were  to  proceed  by 
sea  to  New  Orleans,  where  he  said  they  must  have  arrived. 

Though  determined  to  deceive  him,  if  possible,  I  could  not 
refrain  telling  Mr.  Swartwout  it  was  impossible  that  I  could 
ever  dishonor  my  commission ;  and  I  believe  I  duped  him  by 
my  admiration  of  the  plan  and  by  observing,  that  although  I 
could  not  join  in  the  expedition,  the  engagements  which  the 
Spaniards  had  prepared  for  me  in  my  front  might  prevent  my 
opposing  it.  Yet  I  did,  the  moment  I  had  deciphered  the  let- 
ter, put  it  into  the  hands  of  Colonel  Gushing,  my  adjutant  and 
inspector ;  making  the  declaration  that  I  should  oppose  the 
lawless  enterprise  with  my  utmost  force.  Mr.  Swartwout  in- 
formed me  that  he  was  under  engagements  to  meet  Colonel 
Burr  at  Nashville  on  the  20th  of  November,  and  requested  of 
me  to  write  to  him,  which  I  declined ;  and  on  his  leaving  Nat- 
chitoches  about  the  18th  of  October,  I  immediately  employed 
Lieutenant  T.  A.  Smith  to  convey  the  information  in  sub- 
stance to  the  President  without-  the  commitment  of  names  ; 
for  from  the  extraordinary  nature  of  the  project  and  the  more 
extraordinary  appeal  to  me,  I  could  but  doubt  its  reality,  not- 
withstanding the  testimony  before  me;  and  I  did  not  attach 
solid  belief  to  Mr.  Swartwout's  reports  respecting  their  inten- 
tions on  this  Territory  and  city,  until  I  received  confirmatory 
advice  from  St.  Louis.* 

After  leaving  Pittsburgh,  Burr  went  probably  direct  to  Blen- 
nerhassett's  Island,  where  he  had  stopped  the  previous  sum- 
mer, while  passing  down  the  Ohio,  and  which  he  thenceforth 
made  his  head-quarters.  This  he  was  probably  led  to  do  by 
the  fact  that  Blennerhassett,  in  December,  1805,  had  written 
him,  that  he  should  like  to  take  part  in  any  western  specula- 
tions, or  in  attacking  Mexico,  should  a  Spanish  war  actually 
occur.  This  offer,  together  with  the  supposed  wealth  of  Blen- 
nerhassett, and  the  admirable  position  of  his  island  for  Burr's 
purposes,  made  that  place  the  very  one  most  desirable  for 
him  to  select  as  his  centre  of  operations.  From  this  point 
the  Chief  made  excursions  into  Ohio  and  Kentucky,  obtain- 
ing money,  men,  boats  and  provisions. 

Among  those  from  whom  he  received  the  most  aid  was 
Davis  Floyd,  of  Jeffersonville,  a  member  of  the  Indiana  As- 
sembly :  this  gentleman,  Blennerhassett,  Comfort  Tyler  and  Is- 
rael Smith,  were  Burr's  chiefs  of  division,  and  led  the  few  fol- 

»  American  State  Papers,  xx.  472. 


1806.  Daviess  makes  oath  against  Burr.  557 

lowers  that  at  last  went  down  the  river  in  his  company. 
Meantime  the  rumor  was  prevalent  "  in  every  man's  mouth," 
that  the  settlement  of  the  Washita  lands,*  for  which  the  men 
were  nominally  enlisted,  was  a  mere  pretence,  and  that  an 
attack  on  Mexico,  if  not  something  worse,  was  in  contempla- 
tion, f  That  something  was  looked  for  beyond  a  conquest  of 
the  Spanish  provinces,  seemed  probable  from  the  views  ex- 
pressed in  a  series  of  essays  called  the  "  Querist;"  these  were 
published  in  September  in  the  Ohio  Gazette,  (Marietta,)  were 
written  by  Blennerhassett,  immediately  after  Burr's  visit  to 
his  island,  and  strongly  intimated  that  wisdom  called  on  the 
western  people  to  leave  the  Union.  At  this  time  Colonel  Jo- 
seph Daviess  was  attorney  for  the  United  States  in  Kentucky, 
and  he,  together  with  others,J  felt  that  the  General  Govern- 
ment ought  to  be  informed  of  what  was  doing,  and  of  what 
was  rumored  ;  Mr.  Jefferson  accordingly,  in  the  latter  part  of 
September,  received  intimations  of  what  was  going  forward, 
but  as  nothing  definite  could  be  charged  there  was  no  point 
of  attack,  and  the  Executive  and  his  friends  could  do  nothing 
farther  than  watch  and  wait.  At  length,  late  in  October,  no- 
tice of  the  building  of  boats  and  collection  of  provisions 
having  reached  him,  the  President  sent  a  confidential  agent 
into  the  west,§  and  also  gave  orders  to  the  Governors  and 
commanders  to  be  upon  their  guard.  Daviess,  meantime,  had 
gathered  a  mass  of  testimony  implicating  Burr,  which  led 
him  to  take  the  step  of  bringing  the  subject,  in  November, 
before  the  United  States  District  Court,  making  oath,  "  that  he 
was  informed,  and  did  verily  believe,  that  Aaron  Burr  for 
several  months  past  had  been,  and  now  is  engaged,  in  pre- 
paring and  setting  on  foot,  and  in  providing  and  preparing  the 
means  for  a  military  expedition  and  enterprise  within  this 
district,  for  the  purpose  of  descending  the  Ohio  and  Missis- 
sippi therewith ;  and  making  war  upon  the  subjects  of  the 
King  of  Spain."  After  having  read  this  affidavit,  the  attor- 
ney added,  "I  have  information,  on  which  I  can  rely,  that  all 
the  western  territories  are  the  next  object  of  the  scheme — and 

*  See  Colonel  Lyon,  in  Wilkinson,  ii.  Appendix  Ixviii ; — Davis,  ii.  392  ; — Butler'a  Ken- 
tucky, 312,  313.— American  State  Papers,  xx.  499,  524,  535,  599. 

•f  Burnet's  letters,  103.    Numerous  witnesses  at  Burr's  trial,  Kichmond. 

}  See  the  Statements  and  papers  in  Marshall,  ii.  385  to  413—424  to  433. 

\  Mr.  John  Graham,  secretary  of  the  Orleans  Territory.  His  evidence  is  in  American 
State  Papers,  xx.  528,  &c. 


558  Governor  Tiffin  seizes  Burr's  Boats.  1806. 

finally,  all  the  region  of  the  Ohio,  is  calculated,  as  falling  into 
the  vortex  of  the  newly  proposed  revolution." 

Upon  this  affidavit  Daviess  asked  for  Burr's  arrest,  but  the 
motion  was  overruled.  The  accused,  however,  who  saw  at 
once  the  most  politic  course,  came  into  court  and  demanded 
an  investigation,  which  could  not  be  had,  however,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  Davis  Floyd  as  a 
witness.  Thus  far  the  public  generally  sympathized  with  Burr, 
whose  manners  secured  all  suffrages,  and  who,  on  the  1st  of 
December  was  able  to  write  to  Henry  Clay,  his  attorney,  in 
these  terms :  "  I  have  no  design,  nor  have  I  taken  any  meas- 
ure to  promote  a  dissolution  of  the  Union,  or  a  separation  of 
any  one  or  more  States  from  the  residue.  I  have  neither  pub- 
lished a  line  on  this  subject,  nor  has  any  one  through  my 
agency  or  with  my  knowledge,  I  have  no  design  to  inter- 
meddle with  the  government,  or  to  disturb  the  tranquility  of 
the  United  States,  nor  of  its  territories,  or  of  any  part  of 
them.  I  have  neither  issued  nor  signed,  nor  promised  acorn- 
mission  to  any  person,  for  any  purpose.  I  do  not  own  a  mus- 
ket nor  bayonet,  nor  any  single  article  of  military  stores,  nor 
does  any  person  for  me,  by  my  authority,  or  my  knowledge. 
My  views  have  been  explained  to,  and  approved  by,  several 
of  the  principal  officers  of  government,  and,  I  believe,  are 
well  understood  by  the  administration,  and  seen  by  it  with 
complacency  ;  they  are  such  as  every  man  of  honor  and  every 
good  citizen  must  approve.  Considering  the  high  station  you 
now  fill  in  our  national  councils,  I  have  thought  these  expla- 
nations proper,  as  well  to  counteract  the  chimerical  tales, 
which  malevolent  persons  have  industriously  circulated,  as  to 
satisfy  you  that  you  have  not  espoused  the  cause  of  a  man  in 
any  way  unfriendly  to  the  laws,  the  government  or  the  inter- 
ests of  the  country."* 

The  agent  from  government,  who  was  all  along  actively 
engaged  in  procuring  evidence  relative  to  Burr's  plans,  find- 
ing abundant  proof  of  his  Mexican  project,  arid  learning  also 
that  he  thought  the  West  ought  to  separate  from  the  East,f 
determined  in  December,  to  take  measures  to  arrest  his  boats 
and  provisions.  This  he  effected  by  an  application  to  the 

*  Butler's  Kentucky,  313,  316.     See  Jefferson's  Message,  American  State  Paper?,  xx. 
469. 

t  American  State  Papers,  xx.  531,  529. 


1806.  Swartwout  and  Bollman  Arrested.  559 

Legislature  of  Ohio,  through  Governor  Tiffin.  The  Legisla- 
ture authorized  the  Governor  to  take  the  necessary  steps,  and 
before  the  14th  of  December,  ten  boats  with  stores  were  ar- 
rested on  the  Muskingum,  and  soon  after,  four  more  were  seiz- 
ed by  the  troops  at  Marietta.*  Blennerhassett,  Tyler,  and 
thirty  or  forty  men,  on  the  night  of  December  10th,  left  the 
Island,  and  proceeded  down  the  river, — barely  escaping  an  ar- 
rest by  General  Tupper,  on  behalf  of  the  State  of  Ohio.  On 
the  16th,  this  party  united  with  that  of  Floyd  at  the  Falls,  and 
on  the  26th,  the  whole,  together,  met  Burr  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Cumberland.  On  the  29th,  the  company  passed  Fort 
Massac. 

But  while  Daviess  and  Graham  were  laboring  to  put  a  stop 
to  Burr's  progress,  the  General  Government  had  received  in- 
formation which  enabled  the  President  to  act  with  decision  ; 
this  was  the  message  of  Wilkinson,  bearing  an  account  of 
Burr's  letter  already  quoted.  This  message  was  sent  from 
Natchitoches  upon  the  22d  of  October,  and  reached  the  seat  of 
government,  November  25th ;  on  the  27th,  a  proclamation 
was  issued  and  word  sent  westward  to  arrest  all  concerned. 
About  the  same  time,  (November  24th  or  25th,)  Wilkinson, 
who  had  done,  unauthorized,  upon  the  1st  of  November,  the 
very  thing  he  had  been  ordered  on  the  8th  to  do, — namely,  to 
make  an  accommodation  with  the  Spanish  commander  on  the 
Sabine,  and  fall  back  to  the  Mississippi,  reached  New  Orleans, 
and  prepared  to  resist  any  attack  thereon  :  at  this  city  he  ar- 
rested Swartwout,  Peter  V.  Ogden,  who  was  discharged,  how- 
ever, on  Habeas  Corpus,  and  Dr.  Erick  Bollman,  who  had  also 
borne  messages  from  Burr  and  Dayton. f 

What  Burr  may  have  felt  or  intended  after  he  met  his  fugi- 
tive followers  at  the  mouth  of  Cumberland  river,  late  in  De- 
cember, 1806,  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  it  is  certain  that  he 
went  on  openly  and  boldly,  protesting  against  the  acts  of 
Ohio,  and  avowing  his  innocence.  If  he  had  relied  on  Wil- 
kinson, he  was  as  yet  undeceived  with  regard  to  him.  On 
the  4th  of  January,  1807,  he  was  at  Fort  Pickering,  Chicka- 
saw  Bluffs,  and  soon  after  at  Bayou  Pierre.  From  this  point 

*  See  Governor  Tiffin's  Letters.    Cist's  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  i.  259,  260.    His  message 
of  December  15th.    Journal  of  Senate,  36. 

t  American  State  Papers,  xx.  from  466  to  600.     Wilkinson's  Memoirs,  ii.  313,  and  va- 
rious appendices  to  the  volume. 


660  Burr's  Trial  and  Purposes.  1807. 

he  wrote  to  the  authorities  below,  referring  to  the  rumors  re- 
specting him,  alledging  his  innocence,  and  begging  them  to 
avoid  the  horrors  of  civil  war.  Word  had  just  been  received 
from  Jefferson,  however,  of  the  supposed  conspiracy  ;  the  mi- 
litia were  under  arms ;  and  the  acting  Governor  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi Territory,  Cowles  Mead,  on  the  16th  of  January,  sent 
two  aids  to  meet  Colonel  Burr;  one  of  these  was  Geo.  Poin- 
dexter.  At  this  meeting,  an  interview  between  the  acting 
Governor  was  arranged,  which  took  place  on  the  17th ;  at 
which  time  Burr  yielded  himself  to  the  civil  authority.  He 
was  then  taken  to  Washington,  the  capital  of  the  territory, 
and  legal  proceedings  commenced.  Mr.  Poindexter  was  him- 
self Attorney-General,  and  as  such  advised  that  Burr  had  been 
guilty  of  no  crime  within  Mississippi,  and  wished  to  have  him 
sent  to  the  seat  of  government  of  the  United  States :  the  pre- 
siding Judge,  however,  summoned  a  Grand  Jury,  which,  upon 
the  evidence  before  them,  presented — not  Burr  for  treason — 
but  the  acting  Governor  for  calling  out  the  militia!  That 
evening,  Colonel  Burr,  fearing  an  arrest  by  officers  sent  by 
Wilkinson,  forfeited  his  bonds  and  disappeared.  A  proclama- 
tion being  issued  by  the  Governor  for  his  apprehension,  he 
was  seized  on  the  Tombigbee  river  on  his  way  to  Florida, 
and  was  sent  at  once  to  Richmond,  where  he  arrived  March 
26th.*  On  the  22d  of  May,  Burr's  examination  began  in  the 
Circuit  Court  of  the  United  States  at  Richmond,  before  Judge 
Marshall;  two  bills  were  found  against  him,  one  for  treason 
against  the  United  States,  the  other  for  a  misdemeanor  in  or- 
ganizing an  enterprise  against  Mexico,  while  at  peace  with 
the  United  States:  but  on  both  these  charges  the  jury  found 
him  "  not  guilty,"  "  upon  the  principle  that  the  offence,  if 
committed  anywhere,  was  committed  out  of  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Court."  The  Chief  Justice,  however,  upon  the  latter 
charge,  subsequently  ordered  his  commitment  for  trial  within 
the  proper  jurisdiction.  This  commitment,  however,  being 
impliedly  upon  the  supposition  that  the  United  States  wished, 
under  the  circumstances,  to  prosecute  the  accused,  and  the  at- 
torney for  the  government  declining  to  do  so,  no  further  steps 
were  taken  to  bring  the  supposed  culprit  to  justice,  and  the 
details  of  his  doings  and  plans  have  never  yet  been  made 
known. 

*  American  State  Papers,  xx.  477,  478,  530,  531,  545,  568  to  570,  602.— Davis  ii.  389.— 
Butler  318. 


1807.  The  Purposes  of  Burr.  561 

Although  a  mystery  still  hangs  about  Burr's  plans,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  discontinuance  of  the  suit  by  the  United 
States,  we  think  it  has  been  clearly  proved  by  the  trial  at 
Richmond  and  other  evidence — 1st,  that  Burr  went  into  the 
West  in  1805  with  the  feeling  that  his  day  at  the  East  was 
over;  in  New  York  he  feared  even  a  prosecution  if  he  re- 
mained there.* 

2nd,  That  his  plans,  until  late  in  that  year,  were  undefin- 
ed ;  speculations  of  various  kinds,  a  residence  in  Tennessee, 
an  appointment  in  the  South-west,  were  under  consideration, 
but  nothing  was  determined  : 

3d,  That  he  at  length  settled  upon  three  objects,  to  one  or 
the  other  of  which,  as  circumstances  might  dictate,  he  meant 
to  devote  his  energies :  these  were  — 

A  separation  of  the  West  from  the  East  under  himself  and 
Wilkinson : 

Should  this  be,  upon  further  examination,  deemed  impossi- 
ble, then  an  invasion  of  Mexico  by  himself  and  Wilkinson, 
with  or  without  the  sanction  of  the  federal  government: 

In  case  of  disappointment  in  reference  to  Mexico,  then  the 
foundation  of  a  new  state  upon  the  Washita,  over  which  he 
might  preside  as  founder  and  patriarch. f 

That  the  Washita  scheme  was  not  a  mere  pretence,  we 
think  evident  from  the  fact  that  Burr  actually  paid  toward  the 
purchase  four  or  five  thousand  dollars  :  that  it  was  not  the 
only  object,  and  that  the  conquest  of  Mexico,  if  it  could  be 
effected,  was  among  his  settled  determinations,  his  friends  all 
acknowledged,  but  said  this  conquest  was  to  take  place  upon 
the  supposition  of  a  war  with  Spain,  and  in  no  other  case  : 
that  Burr  may  have  thought  the  government  would  wink  at 
his  proceedings,  is  very  possible ;  and  that  Wilkinson  either 
meant  to  aid  him,  or  pretended  he  would,  in  order  to  learn  his 
plans,  is  certain  ;  but  the  secrecy  of  his  movements,  the  lan- 
guage of  his  letter  to  Wilkinson  in  July,  1806,  and  his  whole 
character,  convinces  us  that  he  would,  if  he  could,  have  inva- 
ded Mexico,  whether  the  United  States  were  at  war  or  peace 
with  Spain. 

But  we  cannot  doubt  that,  going  beyond  a  violation  of  the 

*  Davis*  Memoirs,  ii.  385,  412. — American  State  Papers,  xx.  641  to  645. 

tSee  American  State  Papers,  xx.  530,  where  Burr  speaks  to  Graham  of  the  Washita 
lands  and  "  a  separate  government." 


562  The  purposes  of  Burr.  1807 

laws  of  the  Union,  he  was  disposed  to  seek  a  separation  of  that 
Union  itself.  During  his  visit  of  1805,  he  was  undoubtedly 
made  fully  acquainted  with  the  old  schemes  for  independence 
entertained  in  Kentucky,  and  was  led  to  question  the  real  at- 
tachment of  the  western  people  to  the  federal  government. 
So  long  as  he  thought  there  was  a  probability  of  disunion,  it 
would  naturally  be  his  first  object  to  place  himself  at  the  head 
of  the  republic  beyond  the  mountains,  and  should  he  find  him- 
self deceived  as  to  the  extent  of  disaffection  in  the  Great  Val- 
ley, all  his  means  could  be  brought  to  bear  upon  Mexico.  His 
conversations  with  the  Morgans  at  Pittsburgh,  the  views  of 
the  "Querist"  prepared  by  Blennerhassett  under  Burr's  eye, 
and  the  declarations  of  Blennerhassett  to  Henderson  and  Gra- 
ham, seem  to  leave  no  room  for  doubting  the  fact  that  a  disso- 
lution of  the  United  States  had  been  contemplated  by  the  ex- 
Vice-President,  although  we  think  there  is  as  little  reason  to 
doubt  that  it  had  been  abandoned  as  hopeless,  long  before  his 
arrest.*  [Judge  Marshall  said,  (American  State  Papers,  xx. 
644,)  "that  the  object  of  these  writings."  (the  "Querist,")  "was 
to  -prepare  the  western  states  for  a  dismemberment,  is  appa- 
rent on  the  face  of  them." 

It  appears  to  the  editor  that  every  unprejudiced  mind,  who 
analyzes  the  character  of  Aaron  Burr,  from  the  voluminous 
works  to  which  our  references  direct,  and  traces  out  his  history, 
must  regard  him  as  devoid  of  all  virtuous  principles.  His 
history,  with  that  of  Benedict  Arnold,  should  be  held  forth  as 
a  beacon  light  to  young  men,  of  the  dangerous  rocks  and  quick- 
sands of  unbridled  ambition.] 

With  regard  to  Wilkinson,  it  is  not  easy  to  form  a  decided 
opinion;  the  strongest  fact  in  his  favor  is  that  he  informed  the 
government  of  Burr's  projects,  in  the  fall  of  1805  ;  the  strongest 
fact  against  him  is,  that  if  innocent,  he  was  able  to  outwit  and 
entrap  so  subtle  a  man  as  the  conspirator.  It  has  been  charg- 
ed against  Wilkinson  that  he  altered  the  letter  sent  him  by 
Burr,  and  then  swore  that  the  copy  was  a  true  copy:  this,  how- 
ever, is  fully  explained  by  the  deposition  of  Mr.  Duncan, 
Wilkinson's  legal  adviser  at  New  Orleans,  by  whom  indeed 
the  omission  was  suffered  designedly  to  remain,  in  opposition 
to  the  General's  repeated  and  strong  expression  of  his  wish 

•See  Lynch's  Testimony  in  American  State  Papers,  xx.  599,; — same  vol.  pages  501,  503, 
526  to  531. 


1807  Governor  Hull  buys  the  East  of  Michigan.  563 

that  it  should  be  supplied.  Another  charge  has  been  brought 
against  Wilkinson  since  his  death,  that  he  claimed  of  Mexico 
two  hundred  thousand  dollars  for  stopping  Burr.  *  This  charge 
seems  improbable,  and  it  seems  equally  improbable  that  dur- 
ing the  persecution  of  the  General  in  1810,  no  knowledge  of 
so  strange  an  act,  and  one  of  so  public  a  nature,  should  have 
been  reached  by  his  enemies.  As  it  was  not  brought  forward 
till  1836,  eleven  years  after  his  death,  no  opportunity  has  oc- 
curred for  explaining  or  disproving  it, but  it  ought  not  to  weigh 
against  his  memory  until  further  evidence  is  offered  in  its  sup- 
port.1)- 

On  the  27th  of  January,  1807,  Governor  Hull,  of  Michigan 
Territory,  had  been  authorized  by  the  federal  government,  to 
enter  into  a  treaty  with  the  north-western  Indians,  for  the  lands 
upon  the  eastern  side  of  the  Peninsula,  and  for  those  west  of 
the  Connecticut  .Reserve,  as  far  as  the  Auglaise.  The  direc- 
tions then  given  having  been  repeated  in  September,  a  council 
was  held  at  Detroit,  and  a  treaty  made  November  17th,  with 
the  Ottawas,  Chippeways,  Wyandots,  and  Pottawatomies,  by 
which  the  country  from  the  Maumee  to  Saginaw  Bay,  on  the 
eastern  side  of  Michigan,  was  transferred,  with  certain  reser- 
vations, to  the  United  States. J 

Congress  confirmed  the  old  French  claims  to  land  in  the 
west,  during  this  year, 

A  stockade  was  built  round  the  new  town  of  Detroit.§ 

*See  his  deposition,  American  State  Papers,  XT.  560, — Wilkinson's  Memoirs,  ii.  332. 

fDavi?,  ii.  400. 

^American  State  Papers,  v.  745,  747,  748. 

?Lauman,  132, 183. 

'  "f 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  INDIAN  WAR  OF  1811. 

Expeditions  of  Lieutenant,  Z.  M.  Pike. — Movements  of  Tecumthe  and  the  Prophet.— 
Organization  of  Indiana  Territory. — British  Intrigue  and  Influence  with  the  Indians. — 
Conference  at  Vincennes. — Fort  Harrison  built. — Battle  of  Tippecanoe. — Earthquakes 
at  New  Madrid. — First  Western  Steam-boat 
X 

[It  is  here  necessary  to  take  a  brief  retrospect  of  some  of 
the  years  passed  over  in  the  preceding  chapter.  The  district 
of  country  comprised  in  the  Territories  of  Indiana  and  Up- 
per Louisiana,  for  a  number  of  years  after  their  organization, 
was  too  remote,  too  much  exposed  to  Indian  depredations,  and 
too  destitute  of  the  comforts  of  civilized  life,  to  attract  many 
emigrants. 

Mr.  Monette  says : — 

Lands  equally  good,  and  much  more  secure  from  danger 
were  more  convenient.  Hence  the  settlements  on  the  Wa- 
bash,  on  the  Illinois,  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  and  near  the 
Detroit  river,  increased  in  numbers  slowly.  The  Indians  still 
lingered  around  their  houses  and  familiar  hunting  grounds,  as 
if  reluctant  to  abandon  the  scenes  of  their  youth  and  the 
graves  of  their  ancestors,  although  they  had  received  the  stip- 
ulated payment,  and  had  consented  to  retire  from  them.* 

Mr.  Lanman  says  of  Detroit  and  Michigan,  1807  : — 

Enterprise  had  not  then  pushed  its  energies  so  far  into  the 
wilderness  as  in  modern  times,  and  capital  floated  along  the 
shores  of  the  eastern  States.  In  fact  a  great  portion  of  that 
uncultivated  tract  of  country,  which  constitutes  the  splendid 
scenery  of  western  New  York,  adorned,  as  it  now  is,  with 
large  cities  and  villages,  and  intersected  by  rail-roads  and  ca- 
nals, was  a  dense  forest.  The  principal  business  of  the  set- 
tlements in  Michigan  was  the  fur  trade ;  and  the  wilderness 
around,  instead  of  revealing  its  treasures  to  the  substantial 
labor  of  agriculture,  was  preserved  a  waste,  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  wild  game,  and  the  fur-bearing  animals. 

No  permanent  settlements  of  any  considerable  importance 
had  been  made  throughout  this  section  of  the  country,  besides 
those  at  Detroit,  Michillimackinac,  a  small  establishment  at 
St.  Mary's  river,  Fox  river  of  Green  Bay,  Prairie  du  Chein, 
and  certain  trading  posts  of  eastern  companies,  some  of  which 

*  Valley  of  the  Mississippi,  ii.  523. 


1805.  Expedition  of  Lieutenant  Pike.  565 

are  now  in  ruins.  "  Grim-visaged  war  had  smoothed  her 
wrinkled  front ;"  and  the  country  which  had  been  for  so  long 
a  period  drenched  in  blood,  now  shone  out  in  the  mild  but 
glorious  light  of  peace.* 

Amongst  the  occurrences  of  1805,  1806  and  1807,  are  the 
expeditions  of  Lieutenant  Z.  M.  Pike ;  the  first  to  the  sources 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  second  to  the  sources  of  the  Ar- 
kansas, Kanzas,  Platte,  and  Pierre  Jaune  rivers,  and  into  the 
provinces  of  New  Spain.  These  expeditions  were  conducted 
under  the  ordgr  of  Government,  through  General  James  Wilk- 
inson. The  journals  kept  by  Lieutenant  Pike,  (as  his  official 
title  then  was)  were  by  him  prepared  for  the  press,  and  issued 
in  octavo  volume,  with  an  atlas  of  maps  and  charts,  in  Phila- 
delphia, 1810.  From  this  volume  we  give  the  following  brief 
abstract: 

The  party,  consisting  of  Major  Pike,  "  with  one  servant, 
two  corporals  and  seventeen  privates,  in  a  keel  boat,  seventy 
feet  long,  provisioned  for  four  months,"  left  the  encampment, 
near  St.  Louis,  on  the  9th  of  August,  1805.  On  the  1st  of 
September  they  reached  Dubuque,  where  the  Spanish  trader 
M.  Dubuque  then  resided.  The  party  reached  Prairie  du 
Chein  on  the  4th.  From  the  Appendix  to  part  first,  (p.  46,) 
we  make  the  following  extract : — 

The  present  village  of  Prairie  du  Chein,  was  first  settled  in 
the  year  1783,  and  the  first  settlers  were  M.  Girard,  M.  An- 
taya,  and  M.  Dubuque.  The  old  village  is  about  a  mile  be- 
low the  present  one,  and  had  existed  during  the  time  the 
French  were  possessed  of  the  country.  It  derives  its  name 
from  a  family  of  Reynards  [Fox  Indians]  who  formerly  lived 
there,  distinguished  by  the  appellation  of  Dogs.  The  present 
village  was  settled  under  the  English  Government,  and  the 
ground  was  purchased  from  the  Reynard  Indians. 

There  are  eight  houses  scattered  round  the  country,  at  the 
distance  of  one,  two,  three,  and  five  miles. 

On  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi  are  three  houses,  situa- 
ted on  a  small  stream  called  the  Giard's  river,  making,  in  the 
village  and  vicinity,  thirty-seven  houses,  which  it  will  not  be 
too  much  to  calculate  ten  persons  each;  making  the  popula- 
tion three  hundred  and  seventy  souls.  But  this  estimate  will 
not  answer  for  the  spring  and  autumn,  as  there  are  then,  at 
least  five  or  six  hundred  white  persons.  This  is  owing  to  the 
concourse  of  traders  and  their  engagees  from  Michillimacki- 
nac  and  other  parts,  who  make  this  their  last  stage,  previous 
to  their  launching  into  the  savage  wilderness.  They  again 

•History  of  Michigan,  183. 


566  Expedition  of  Lieutenant  Pike.  1805. 

meet  here  in  the  spring,  on  their  return  from  their  wintering 
grounds,  accompanied  by  three  or  four  hundred  Indians,  when 
they  hold  a  fair ;  the  one  [party]  disposes  of  remnants  of 
goods,  and  the  other  reser\7ed  peltries. 

It  is  astonishing  there  are  not  more  murders  and  affrays  at 
this  place,  as  there  meet  such  a  heterogeneous  mass  to  trade  ; 
the  use  of  spirituous  liquors  being  in  no  manner  restricted  — 
But  since  the  American  Government  has  become  known,  such 

accidents  are  much  less  frequent  than  formerly. 

*#*  *  *  *  #  * 

There  are  a  few  gentlemen  residing  at  the  Prairie  du  Cheins, 
and  many  others  claiming  that  appellation  ;  but  the  rivalship 
of  the  Indian  trade,  occasions  them  to  be  guilty  of  acts  at 
their  wintering  grounds,  which  they  would  blush  to  be  guilty 
of  in  the  civilized  world.  They  possess  the  spirit  of  generos- 
ity and  hospitality  in  an  eminent  degree  ;  but  this  is  the  lead- 
ing feature  in  the  character  of  frontier  inhabitants.  Their 
mode  of  living  had  obliged  them  to  have  transient  connection 
with  the  Indian  women  ;  and  what  was  at  first  policy  is  now 
so  confirmed  by  habit  and  inclination,  that  it  has  become  (with 
a  few  exceptions)  the  ruling  practice  of  all  the  traders  ;  and, 
in  fact,  almost  half  of  the  inhabitants  under  twenty  years, 
have  the  blood  of  the  aborigines  in  their  veins. 

The  party  reached  the  St.  Peters  on  the  22d  of  September. 
Here  a  council  was  held  with  the  Sioux  Indians,  and  a  tract 
of  land  purchased,  of  about  one  hundred  thousand  acres,  for 
a  military  post.  This  eventually  provided  for  the  military 
post  of  St.  Peters.  Peace  was  also  negotiated  between  the 
Sioux  and  Chippeways,  who  had  been  at  war  for  many  years. 
At  the  foot  of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  the  boats  were  un- 
loaded, and  with  great  difficulty  and  labor  raised  above  the 
falls  and  again  launched  and  reloaded. 

On  the  16th  of  October,  they  met  a  snow  storm,  and  soon 
after,  found  they  could  not  get  their  boats  up  the  rapids  be- 
fore them.  They  were  now  two  hundred  and  thirty-three 
miles  above  the  falls  of  St.  Anthony.  Several  of  the  men 
were  sick,  and  one  broke  a  blood-vessel,  and  was  in  a  dan- 
gerous state.  The  snow  continuing  to  fall,  they  constructed 
log  houses,  excavated  canoes,  and  provided  a  supply  of  pro- 
visions by  hunting.  Here  the  sick  and  a  few  other  men  of 
the  party  were  left,  while  Major  Pike,  and  the  rest  of  the  par- 
ty, attempted  to  proceed  up  the  river  in  canoes.  The  attempt 
having  failed,  and  the  river  being  frozen,  sleds  were  construct- 
ed on  which  the  baggage  was  transported,  partly  on  the  ice, 
and  partly  on  the  lane1.  After  sustaining  various  privations 


1806.  Expedition  of  Lieutenant  Pike.  567 

and  experiencing  no  small  degree  of  difficulty  in  this  inhos- 
pitable wintry  region,  Major  Pike  and  his  little  party,  with 
one  or  two  British  traders,  reached  Red  Lake,  then  supposed 
to  be  the  head  of  'the  Mississippi,  about  the  middle  of  Febru- 
ary, 1806.  At  Lake  Winipec,  fifteen  miles  below,  was  a  Bri- 
tish trading  post,  and  the  flag  of  that  nation  flying  from  the 
fort.  The  North-western  company  then  had  their  posts  in  all 
this  wild  region. 

On  the  28th  of  February,  the  party  set  out  on  their  home- 
ward march,  but  were  detained  on  the  route  by  ice,  and  hold- 
ing "talks"  with  bands  of  Indians,  so  that  they  did  not  reach 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony  until  the  10th  of  April.  At  the  mouth 
of  the  St.  Peters,  another  council  was  held  with  the  Sioux  and 
Sauteurs  ;  a  branch  of  the  Chippeways. 

After  holding  conferences  with  several  bands  of  Indians  at 
Prairie  du  Chein,  and  other  places,  Major  Pike  and  his  party 
reached  St.  Louis,  on  the  30th  of  April,  after  an  absence  of 
eight  months  and  twenty-two  days.  This  was  the  first  explo- 
ration ever  made  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  by  authority  of  the 
United  States.  The  objects  of  the  expedition  were  accom- 
plished, in  the  selection  of  positions  for  military  posts,  in  mak- 
ing peace  among  hostile  Indian  nations,  and  in  tracing  the 
Mississippi  to  its  source. 

The  second  expedition  had  for  its  primary  object,  the  pro- 
tection and  "  safe  delivery"  of  a  deputation  of  Osages  and 
some  captives,  to  the  town  of  the  Gran  dOsage  nation.  The 
next  was,  to  promote  peace  and  a  good  understanding  be- 
tween the  Kanzas*  and  Osage  nations,  and  the  Yanctons,  Te- 
tons  and  Camanches.  The  exploration  of  the  country  on  the 
head  waters  of  the  Arkansas  and  Red  Rivers,  would  follow 
the  effort  to  negotiate  with  the  Camanches. 

The  party  consisted  of  two  lieutenants,  one  surgeon,  one 
sergeant,  two  corporals,  sixteen  privates  and  one  interpreter. 
Under  their  charge  were  several  chiefs  of  the  Osages  and 
Pawnees,  who,  with  a  number  of  women  and  children,  had 
been  to  Washington  city.  These  Indians  had  been  redeemed 
from  captivity  from  among  the  Pottawatomies.  The  whole 
number  of  Indians  amounted  to  fifty-one. 

The  party  left  Belle  Fontaine,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mis- 
souri, on  the  15th  of  July,  1806.  In  the  company  was  Dr. 

*Thia  is  pronounced  Kauzau,  and  by  abbreviation,  Kaw  nation. 


568  Lieut.  Pike's  Exploration  in  the  West.  1806. 

John  H.  Robinson,  a  volunteer,  and  a  gentleman  of  scientific 
attainments  ;  a  Mr.  Henry,  from  New  Jersey,  also  a  volunteer, 
who  spoke  French,  and  a  little  Spanish,  and  lieutenant  James 
Wilkinson,  son  of  General  Wilkinson.  The  Indians  generally 
walked  on  the  land.  On  the  28th  of  July  they  arrived  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Osage  river,  and  proceeded  up  that  stream,  to 
the  village  of  the  Grand  Osages,  which  they  reached  on  the 
19th  of  August.  Having  provided  horses,  the  party  set  off  by 
land  on  the  1st  of  September  for  the  heads  of  the  Arkansas, 
holding  councils  with  the  various  tribes  of  Indians  through 
which  they  passed.  They  learned  that  troops  from  Mexico 
had  visited  the  Pawnee  villages. 

At  that  period  there  was  an  old  trace,  known  as  the  "Span- 
ish trace,"  made  in  1720,  by  a  party  who  left  Santa  Fe,  to  ex- 
terminate the  Missouries. 

Lieutenant  Pike  and  his  party,  after  much  search,  could  not 
find  this  trace,  but  reached  the  Arkansas  on  the  18th  of  Octo- 
ber. They  found  the  water  only  twenty  feet  wide  and  six 
inches  deep,  though  from  bank  to  bank  was  two  hundred  and 
fifty  yards.  Here  lieutenant  Wilkinson  constructed  canoes 
with  pieces  of  wood  and  buffaloe  hides,  and  with  three  sol- 
diers and  an  Osage,  descended  the  river  to  the  Mississippi, 
and  from  thence  to  New  Orleans. 

Lieutenant  Pike  and  his  party  proceeded  onward  up  the 
Arkansas  until  they  got  entangled  in  the  range  of  mountains 
and  in  the  depth  of  a  severe  winter.  Here  they  wandered, 
half  frozen  and  half  starved,  until  the  first  week  in  February, 
when,  getting  into  a  grove  of  timber  in  a  sheltered  spot,  they 
proceeded  to  erect  a  stockade  as  a  protection  from  the  In- 
dians. 

Dr.  Robinson  having  received  claims  against  a  certain  per- 
son in  Mexico,  parted  from  the  expedition  and  attempted  to 
find  his  way  alone  to  Santa  Fe.  This  claim  of  the  Doctor 
was  merely  a  ruse  to  gain  information  of  the  country  and  the 
intentions  of  the  Mexican  Spaniards.  The  claim  was  this. 
In  the  year  1804,  William  Morrison,  Esq.,  an  enterprising 
merchant  of  Kaskaskia,  sent  Baptiste  La  Lande,  a  Creole,  up 
the  Missouri  and  Platte  rivers,  and  directed  him,  if  possible, 
to  push  into  Santa  Fe.  He  sent  in  some  Indians,  and  the 
Spaniards  came  out  with  horses  and  carried  him  and  his 


1806.  Expedition  to  the  Head  of  the  Arkansas.  569 

goods  into  the  province.  Finding  he  could  sell  his  goods  at 
a  high  price,  and  having  land  and  a  wife  offered  him,  he  con- 
cluded to  expatriate  himself  and  convert  the  property  of  Mr. 
Morrison  to  his  own  benefit.  Mr.  M.,  supposing  Lieutenant 
Pike  might  meet  with  some  Spanish  factor  on  his  route,  en- 
trusted him  with  his  claim,  with  orders  to  collect  it.  Pike 
made  this  claim  a  pretext  for  the  visit  of  Dr.  Robinson  to 
Santa  Fe,  while  the  real  object  was  to  gain  knowledge  of  the 
country  and  people.* 

On  the  16th  of  February,  Lieutenant  Pike,  while  out  on  a 
hunting  excursion  with  one  man,  was  discovered  by  a  Spanish 
dragoon  and  a  Mexican  Indian,  who  were  sent  out  as  spies. 
After  a  friendly  interview  they  left,  and  by  the  26th  instant 
returned  with  one  hundred  officers  and  soldiers,  who  took  the 
party  prisoners.  Unfortunately,  being  ignorant  of  the  geo- 
graphy of  the  country,  and  having  no  guide,  Lieutenant  Pike 
was  on  the  Rio  del  Norte  instead  of  the  Red  river,  as  he  sup- 
posed. He  was  in  Mexico  instead  of  the  United  States. 

After  undergoing  an  examination  before  the  Governor  of 
Santa  Fe,  whose  name  was  Allencaster,  Lieut.  Pike  with  his 
comrades  were  allowed  to  retain  their  arms,  but  were  marched 
through  Albuquerque,  St.  Fernandez,  El  Paso,  to  Chihauhua, 
where  he  underwent  another  examination  before  Governor 
Salcedo.  After  various  embarrassments,  accompanied  by  Dr. 
Robinson,  he  had  leave  to  depart,  byvMonclova  to  San  Anto- 
nio in  Texas. 

The  party  commenced  the  march  on  the  last  of  April  and 
reached  San  Antonio,  in  Texas,  where  they  arrived  on  the  7th 
of  June.  Here  they  tarried  one  week,  and  proceeding  through 
Texas  reached  Nachitoches  on  the  first  day  of  July,  1807. 

This  expedition,  unfortunate  as  it  was  to  Lieutenant  Pike, 
brought  to  the  knowledge  of  the  United  States,  the  plains  of  the 
Arkansas,  and  the  Mexican  region,  a  large  part  of  which  now 
belongs  to  the  United^,  States. 

During  the  year  1808,  Tecumthe  and  the  Prophet  continued 
quietly  to  extend  their  influence,  professing  no  other  end  than 
a  reformation  of  the  Indians.  Before  the  month  of  June  they 
had  removed  from  Greenville  to  the  banks  of  the  Tippecanoe, 

*  Pike's  Expedition,  p.  195.    Note. 

36 


570  Pike's  Expedition  to  New  Mexico.  1807. 

a  tributary  of  the  Upper  Wabash,  where  a  tract  of  land  had 
been  granted  them  by  the  Pottawatomies  and  Kickapoos. 
In  July  the  Prophet  sent  to  General  Harrison  a  messenger 
begging  him  not  to  believe  the  tales  told  by  his  enemies,  and 
promising  a  visit:  in  August,  accordingly,  he  spent  two  weeks 
at  Vincennes,  and  by  his  words  and  promises  led  the  Governor 
to  change  very  much  his  previous  opinion,  and  to  think  his 
influence  might  be  beneficial  rather  than  mischievous.* 

[To  explain  more  fully  the  designs  of  this  Chieftain,  we 
quote  from  Brown's  History  of  Illinois.] 

Tecumthe  entered  upon  the  great  work  he  had  long  con- 
templated, in  the  year  1805  or  1806.  He  was  then  about 
thirty-eight  years  of  age.  To  unite  the  several  Indian  tribes, 
many  of  which  were  hostile  to,  and  had  often  been  at  war 
with  each  other,  in  this  great  and  important  undertaking,  pre- 
judices were  to  be  overcome,  their  original  manners  and  cus- 
toms to  be  re-established,  the  use  of  ardent  spirits  to  be 
abandoned,  and  all  intercourse  with  the  whites  to  be  suspend- 
ed. The  task  was  herculean  in  its  character,  and  beset  with 
difficulties  on  every  side.  Here  was  a  field  for  the  display  of 
the  highest  moral  and  intellectual  powers.  He  had  already 
gained  the  reputation  of  a  brave  and  sagacious  warrior,  and 
a  cool-headed,  upright,  wise,  and  efficient  counsellor.  He 
was  neither  a  war  nor  a  peace  chief,  and  yet  he  wielded  the 
power  and  influence  of  both.  The  time  having  now  arrived 
for  action,  and  knowing  full  well,  that  to  win  savage  atten- 
tion, some  bold  and  striking  movement  was  necessary,  he 
imparted  his  plan  to  his  brother,  the  Prophet,  who  adroitly 
and  without  a  moment's  delay,  prepared  himself  for  the  part 
he  was  appointed  to  play  in  this  great  drama  of  savage  life. 
Tecumthe  well  knew  that  excessive  superstition  was  every- 
where a  prominent  trait  in  the  Indian  character ;  and  there- 
fore, with  the  skill  of  another  Cromwell,  brought  superstition 
to  his  aid. 

Suddenly,  his  brother  began  to  dream  dreams,  and  see 
•visions;  he  became  afterward  an  inspired  prophet,  favored 
with  a  divine  commission  from  the  Great  Spirit— the  power  of 
life  and  death  was  placed  in  his  hands — he  was  appointed 
agent  for  preserving  the  property  and  lands  of  the  Indians, 
and  for  restoring  them  to  their  original  happy  condition.  He 
thereupon  commenced  his  sacred  work.  The  public  mind 
was  aroused,  unbelief  gradually  gave  way ;  credulity  and 
wild  fanaticism  began  to  spread  its  circles,  widening  and 
deepening,  until  the  fame  of  the  prophet  and  the  divine  char- 

*  Dawson,  106. 


1807.  Troubles  with  Great  Britain.  571 

acter  of  his  mission  had  reached  the  frozen  shores  of  the  lakes, 
and  overran  the  broad  planes  which  stretched  far  beyond  "the 
great  Father  of  Waters."  Pilgrims  from  remote  tribes,  sought 
with  fear  and  trembling  the  head-quarters  of  the  prophet  and 
the  sage.  Proselytes  were  multiplied,  and  his  followers  in- 
creased beyond  all  former  example.  Even  Tecumthe  became 
a  believer,  and  seizing  upon  the  golden  opportunity,  he  min- 
gled with  the  pilgrims,  won  them  by  his  address,  and  on  their 
return  sent  a  knowledge  of  his  plan  of  concert  and  union  to 
the  most  distant  tribes. 

The  bodily  and  mental  labors  of  Tecumthe  next  commenced. 
His  life  became  one  of  ceaseless  activity.  He  travelled,  he 
argued,  he  commanded.  His  persuasive  voice  was  one  day 
listened  to  by  the  Wyandots,  on  the  plains  of  Sandusky ;  on 
the  next,  his  commands  were  issued  on  the  banks  of  the  Wa- 
bash.  He  was  anon  seen  paddling  his  canoe  across  the  Mis- 
sissippi, then  boldly  confronting  the  Governor  of  Indiana,  in 
the  council-house  at  Vincennes.  Now  carrying  his  banner  of 
union  among  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees  of  the  South,  and 
from  thence  to  the  cold  and  inhospitable  regions  of  the  north, 
neither  intoxicated  by  success,  nor  discouraged  by  failure. 

The  year  1808,  made  a  change  in  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States,  though  not  in  political  measures.  Mr.  Jeffer- 
son, who  had  administered  the  affairs  of  the  country  with 
pre-eminent  success  through  two  terms,  and  who  was  gene- 
rally popular  throughout  the  west,  retired  to  private  life,  and 
Mr.  Madison  became  his  successor  in  March,  1809. 

In  order  that  the  general  reader  may  have  a  full  under- 
standing of  the  series  of  events  that  led  to  the  war  with  Great 
Britain,  (the  subject  of  our  next  chapter)  we  give  the  follow- 
ing preliminary  facts. 

England  and  France,  and  indeed  most  of  the  European 
governments,  had  been  in  a  state  of  hostility  for  some  years. 
Napoleon  had  introduced  and  carried  into  effect  what  has 
been  called  the  "  Continental  System."  This  was  designed  to 
exclude  England  from  all  intercourse  with  the  continent  of 
Europe.  All  importation  of  English  manufactures  and  pro- 
duce was  prohibited.  This  system  involved  the  rights  of  neu- 
tral powers,  and  both  England  and  France  commenced  de- 
predations on  the  commerce  of  the  United  States. 

In  November,  1806,  Napoleon  issued  the  famous  decree  of 
Berlin,  by  which  the  British  Islands  were  declared  to  be  in  a 
state  of  blockade.  Immediately  England  directed  reprisals 


572  Troubles  with   Great  Britain.  1808. 

against  the  Berlin  decree,  and  issued  her  "  Orders  in  Council" 
in  1807.  Every  neutral  vessel  with  its  cargo  was  confiscated 
which  violated  these  orders.  England  also  claimed  the  right 
to  search  all  neutral  vessels,  in  order  to  execute  the  orders  in 
Council.  With  this  odious  practice  was  connected  the  "  right 
of  search"  on  neutral  vessels,  for  British  seamen,  and  alj 
were  claimed  as  such,  who  could  not  show  official  papers  of 
their  birth,  and  regular  shipment  under  a  neutral  government. 
Hundreds  of  naturalized  citizens  and  even  native  born  Amer- 
icans were  thus  taken  under  our  flag  and  impressed  on  board 
of  British  ships  of  war.  These  "  orders"  were  followed  on 
the  part  of  France  by  the  decree  of  Milan,  December,  1807, 
and  a  more  aggravated  one  of  the  Tuilleries,  in  January, 
1808. 

These  decrees  denationalized  and  confiscated  every  neu- 
tral vessel,  which  had  been  searched  by  an  English  ship. 
These  difficulties  with  England  were  greatly  increased  by  the 
wanton  attack  on  the  frigate  Chesapeake  in  the  waters  of 
the  United  States.  This  produced  a  call  upon  the  militia  of 
the  United  States. 

The  Imperial  decrees  of  France,  and  the  aggressions  of 
Great  Britain,  induced  Congress,  by  recommendation  of  the 
President,  to  lay  an  embargo  prohibiting  the  exportation  of 
all  articles  from  the  United  States,  in  December,  1807.  This 
measure  met  with  so  much  opposition  that  it  was  repealed  in 
1809,  and  at  the  same  time  all  trade  and  intercourse  with 
France  and  England  was  prohibited  by  an  act  of  Congress.* 

During  the  same  period,  British  officers  and  traders  were 
encouraging  the  Indians  to  contend  for  their  rights,  by  instill- 
ing into  their  minds  the  notion  that  they  had  sovereignty  over 
all  the  country  not  ceded  by  the  treaty  of  Greenville.  These 
lessons  were  relished  by  Tecumthe  and  his  brother,  the 
Prophet.  In  reference  to  the  hostilities  of  1811,  but  which 
had  existed  in  feelings  and  plans  at  an  early  period,  Mr.  Lan- 
rnan-j-  says : — 

"  The  basis  of  these  hostilities  was  the  fact  that  Elshwata- 
wa  the  Prophet,  who  pretended  to  certain  supernatural  pow- 
ers, had  formed  a  league  with  Tecumthe,  to  stir  up  the  jeal- 

*  See  Encyclopaedia  Americana,  articles,  "Continental  System,"  vol.  iii.  499;  and  "Uni- 
ted States'  History,"  vol.  xii.  419.    Butler's  Kentucky,  327. 
t  History  of  Michigan,  184. 


1808.  Remarks  of  Mr.  Lanman.  573 

ousy  of  the  Indians  against  the  United  States.  It  seems  that 
this  was  an  act  of  pre-concert  on  the  part  of  these  brothers,  in 
order  to  produce  a  general  confederacy  of  Indians  against  the 
United  States.  Mutual  complaints  were  urged  on  both  sides. 
It  was  maintained  by  Governor  Harrison  that  the  Indians  had 
endeavored  to  excite  insurrection  against  the  Americans,  had 
depredated  upon  their  property,  and  murdered  their  citizens; 
and  that  they  were,  moreover,  in  league  with  the  British.  He 
ordered  them,  therefore,  to  return  to  their  respective  tribes, 
and  to  yield  up  the  property  which  they  had  stolen,  and  also 
the  murderers.  Tecumthe,  in  answer,  denied  the  league.  He 
alleged  that  his  only  design,  and  that  of  his  brother,  was  to 
strengthen  the  amity  between  the  different  tribes  of  Indians, 
and  to  improve  their  moral  condition.  In  answer  to  Gover- 
nor Harrison's  demand  for  the  murderers  of  the  whites  who 
had  taken  refuge  among  their  tribes,  he  denied  that  they  were 
there  ;  and  secondly,  that  if  they  were  there,  it  was  not  right 
to  punish  them,  and  that  they  ought  to  be  forgiven,  as  he  had 
forgiven  those  who  had  murdered  his  people  in  Illinois.  The 
Indians,  comprised  of  seceders  from  the  various  tribes,  were 
incited  by  the  conviction  that  their  domain  was  encroached 
upon  by  the  Americans ;  that  they  were  themselves  superior 
to  the  white  men  ;  and  that  the  Great  Spirit  had  directed  them 
to  make  one  mighty  struggle  in  throwing  off  the  dominion  of 
the  United  States.  British  influence,  which  had  before  exerted 
its  agency  in  the  previous  Indian  war,  was  active  on  the  Amer- 
ican side  of  the  Detroit  River ;  and  it  must  be  admitted  that  it 
had  strong  ground  of  action.  An  ardent  correspondence  had 
for  some  lime  existed  regarding  the  conduct  of  the  savages, 
and  powerful  efforts  were  made  to  dissuade  them  from  ad- 
vancing in  their  projects.  In  a  speech  which  was  sent  to 
Tecumthe  and  his  brother,  complaining  of  injuries  which  had 
been  committed  by  the  Indians,  and  demanding  redress,  Gov. 
Harrison,  who  then  resided  at  Vincennes,  remarks,  "  Broth- 
ers, I  am  myself  of  the  Long  Knife  fire  ;  as  soon  as  they  hear 
my  voice,  you  will  see  them  pouring  forth  their  swarms  of 
"  hunting-shirt  men,"  as  numerous  as  the  musquitoes  on  the 
shores  of  the  Wabash.  Brothers,  take  care  of  their  stings." 

On  the  25th  of  November,  Governor  Hull  met  at  Browns- 
town  the  Chippeways,  Ottowas,  Pottawatomies,  Wyandots, 
and  Shawanese,  and  obtained  from  them  a  grant  of  a  strip  of 
land  connecting  the  Maumee  with  the  Western  Reserve,  and 
another  strip  connecting  Lower  Sandusky  with  the  country 
south  of  the  line  agreed  upon  in  1795.  These  strips  were  to 
be  used  for  roads.* 

[The  white  settlements  in  Upper  Louisiana,  in  the  begin- 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  727. 


574  Organization  of  Illinois  Territory.  1809. 

ning  of  1808,  had  not  extended  much  beyond  the  boundaries 
claimed  by  the  Spanish  authorities  in  virtue  of  former  trea- 
ties with  native  tribes. 

On  the  10th  of  November  of  that  year,  a  grand  council  of 
the  nation  of  Osages  was  held  at  Fort  Clark,  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  Missouri  river,  where  a  treaty  was  made  in  which 
the  Osages  relinquish  their  claims  to  all  their  lands  between 
the  Missouri  and  Arkansas  rivers,  as  far  west  as  a  line  drawn 
from  Fort  Clark  due  South  to  the  Arkansas.  This  treaty  threw 
open  the  territory  to  settlements  to  this  boundary. 

From  1804  to  1809,  there  was  considerable  emigration  to 
the  territory,  especially  into  the  counties  of  Cape  Girardeau, 
Ste.  Genevieve,  St.  Louis,and  St.  Charles.  Even  as  early  as 
1794,  a  German  Colony  was  commenced  in  the  interior  of  this 
county.  Their  descendants  are  among  some  of  the  first  class 
of  farmers  in  Missouri.] 

Throughout  the  year  1809,  we  find  Tecumthe  and  his  broth- 
er strengthening  themselves  both  openly  and  secretly.  Gov- 
ernor Harrison,  however,  had  been  once  more  led  to  suspect 
their  ultimate  designs,  and  was  preparing  to  meet  an  emer- 
gency whenever  it  might  arise.  The  probability  of  its  being 
at  hand  was  very  greatly  increased  by  the  news  received  from 
the  Upper  Mississippi  of  hostile  movements  there  among  the 
savages.  In  reference  to  these  movements  and  the  position 
of  the  Shawanese  brothers,  Governor  Harrison  wrote  to  the 
Secretary  of  War  on  the  5th  of  July  as  follows : 

The  Shawanese  prophet  and  about  40  followers  arrived 
here  about  a  week  ago.  He  denies  most  strenuously  any  par- 
ticipation in  the  late  combination  to  attack  our  settlements, 
which  he  says  was  entirely  confined  to  the  tribes  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  Illinois  rivers;  and  he  claims  the  merit  of  having 
prevailed  upon  them  to  relinquish  their  intentions- 

I  must  confess  that  my  suspicions  of  his  guilt  have  been 
rather  strengthened  than  diminished  at  every  interview  I  have 
had  with  him  since  his  arrival.  He  acknowledged  that  he  re- 
ceived an  invitation  to  war  against  us,  from  the  British,  last 
fall,  and  that  he  was  apprised  of  the  intention  of  the  Sacs, 
Foxes,  &c.,  early  in  the  spring,  and  warmly  solicited  to  join 
in  their  league.  But  he  could  give  no  satisfactory  explana- 
tion of  his  neglecting  to  communicate  to  me  circumstances  so 
extremely  interesting  to  us,  and  towards  which,  I  had  a  few 
months  before  directed  his  attention,  and  received  a  solemn 


1809.  Organization  of  Illinois  Territory.  575 

assurance  of  his  cheerful  compliance  with  the  injunctions  I 
had  impressed  upon  him. 

The  result  of  all  my  inquiries  on  the  subject,  is,  that  the 
late  combination  was  produced  by  British  intrigue  and  influ- 
ence, in  anticipation  of  war  between  them  and  the  United 
States.  It  was,  however,  premature  and  ill-judged,  and  the 
event  sufficiently  manifests  a  great  decline  in  their  influence, 
or  in  the  talents  and  address,  with  which  they  have  been  ac- 
customed to  manage  their  Indian  relations. 

The  warlike  and  well  armed  tribes  of  the  Pottawatomies, 
Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Delawares  and  Miamis,  I  believe  neither 
had,  nor  would  have  joined  in  the  combination  ;  and  although 
the  Kickapoos,  whose  warriors  are  better  than  those  of  any 
other  tribe,  the  remnant  of  the  Wyandot  excepted,  are  much 
under  the  influence  of  the  prophet,  I  am  persuaded  that  they 
were  never  made  acquainted  with  their  intentions,  if  these 
were  really  hostile  to  the  United  States.* 

In  this  same  letter  the  Governor,  at  the  request  of  the  Se- 
cretary, Dr.  Eustis,  gives  his  views  of  the  defence  of  the  fron- 
tiers, in  which  portion  of  his  epistle  many  valuable  hints  are 
given  in  relation  to  the  course  proper  to  be  pursued  in  case  of 
a  war  with  England. 

In  September,  October  and  December,  the  Governor  of  In- 
diana succeeded  in  extinguishing  the  claims  of  the  Delawares, 
Pottawatomies,  Miamies,  Eel  river  Indians,  Weas,  and  Kicka- 
poos, to  certain  lands  upon  the  Wabash  which  had  not  yet 
been  purchased,  and  which  were  believed  to  contain  copper 
ore  f 

The  treaties  with  the  Delawares,  Pottawatomies,  Miamies, 
and  Eel  river  Indians,  were  made  at  Fort  Wayne ;  the  others 
at  Vincennes ;  they  were  protested  against  by  Tecumthe  in 
the  following  year. 

On  the  17th  of  February  the  Legislature  of  Ohio  passed 
the  charter  of  the  Miami  University.  With  regard  to  this  in- 
stitution, a  question  at  once  arose,  whether  it  should  be  with- 
in Symmes'  Purchase,  as  it  had  been  originally  intended  it 
should  be,  and  as  the  charter  required ;  or  placed  upon  the 
lands  with  which  it  was  endowed, — which  lands  it  had  been 
found  necessary  to  select  out  of  the  Purchase,  as  has  been  al- 
ready related.  The  Legislature  decided  that  the  University 


*Dawson,  130. 

•(•American  State  Papers,  v.  760,  to  763.    Dawsen,  135  to  137. 


576  Organization  of  Illinois   Territory.  1809. 

should  be  upon  the  lands  which  had  been  appropriated  to  its 
support  in  the  township  of  Oxford,  and  there  accordingly  it 
was  placed.  J 

[One  of  the  events  of  1809,  which  claims  special  notice, 
was  the  organization  of  the  Territory  of  Illinois. 

The  people  of  Illinois,  as  has  happened  to  others  more  re- 
cently, at  several  periods  were  left  without  a  regularly  consti- 
tuted government.  Originally  it  was  a  portion  of  ancient 
Louisiana,  under  the  French  monarchy.  By  the  treaty  of 
France  with  Great  Britain  in  1763,  all  Canada,  including  the 
Illinois  country,  was  ceded  to  the  latter  power. 

But  British  authority  and  laws  did  not  reach  Illinois  until 
1765,  when  Captain  Sterling,  in  the  name,  and  by  the  author- 
ity of  the  British  crown,  established  the  provisional  govern- 
ment at  Fort  Chartres. 

In  1766,  the  "  Quebec  Bill,"  as  it  was  called,  passed  the  Bri- 
tish Parliament,  which  placed  Illinois  and  the  North-western 
territory  under  the  local  administration  of  Canada. 

The  conquest  of  the  country  by  General  Clark  in  1778* 
brought  it  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Virginia,  and  in  the  month 
of  October  the  Legislature  of  that  State  organized  the  county 
of  Illinois. 

The  cession  of  the  country  to  the  Continental  Congress  was 
made  in  1784,  and  the  ordinance  to  organize  the  North-west- 
ern Territory,  which  provided  for  aTerritorial  Government, 
was  not  passed  until  1787,  and  the  Governor  and  Judges  who 
exercised,  in  one  body,  Legislative  and  Judicial  authority,  did 
not  go  into  operation  until  July,  1788.  Still  the  Illinois  coun- 
try remained  without  any  organized  government  till  March, 
1790,  when  Governor  St.  Clair  organized  the  county  that 
bears  his  name.  Hence,  for  more  than  six  years  at  one  pe- 
riod, and  for  a  shorter  time  at  other  periods,  there  was  no 
Executive,  Legislative,  and  Judicial  authority  in  the  country. 
The  people  were  a  "  law  unto  themselves,"  and  good  feel- 
ings, harmony  and  fidelity  to  engagements  predominated. 

From  1800  they  had  been  a  part  of  the  territory  of  Indi- 
ana. In  all  the  territories  at  that  period,  there  were  two  grades 
of  Territorial  Government.  The  first  was  that  of  Governor 
and  Judges.  These  constituted  the  law-making  power.  Such 

J  Burnett's  Letters,  155, 156. — American  Pioneer,  i.  269. 


1809  Organization  of  Illinois  Territory.  577 

was  the  organization  of  Illinois  in  18C9.  The  next  grade  wa 
a  Territorial  Legislature;  the  people  electing  the  House  of 
Representatives,  and  the  President  and  Senate  appointing  the 
Council. 

By  an  act  of  Congress  of  February  3d,  1809,  all  that  part  of 
Indiana  Territory  which  lies  west  of  the  Wabash  river,  and'a 
direct  line  drawn  from  that  river  and  Post  Vincennes,  due 
north,  to  the  territorial  line  between  the  United  States 
and  Canada,  was  constituted  into  a  separate  Territory,  by  the 
name  of  Illinois ;  and  the  first  grade  of  Territorial  Govern- 
ment was  .established. 

Hon.  Ninian  Edwards,  then  Chief  Justice  of  Kentucky, 
was  appointed  Governor,  and  Nathaniel  Pope,  Esq.,  then  a 
resident  of  Kaskaskia,  Secretary  of  the  Territory. 

Early  in  March,  as  the  acting  Governor,  Judge  Pope  organ- 
ized the  Territory.  Governor  Edwards  arrived  from  Ken- 
tucky and  entered  the  Executive  department  in  the  month  of 
June.  As  we  have  much  to  bring  up  in  the  Annals  of  Illinois, 
we  shall  defer  details  for  the  Appendix. 

The  hostile  intentions  of  Tecumthe  and  his  followers  to- 
wards the  United  States,  were  placed  beyond  a  doubt  in  1810. 
The  exciting  causes  were — the  purchase  at  Fort  Wayne  in 
1809,  which  the  Shawanese  denounced  as  illegal  and  unjust; 
and  British  influence.  And  here,  as  in  1790  to  1795,  it  is  al- 
most impossible  to  learn  what  really  was  the  amount  of 
British  influence,  and  whence  it  proceeded;  whether  from  the 
agents  merely,  or  from  higher  authority.  On  the  one  hand 
\ve  have  many  assertions  like  the  following:  — 

Fort  Wayne,  August  7,  1818. 

Since  writing  you  on  the  25th  ultimo,  about  one  hundred 
men   of  the   Saukies  have  returned  from  the  British  agent, 
who  supplied  them  liberally  with  every  thing  they  stood  in        \ 
want  of.     The  party  received  47  rifles,  and  a  number  of  fusils,      /  \__ 
with  plenty  of  powder  and  lead.     This  is  sending  firebrands 
into  the  Mississippi  country,  inasmuch  as  it  will  draw  num- 
bers of  our  Indians  to  the  British  side,  in  the  hope  of  being 
treated  with  the  same  liberality. 

JOHN  JOHNSTON,  Indian  Agent. 

Vincennes,  September,  17,  1811. 

states  that  almost  every  Indian  from  the  country 

above  this  had  been,  or  were  then  gone  to  Maiden,  on  a  visit 


578  Assistance  given  the  Indians  by  England.         1810. 

to  the  British  agent.  We  shall  probably  gain  our  destined 
point  at  the  moment  of  their  return.  If,  then,  the  British 
agents  are  really  endeavoring  to  instigate  the  Indians  to 
make  war  upon  us,  we  shall  be  in  their  neighborhood  at  the 
very  moment  when  the  impressions  which  have  been  made 
against  us  are  most  active  in  the  minds  of  the  savages. 

succeeded  in  getting  the  chiefs  together  at  Fort 

Wayne,  though  he  found  them  all  preparing  to  go  to  Maiden. 
The  result  of  the  council  discovered  that  the  whole  tribes  (in- 
cluding the  Weas  and  Eel  rivers,  for  they  are  all  Miamies,) 
were  about  equally  divided  in  favor  of  the  Prophet  and  the 
United  States.  Lapousier,  the  Wea  chief,  whom  I  before 
mentioned  to  you  as  being  seduced  by  the  Prophet,  was  re- 
peatedly asked  by  what  land  it  was  that  he  was  de- 
termined to  defend  with  his  blood  ;  whether  it  was  that  which 
was  ceded  by  the  late  treaty  or  not,  but  he  would  give  no  an- 
swer] 

reports  that  all  the  Indians  of  the  Wabash  have 

been,  or  now  are,  on  a  visit  to  the  British  agents  at  Maiden. 
He  had  never  known  one-fourth  as  many  goods  given  to  the 
Indians,  as  they  are  now  distributing.  He  examined  the  share 
of  one  man  (not  a  chief,)  and  found  that  he  had  received  an 
elegant  rifle,  25  pounds  of  powder,  50  pounds  of  lead,  3 
blankets,  3  strouds  of  cloth,  10  shirts  and  several  other  articles. 
He  says  every  Indian  is  furnished  with  a  gun  (either  rifle 
or  fusil)  and  an  abundance  of  ammunition.  A  trader  of 
this  country  was  lately  in  the  King's  stores  at  Maiden, 
and  was  told  that  the  quantity  of  goods  for  the  Indian 
department,  which  had  been  sent  out  this  year,  exceeded  that 
of  common  years  by  20,000  pounds  sterling.  It  is  impossible 
to  ascribe  this  profusion  to  any  other  motive  than  that  of  in- 
stigating the  Indians  to  take  up  the  tomahawk.  It  cannot  be 
to  secure  their  trade  ;  for  all  the  peltry  collected  on  the  wa- 
ters of  the  Wabash  in  one  year,  if  sold  in  the  London  market, 
would  not  pay  the  freight  of  the  goods  which  have  been  given 
to  the  Indians.* 

On  the  other  hand  we  know  that  Sir  James  Craig,  the  Gov- 
ernor of  Canada,  wrote  on  the  25th  of  November,  1810,  to 
Mr.  Morier,  the  British  Minister  at  Washington,  authorizing 
him  to  inform  the  United  States  Government  that  the  north- 
ern savages  were  meditating  hostilities  :f  \ve  know  also  that 
in  the  following  March,  Sir  James  wrote  to  Lord  Liverpool 
in  relation  to  the  Indians,  and  spoke  of  the  information  he 
had  given  the  Americans,  and  that  his  conduct  was  approv- 

*  American  State  Papers,  v.  799,  801  to  804. 

t  American  State  Papers,  iii.  453. — Gaston  in  Congress;  quoted  by  Dawson,  175. 


1810.          Assistance  given  the  Indians  by  England.  579 

ed  ;*  we  have  farther  the  repeated  denial  by  the  English  Min- 
ister at  Washington,  of  any  influence  having  been  exerted  over 
the  frontier  tribes  adverse  to  the  States,  by  the  authority,  or 
with  the  knowledge  of  the  English  Ministry  or  the  Governor  of 
Canada. f  These  things,  we  think,  must  lead  us  to  acquit  the 
rulers  of  Great  Britain,  but  they  do  not  show  who,  npr  how 
high  in  authority  the  functionaries  were  who  tried,  as  Tecum- 
the  told  Harrison,  to  set  the  red  men,  as  dogs,  upon  the  whites 
But,  however  we  may  think  the  evil  influence  originated, 
certain  it  is  that  the  determination  was  taken  by  "  the  succes- 
sor of  Pontiac,"  to  unite  all  the  western  tribes  in  hostility  to 
the  United  States,  in  case  that  power  would  not  give  up  the 
lands  bought  at  Fort  Wayne,  and  undertake  to  recognize  the 
principle,  that  no  purchases  should  be  thereafter  made  unless 
from  a  Council  representing  all  the  tribes  united  as  one  na- 
tion. By  various  acts  the  feelings  of  Tecumthe  became  more 
and  more  evident,  but  in  August,  he  having  visited  Vincennes 
to  see  the  Governor,  a  Council  was  held  at  which,  and  at 
a  subsequent  interview,  the  real  position  of  affairs  was  clear- 
ly ascertained — of  that  Council  we  give  the  account  contain- 
ed in  Mr.  Drake's  life  of  the  Great  Chieftain. 

Governor  Harrison  had  made  arrangements  for  holding  the 
Council  on  the  portico  of  his  own  house,  which  had  been 
fitted  up  with  seats  for  the  occasion.  Here,  on  the  morning 
of  the  fifteenth,  he  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  chief,  being  at- 
tended by  the  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  some  officers  of 
the  army,  a  sergeant  and  twelve  men,  from  Fort  Knox,  and  a 
large  number  of  citizens.  At  the  appointed  hour  Tecumthe, 
supported  by  forty  of  his  principal  warriors,  made  his  ap- 
pearance, the  remainder  of  his  followers  being  encamped  in 
the  village  and  its  environs.  When  the  chief  had  approach- 
ed within  thirty  or  forty  yards  of  the  house,  he  suddenly  stop- 
ped, as  if  awaiting  some  advances  from  the  Governor.  An 
interpreter  was  sent  requesting  him  and  his  followers  to  take 
seats  on  the  portico.  To  this  Tecumthe  objected — he  did  not 
think  the  place  a  suitable  one  for  holding  the  conference,  but 
preferred  that  it  should  take  place  in  a  grove  of  trees — to 
which  he  pointed — standing  a  short  distance  from  the  house. 
The  Governor  said  he  had  no  objection  to  the  grove,  except 
that  there  were  no  seats  in  it  for  their  accommodation.  Te- 
cumthe replied,  that  constituted  no  objection  to  the  grove,  the 
earth  being  the  most  suitable  place  for  the  Indians,  who  lov- 

*  American  State  Papers,  ii..  462. 
fAmerican  State  Papers,  453,  iii.  453,  462. 


580  Tecumthe  meets  Harrison  in   Council,  1810. 

ed  to  repose  upon  the  bosom  of  their  mother.  The  governor 
yielded  the  point,  and  the  benches  and  chairs  having  been 
removed  to  the  spot,  the  conference  was  begun,  the  Indians 
being  seated  on  the  grass. 

Tecumthe  opened  the  meeting  by  stating,  at  length,  his  ob- 
jections to  the  treaty  of  Fort  Wayne,  made  by  Governor  Har- 
rison in  the  previous  year ;  and  in  the  course  of  his  speech, 
boldly  avowed  the  principle  of  his  party  to  be,  that  of  resis- 
tance to  every  cession  of  land,  unless  made  by  all  the  tribes, 
who,  he  contended,  formed  but  one  nation.  He  admitted 
that  he  had  threatened  to  kill  the  chiefs  who  signed  the 
treaty  of  Fort  Wayne ;  and  that  it  was  his  fixed  determina- 
tion not  to  permit  the  village  chiefs,  in  future,  to  manage  their 
affairs,  but  to  place  the  power  with  which  they  had/been 
heretofore  invested,  in  the  hands  of  the  war  chiefs.  I  The 
Americans,  he  said,  had  driven  the  Indians  from  the  sea  coast, 
and  would  soon  push  them  into  the  lakes;  and,  while  he  dis- 
claimed all  intention  of  making  war  upon  the  United  States, 
he  declared  it  to  be  his  unalterable  resolution  to  take  a  stand, 
and  resolutely  oppose  the  further  intrusion  of  the  whites  upon 
the  Indian  lands.  He  concluded,  by  making  a  brief  but  im- 
passioned recital  of  the  various  wrongs  and  aggressions  in- 
flicted by  the  white  men  upon  the  Indians,  from  the  commence- 
ment of  the  revolutionary  war  down  to  the  period  of  that 
Council  Jail  of  which  was  calculated  to  arouse  and  inflame 
the  minifs  of  such  of  his  followers  as  were  present,  i 

To  hfm  the  Governor  replied,  and  having  taken  his  seat, 
the  interpreter  commenced  explaining  the  speech  to  Tecum- 
the, who,  after  listening  to  a  portion  of  it,  sprung  to  his  feet 
and  began  to  speak  with  great  vehemence  of  manner. 

The  Governor  was  surprised  at  his  violent  gestures,  but  as 
he  did  not  understand  him,  thought  he  was  making  some  ex- 
planation, and  suffered  his  attention  to  be  drawn  towards 
Winnemac,  a  friendly  Indian  lying  on  the  grass  before  him, 
who  was  renewing  the  priming  of  his  pistol,  which  he  had 
kept  concealed  from  the  other  Indians,  but  in  full  view  of  the 
Governor.  His  attention,  however,  was  again  directed  to- 
wards Tecumthe,  by  hearing  General  Gibson,'  who  was  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  the  Shawanee  language,  say  to  Lieu- 
tenant Jennings,  "those  fellows  intend  mischief;  you  had 
better  bring  up  the  guard."  At  that  moment,  the  followers  of 
Tecumthe  seized  their  tomahawks  and  war  clubs,  and  sprung 
upon  their  feet,  their  eyes  turned  upon  the  Governor.  As 
soon  as  he  could  disengage  himself  from  the  arm  chair  in 
which  he  sat,  he  rose,  drew  a  small  sword  which  he  had  by 
his  side,  and  stood  on  the  defensive.  Captain  G.  R.Floyd,  of 
the  army,  who  stood  near  him,  drew  a  dirk,  and  the  chief 
Winnemac  cocked  his  pistol.  The  citizens  present  were  more 
numerous  than  the  Indians,  but  were  unarmed  ;  some  of  them 


1811.  Building  of  Fort  Harrison.  581 

procured  clubs  and  brick-bats,  and  also  stood  on  the  defen- 
sive. The  Rev.  Mr.  Winans,  of  the  Methodist  church,  ran 
to  the  Governor's  house,  got  a  gun,  and  posted  himself  at 
the  door  to  defend  the  family.  During  this  singular  scene, 
no  one  spoke,  until  the  guard  came  running  up,  and  appear- 
ing to  be  in  the  act  of  firing,  the  Governor  ordered  them  not 
to  do  so.  He  then  demanded  of  the  interpreter,  an  explana- 
tion of  what  had  happened,  who  replied  that  Tecumthe  had 
interrupted  him,  declaring  that  all  the  Governor  had  said 
was  false ;  and  that  he  and  the  Seventeen  Fires  had  cheat- 
ed and  imposed  on  the  Indians. 

The  Governor  then  told  Tecumthe  that  he  was  a  bad  man, 
and  that  he  would  hold  no  further  communication  with  him; 
that  as  he  had  come  to  Vincennes  under  the  protection  of 
a  Council-fire,  he  might  return  in  safety,  but  that  he  must 
immediately  leave  the  village.  Here  the  Council  termina- 
ted. 

The  now  undoubted  purposes  of  the  Brothers  being  of  a 
character  necessarily  leading  to  war,  Governor  Harrison  pro- 
ceeded to  strengthen  himself  for  the  contest  by  preparing 
the  militia,  and  posting  the  regular  troops  that  were  with 
him,  under  Captains  Posey  and  Cross,  at  Vincennes*. 

Messengers  were  sent  out  as  proposed,  and  deputations 
from  the  natives  followed,  promising  peace  and  compliance, 
but  the  Governor,  having  received  his  reinforcements,  com- 
menced his  proposed  progress.  On  the  5th  of  Oct.  he  was 
on  the  Wabash,  sixty  or  sixty-five  miles  above  Vincennes,  at 
which  point  he  built  "Fort  Harrison."  Here  one  of  his  senti- 
nels was  fired  upon,  and  news  were  received  from  the  friendly 
Delawares  which  made  the  hostile  purposes  of  the  Prophet 
plain.  The  Governor  then  determined  to  move  directly  upon 
Tippecanoe,  still  offering  peace,  however.  Upon  the  31st  of 
October  he  was  near  the  mouth  of  the  Vermillion  river,  where 
he  built  a  block-house  for  the  protection  of  his  boats,  and  a 
place  of  deposite  for  his  heavy  baggage  ;  from  that  point  he 
advanced  without  interruption  into  the  immediate  vicinity  of 
the  Prophet's  town,  where  he  was  met  by  ambassadors ;  he 
told  them  he  had  no  hostile  intentions  in  case  the  Indians 
were  true  to  existing  treaties,  and  made  preparations  to 
encamp.f 

In  a  few  moments  the  man  who  had  been  with  me  before 
made  his  appearance.  I  informed  him  that  my  object  for  the 

*  Dawson's  Historical  Narrative,  139,  160,  170, 173.— Drake's  Life  of  Tecumthe,  125. 
|  Dawson,  192,  199,  and  203.    Am  erican  State  Papers,  T.  776. 


582  Battle  of  Tippccanoe.  181 1  . 

present  was  to  procure  a  good  piece  of  ground  to  encamp  on, 
where  we  could  get  wood  and  water ;  he  informed  me  that 
there  was  a  creek  to  the  northwest  which  he  thought  would 
suit  our  purpose.  I  immediately  despatched  two  officers  to 
examine  it,  and  they  reported  that  the  situation  was  excel- 
lent. I  then  took  leave  of  the  chief,  and  a  mutual  promise 
was  again  made  for  a  suspension  of  hostilities  until  we  could 
have  an  interview  on  the  following  day.  I  found  the  ground 
destined  for  the  encampment  not  altogether  such  as  I  could 
wish  it — it  was  indeed  admirably  calculated  for  the  encamp- 
ment of  regular  troops,  that  were  opposed  to  regulars,  but  it 
afforded  great  facility  to  the  approach  of  savages.  It  was  a 
piece  of  dry  oak  land,  rising  about  ten  feet  above  the  level 
of  a  marshy  prairie  in  front  (towards  the  Indian  town)  and 
nearly  twice  that  height  above  a  similar  prairie  in  the  rear, 
through  which  and  near  to  this  bank,  ran  a  small  stream 
clothed  with  willows  and  brushwood.  Towards  the  left  flank 
this  bench  of  high  land  widened  considerably,  but  became 
gradually  narrow  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  at  the  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  right  flank, 
terminated  in  an  abrupt  point.  The  two  columns  of  infan- 
try occupied  the  front  and  rear  of  this  ground,  at  the[distance 
of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  each  other  on  the 
left,  and  something  more  than  half  that  distance  on  the  right 
flank — these  flanks  were  filled  up,  the  first  by  two  companies 
of  mounted  riflemen  amounting  to  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  men,  under  the  command  of  Major-General  Wells,  of 
the  Kentucky  militia,  who  served  as  a  Major;  the  other  by 
Spencer's  company  of  mounted  riflemen,  which  amounted  to 
eighty  men.  The  front  line  was  cmposed  of  one  battalion  of 
United  States'  infantry  under  the  command  of  Major  Floyd, 
flanked  on  the  right  by  two  companies  of  militia,  and  on  the 
left  by  one  company.  The  rear  line  was  composed  of  a  bat- 
tallion  of  United  States'  troops  under  the  command  of  Capt. 
Bean,  acting  as  major,  and  four  companies  of  militia  infantry 
under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Decker.  The  regular  troops  of  this 
line  joined  the  mounted  riflemen  under  General  Wells  on  the 
left  flank,  and  Col.  Decker's  battalion  formed  an  angle  with 
Spencer's  company  on  the  left. 

Two  troops  of  dragoons,  amounting  to,  in  the  aggregate, 
about  sixty  men,  were  encamped  in  the  rear  of  the  left  flank, 
and  Capt.  Parke's  troop,  which  was  larger  than  the  other 
two,  in  the  rear  of  the  front  line.  Our  order  of  encampment 
varied  little  from  that  above  described,  excepting  when  some 
peculiarity  of  the  ground  made  it  necessary.  For  anight  at- 
tack the  order  of  encampment  was  the  order  of  battle,  and 
each  man  slept  immediately  opposite  to  his  post  in  the  line. 
In  the  formation  of  my  troops,  1  used  a  single  rank,  or  what  is 
called  Indian  file— because  in  Indian  warfare  where  there  is  no 


1811.  Battle  of  Tippecanoc.  583 

shock  to  resist,  one  rank  is  nearly  as  good  as  two,  and  in  that 
kind  of  warfare  the  extension  of  line  is  of  the  first  impor- 
tance. Raw  troops  also  manoeuvre  with  much  more  facility 
in  single  than  [in  double  ranks.  It  was  my  constant  custom 
to  assemble  all  the  field  officers  at  my  tent  every  evening  by 
single,  to  give  them  the  watchword  and  their  instructions  for 
the  night — those  given  for  the  night  of  the  6th  were,  that 
each  troop  which  formed  a  part  of  the  exterior  line  of  the 
encampment,  should  hold  its  own  ground  until  relieved.  The 
dragoons  were  ordered  to  parade  in  case  of  a  night  attack, 
with  their  pistols  in  their  belts,  and  to  act  as  a  corps  de  reserve. 
The  camp  was  defended  by  two  captains'  guards,  consisting 
each  of  four  non-commissioned  officers  and  forty-two  privates ; 
and  two  subalterns'  guards  of  twenty  non-commissioned  of- 
ficers and  privates.  The  whole  under  the  command  of  a  field 
officer  of  the  day.  The  troops  were  regularly  called  up  an 
hour  before  day,  and  made  to  continue  under  arms  until  it 
was  quite  light.  On  the  morning  of  the  7th,  I  had  risen  at  a 
quarter  after  four  o'clock,  and  the  signal  for  calling  out  the 
men  would  have  been  given  in  two  minutes,  when  the  attack 
commenced.  It  began  on  our  left  flank — but  a  signal  gun 
was  fired  by  the  sentinels  or  by  the  guard  in  that  direction, 
which  made  not  the  least  resistance,  but  abandoned  their 
officer  and  fled  into  camp,  and  the  first  notice  which  the 
troops  of  that  flank  had  of  the  danger,  was  from  the  yells  of 
the  savages  within  a  short  distance  of  the  line — but  even 
under  those  circumstances  the  men  were  not  wanting  to  them- 
selves or  the  occasion.  Such  of  them  as  were  awake,  or 
were  easily  awakened,  seized  their  arms  and  took  their  sta- 
tions; others  which  were  more  tardy,  had  to  contend  with  the 
enemy  in  the  doors  of  their  tents.  The  storm  first  fell  upon 
Capt.  Barton's  company  of  the  4th  U.  S.  regiment,  and  Capt. 
Geiger's  company  of  mounted  riflemen,  which  formed  the  left 
angle  of  the  rear  line.  The  fire  upon  these  was  exceedingly 
severe,  and  they  suffered  considerably  before  relief  could  be 
brought  to  them.  Some  few  Indians  passed  into  the  encamp- 
ment near  the  angle,  and  one  or  two  penetrated  to  some  dis- 
tance before  they  were  killed.  I  believe  all  the  other  compa- 
nies were  under  arms  and  tolerably  formed  before  they  were 
fired  on.  The  morning  was  dark  and  cloudy;  our  fires  afforded 
a  partial  light,  which,  if  it  gave  us  some  opportunity  of  taking 
our  positions,  was  still  more  advantageous  to  the  enemy,  af- 
fording them  the  means  of  taking  a  surer  aim ;  they  were 
therefore  extinguished.  Under  all  these  discouraging  circum- 
stances, the  troops  (19-20ths  of  whom  never  had  been  in  ac- 
tion before)  behaved  in  a  manner  that  can  never  be  too  much 
applauded.  They  took  their  places  without  noise  and  less 
confusion  than  could  have  been  expected  from  veterans  placed 
in  the  same  situation.  As  soon  as  I  could  mount  my  horse,  I 


584  Battle  of  Tippccanuc.  1811. 

rode  to  the  angle  that  was  attacked — I   found  that  Barton's 
company  had  suffered  severely  and  the  left  ofGeiger's  entire- 
ly broken.     1   immediately  ordered  Cook's  company  and  the 
late  Capt.  Wentworth's,  under  Lieut.  Peters,  to  be  brought  up 
from  the  centre  of  the  rear  line,  where  the  ground  was  much 
more  defensible,  and  formed  across  the  angle  in  support  of 
Barton's  and  Geiger's.    My  attention  was  then  engaged  by  a 
heavy  firing  upon  the  left  of  the  front  line,  where  were  sta- 
tioned the  small   company  of  United  States'  riflemen  (then, 
however,   armed  with  muskets)  and  the  companies  of  Bean, 
Snelling,  and  Prescott  of  the  4th  regiment.     I  found  Major 
Daviess  forming  the  dragoons  in  the  rear  of  those  companies, 
and  understanding  that  the  heaviest  part  of  the  enemy's  fire 
proceeded  from  some  trees  about  fifteen  or  twenty    paces  in 
front  of  those  companies,.  I  directed  the  major  to  dislodge  them 
with  apart  of  the  dragoons.     Unfortunately  the  Major's  gal- 
lantry  determined  him  to  execute  the  order  with  a  smaller 
force  than  was  sufficient,  which  enabled  the  enemy  to  avoid 
him  in  front  and  attack  his  flanks.     The  major  was  mortally 
wounded,  and  his  party  driven  back.   The  Indians  were,  how- 
ever, immediately  and  gallantly  dislodged  from  their  advan- 
tageous position,  by  Capt.  Snelling,  at  the  head  of  his  compa- 
ny.    In  the  course  of  a  few  minutes  after  the  commencement 
of  the  attack,  the  fire  extended  along  the  left  flank,  the  whole 
of  the  front,  the  right  flank,  and  part  of  the  rear  line.     Upon 
Spencer's  mounted  riflemen,  and  the  right  of  Warwick's  com- 
pany, which  was  posted  on  the  right  of  the  rear  line,  it  was 
excessively  severe :    Capt.  Spencer  and  his  first  and  second 
lieutenants,  were  killed,  and  Captain  Warwick  was  mortally 
wounded — those  companies,  however,  still  bravely  maintained 
their  posts,  but  Spencer  had  suffered  so  severely,  and  having 
originally  too  much  ground  to  occupy,  I  reinforced  them  with 
Robb's  company  of  riflemen,  which  had  been  driven,  or  by  mis- 
take ordered  from  their  position  on  the  left  flank,  towards  the 
centre  of  the  camp,  and  filled  the  vacancy  that  had  been  oc- 
cupied by  Robb  with  Prescott's  company  of  the  4th  United 
States'  regiment.     My  great  object  was  to  keep  the  lines  en- 
tire, to  prevent  the  enemy  from  breaking  into  the  camp  until 
daylight,  which  should  enable  me  to  make  a  general  and«-ef- 
fectual  charge.     With  this  view,  I  had  reinforced  every  part 
of  the  line  that  had  suffered  much;  and  as  soon  as  the  ap- 
proach of  morning  discovered  itself,  I  withdrew  from  the  front 
line,  Snelling's,  Posey's  (under  Lieut.  Albright,)  aad  Scott's, 
and  from  the  rear  line,  Wilson's  companies,  and  drew  them  up 
upon  the  left  flank,  and  at  the  same  time,  I  ordered  Cook's 
and  Bean's  companies,  the  former  from  the  rear,  and  the  lat- 
ter from  the   front  line,  to  reinforce  the  right  flank  ;  forseeing 
that  at  these  points  the  enemy  would  make  their  last  efforts. 
Maj.  Wells,  who  commanded  on  the  left  flank,  not  knowing 


1811.  Battle  of  Tippccanoe.  535 

my  intentions  precisely,  had  taken  command  of  these  compa- 
nies, had  charged  the  enemy  before  I  had  formed  the  body  of 
dragoons  with  which  I  meant  to  support  the  infantry  ;  a  small 
detachment  of  these  were,  however,  ready,  and  proved  amply 
sufficient  for  the  purpose.  The  Indians  were  driven  by  the 
infantry,  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  and  the  dragoons  pursued 
and  forced  them  into  a  marsh,  where  they  could  not  be  followed. 
Capt.  Cook  and  Lieut.  Larabee  had,  agreeable  to  my  order, 
marched  their  companies  to  the  right  flank,  had  formed  them 
under  the  fire  of  the  enemy,  and  being  then  joined  by  the 
riflemen  of  that  flank,  had  charged  the  Indians,  killed  a  num- 
ber, and  put  the  rest  to  precipitate  flight.  A  favorable  oppor- 
tunity was  here  offered  to  pursue  the  enemy  with  dragoons, 
but  being  engaged  at  that  time  on  the  other  flank,  I  did  not 
observe  it  till  it  was  too  late. 

I  have  thus,  sir,  given  you  the  particulars  of  an  action, 
which  was  certainly  maintained  with  the  greatest  obstinacy 
and  perseverance,  by  both  parties.  The  Indians  manifested  a 
ferocity  uncommon  even  with  them — to  their  savage  fury  our 
troops  opposed  that  cool,  and  deliberate  valor,  which  is  char- 
acteristic of  the  Christian  solder.* 

The  Americans  in  this  battle  had  not  more  than  700  effi- 
cient men, — non-commissioned  officers  and  privates ;  the  In- 
dians are  believed  to  have  had  700  or  1000  warriors.  The 
loss  of  the  American  army  was  37  killed  on  the  field,  25  mor- 
tally wounded,  and  126  wounded ;  that  of  the  Indians  about 
forty  killed  on  the  spot,  the  number  of  wounded  being  un- 
known. 

Governor  Harrison,  although  very  generally  popular,  had 
enemies,  and  after  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  they  denounced 
him,  1st,  for  suffering  the  Indians  to  point  out  his  camping 
ground  ;  2d,  for  allowing  himself  to  be  surprised  by  his  ene- 
my ;  and  3d,  because  he  sacrificed  either  Daviess  or  Owen,, 
(accounts  differed)  by  placing  one  or  the  other  on  a  favorite 
white  horse  of  his  own,  which  caused  the  savages  to  make 
the  rider  an  especial  mark.  To  these  charges  elaborate  re- 
plies have  been  made  :  we  cannot  do  more  than  say,  to  the 
1st,  that  although  as  Harrison  relates,  the  Indians  pointed  out 
the  creek  upon  which  was  the  site  of  his  encampment,  his 
own  officers  found,  examined,  and  approved  that  particular 
site,  and  other  military  men  have  since  approved  their  selec- 
tion ;  to  the  2d,  the  only  reply  needed  is,  that  the  facts  were 

*American  State  Papers,  T.  777,  778. 

37 


586  Great  Earthquake.  1811. 

just  as  stated  in  the  dispatch  we  have  quoted ;  and  to  the 
3d,  that  Daviess  was  killed  on  foot,  and  Owen  on  a  horse  not 
General  Harrison's :  the  last  story  probably  arose  from  the 
fact  that  Taylor,  a  fellow  aid  of  Owen,  was  mounted  on  a 
horse  of  the  Governor's ;  but  Taylor  was  not  killed,  though 
the  horse  he  rode  was. 

The  battle  of  Tippecanoe  was  fought  upon  the  7th  of  No- 
vember, and  upon  the  4th  of  the  following  month  Harrison 
writes  that  the  frontiers  never  enjoyed  more  perfect  repose  ; 
though  it  seems  to  be  clear  that  the  disposition  to  do  mischief 
was  by  no  means  extinguished  among  the  savages.* 

During  this  year  two  events  took  place,  beside  the  battle  of 
Tippecanoe,  which  make  it  especially  noticeable  in  the  history 
of  the  West ;  the  one  was,  the  building  of  the  steamer  New 
Orleans,  the  first  boat  built  beyond  the  Alleghanies ;  the  other 
was  the  series  of  Earthquakes  which  destroyed  New  Madrid, 
and  affected  the  whole  valley.  Of  the  latter  event,  we  give 
the  following  description  from  the  pen  of  Dr.  Hildreth.f 

The  centre  of  its  violence  was  thought  to  be  near  the  Little 
Prairie,  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  below  New  Madrid ;  the 
vibrations  from  which  were  felt  all  over  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio,  as  high  up  as  Pittsburgh.  The  first  shock  was  felt  in 
the  night  of  the  16th  of  December,  1811,  and  was  repeated 
at  intervals,  with  decreasing  violence,  into  February  follow- 
ing. New  Madrid,  having  suffered  more  than  any  other  town 
on  the  Mississippi  from  its  effects,  was  considered  as  situated 
near  the  focus  from  whence  the  undulations  proceeded. 

From  an  eye-witness,  who  was  then  about  forty  miles  be- 
low that  town,  in  a  flat  boat,  on  his  way  to  New  Orleans 
with  a  load  of  produce,  and  who  narrated  the  scene  to  me, 
the  agitation  which  convulsed  the  earth  and  the  waters  of  the 
mighty  Mississippi  filled  every  living  creature  with  .horror. 
The  first  shock  took  place  in  the  night,  while  the  boat  was 
lying  at  the  shore  in  company  with  several  others.  At  this 
period  there  was  danger  apprehended  from  the  southern  In- 
dians, it  being  soon  after  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  and  for 
safety  several  boats  kept  in  company,  for  mutual  defence  in 
case  of  an  attack.  In  the  middle  of  the  night  there  was  a 
a  terrible  shock  and  jarring  of  the  boats,  so  that  the  crews 

*  Dawson  204  to  208.— McAffee's  History  of  the  War.,  18  to  38.— Todd  and  Drake's 
account,  34  to  37.— Cist's  Miscellany,  ii.  298.— American  State  Papers,  v.  779. 

j"  In  Carey's  Museum  for  April  1789,  p.  363,  is  an  account  of  the  Great  Earthquake  of 
1727. — On  those  of  1811,  see  also  Senator  Linn's  letter  in  Wetmore's  Missouri  Gazetteer, 
(St.  Louis,  1837,)  134  to  142.— Drake's  Picture  of  Cincinnati.— Flint's  Kecollections. 


1811.  Great  Earthquake.  587 

were  all  awakened  and  hurried  on  deck  with  their  weapons 
of  defence  in  their  hands,  thinking  the  Indians  were  rushing 
on  board.    The  ducks,  geese,  swans,  and  various  other  aquatic 
birds,  whose  numberless  flocks  were  quietly  resting  in  the  ed- 
dies of  the  river,  were  thrown  into  the  greatest  tumult,  and 
with  loud  screams  expressed  their  alarm  in  accents  of  terror. 
The  noise  and  commotion  soon  became  hushed,  and  nothing 
could  be  discovered  to  excite  apprehension,  so  that  the  boat- 
men concluded  that  the  shock  was  occasioned  by  the  falling 
in  of  a  large  mass  of  the  bank  of  the  river  near  them.     As 
soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  distinguish  objects,  the  crews 
were  all  up  making  ready  to  depart.     Directly  a  loud  roaring 
and  hissing  was  heard,  like  the  escape  of  steam  from  a  boiler, 
accompanied  by  the  most  violent  agitation  of  the  shores  and 
tremendous  boiling  up  of  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  in  huge 
swells,  rolling   the   waters  below    back   on   the   descending 
stream,  and  tossing  the  boats  about  so  violently  that  the  men 
with  difficulty  could  keep  on  their  feet.     The  sandbars  and 
points  of  the  islands  gave  way,  swallowed  up  in  the  tumultu- 
ous bosom  of  the  river  ;  carrying  down  with  them  the  cotton- 
wood  trees,  cracking  and  crashing,  tossing   their  arms  to  and 
fro,  as  if  sensible  of  their  danger,  while  they  disappeared  be- 
neath the  flood.     The  water  of  the  river,  which  the  day  be- 
fore was  tolerably  clear,  being  rather  low,  changed  to  a  red- 
dish hue,  and  became  thick  with  mud  thrown  up  from  its  bot- 
tom ;  while  the  surface,  lashed  violently  by  the  agitation  of 
the  earth  beneath,  was  covered  with  foam,  which,  gathering 
into  masses  the  size  of  a   barrel,  floated  along  on  the  trem- 
bling surface.     The   earth  on  the  shores  opened  in  wide  fis- 
sures, and  closing  again,  threw  the  water,   sand  and  mud,  in 
huge  jets,  higher  than  the  tops  of  the  trees.     The  atmosphere 
was  filled  with  a  thick  vapor  or  gas,  to  which   the  light  im- 
parted a  purple  tinge,  altogether  different  in  appearance  from 
the    autumnal   haze    of  Indian    summer,   or   that  of  smoke. 
From  the  temporary  check   to  the  current,  by  the  heaving 
up  of  the  bottom,  the  sinking  of  the  banks  and  sandbars  into 
the  bed  of  the  stream,  the  river  rose  in  a  few  minutes  five  or 
six  feet ;  and,  impatient  of  the  restraint,   again  rushed  for- 
ward with  redoubled  impetuosity,  hurrying  along  .the  boats, 
now  set  loose  by  the  horror-struck  boatmen,  as  in  less  danger 
on  the  water  than  at  the  shore,  where  the  banks  threatened 
every   moment   to   destroy   them    by    the   falling   earth,    or 
carry   them    down  in   the   vortices   of   the    sinking  masses. 
Many   boats  were   overwhelmed  in  this  manner,  and  their 
crews  perished  with  them.     It  required  the  utmost  exertions 
of  the  men  to  keep  the  boat,  of  which  my  informant  was  the 
owner,  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  as  far  from  the  shores,  sand- 
bars   and   islands   as  they   could.      Numerous    boats    were 
wrecked  on  the  snags  and  old  trees  thrown  up  from  the  bot- 


588  Great  Earthquake.  1811. 

torn  of  the  Mississippi,  where  they  had  quietly  rested  for  ages, 
while  others  were  sunk  or  stranded  on  the  sandbars  and  Is- 
lands. At  New  Madrid  several  boats  were  carried  by  the  re- 
flux of  the  current  into  a  small  stream  that  puts  into  the 
river  just  above  the  town,  and  left  on  the  ground  by  the  re- 
turning water  a  considerable  distance  from  the  Mississippi. 
A  man  who  belonged  to  one  of  the  company  boats  was  left 
for  several  hours  on  the  upright  trunk  of  an  old  snag  in  the 
middle  of  the  river,  against  which  his  boat  was  wrecked  and 
sunk.  It  stood  with  the  roots  a  few  feet  above  the  water, 
and  to  these  he  contrived  to  attach  himself,  while  every  fresh 
shock  threw  the  agitated  waves  against  him,  and  kept  gradu- 
ally settling  the  tree  deeper  into  the  mud  at  the  bottom,  bringing 
him  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  deep  muddy  waters,  which,  to  his 
terrified  imagination,  seemed  desirous  of  swallowing  him  up. 
While  hanging  here,  calling  with  piteous  shouts  for  aid,  seve- 
ral boats  passed  by  without  being  able  to  relieve  him,  until 
finally  a  skiff  was  well  manned,  rowed  a  short  distance  above 
him,  and  dropped  down  stream  close  to  the  snag,  from  which 
he  tumbled  into  the  boat  as  she  floated  by.  The  scenes  which 
occurred  for  several  days,  during  the  repeated  shocks,  were 
horrible.  The  most  destructive  took  place  in  the  beginning, 
although  they  were  repeated  for  many  weeks,  becoming 
lighter  and  lighter  until  they  died  away  in  slight  vibra- 
tions, like  the  jarring  of  steam  in  an  immense  boiler.  The 
sulphurated  gases  that  were  discharged  during  the  shocks, 
tainted  the  air  with  their  noxious  effluvia,  and  so  strongly  im- 
pregnated the  water  of  the  river,  to  the  distance  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  below,  that  it  could  hardly  be  used  for 
any  purpose  for  a  number  of  days.  New  Madrid,  which 
stood  on  a  bluff  bank,  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  above  the  sum- 
mer floods,  sunk  so  low  that  the  next  rise  covered  it  to  the 
depth  of  five  feet.  The  bottoms  of  several  fine  lakes  in  the 
vicinity  were  elevated  so  as  to  become  dry  land,  and  have 
since  been  planted  with  corn  !* 

[To  this  interesting  sketch  by  Dr.  Hildreth,  we  append  a 
few  particulars. 

In  the  town  of  Cape  Girardeau,  were  several  edifices  of 
stone  and  brick.  The  walls  of  these  buildings  were  cracked, 
in  some  instances  from  the  ground  to  the  top,  and  wide  fis- 
sures were  left. 

The  "  great  shake,"  as  the  people  called  it,  was  so  severe 
in  the  county  of  St.  Louis,  that  the  fowls  fell  from  the  trees 
as  if  dead ;  crockery  fell  from  the  shelves  and  was  broken, 

*  American  Pioneer,  i.  129. 


1811.  Great  Earthquake.  589 

and  many  families  left  their  cabins,  from  fear  of  being  crushed 
beneath  their  ruins. 

Mr.  Bradbury,  an  English  scientific  explorer,  was  on  a 
keel  boat  passing  down  the  river  at  the  time.  On  the  night 
of  the  14th  they  called  at  New  Madrid  for  some  necessary 
supplies.  The  writer  says  : — 

"I  was  much  disappointed  in  this  place,  as  I  found  only 
a  few  straggling  houses,  situated  round  a  plain  of  from  two 
to  three  hundred  acres  in  extent.  There  are  only  two  stores, 
and  those  very  indifferently  furnished." 

On  the  night  of  the  15th,  the  keel  boat  was  moored  to  a 
small  Island,  not  far  from  Little  Prairie,  where  the  crew,  all 
Frenchmen,  were  frightened,  almost  to  helplessness,  by  the 
terrible  convulsions. 

Mr.  B.  says: — 

"Immediately  after  the  shock,  we  noticed  the  time,  and 
found  it  near  two  o'clock.  In  half  an  hour  another  shock 
came  on,  terrible  indeed,  but  not  equal  to  the  first."  [This 
shock  made  a  chasm  in  the  Island,  four  feet  wide  and  eighty 
yards  in  length.  After  noticing  successive  shocks,  the  writer 
states  :] — "  I  had  already  noticed  that  the  sound  which  was 
heard  at  the  time  of  every  shock,  always  preceded  it  at  least 
a  second,  and  that  it  always  proceeded  from  the  same  point, 
and  went  off  in  an  opposite  direction.  I  now  found  that  the 
shock  came  from  a  little  northward  of  east,  and  proceeded  to 
the  westward.  At  daylight  we  had  counted  twenty-seven 
shocks,  during  our  stay  on  the  Island.* 

Mr.  B.  records  a  series  of  shocks  that  continued  daily,  as 
he  passed  down  the  river,  until  the  21st  of  December. 

The  late  Hon.  L.  F.  Linn,  in  a  letter  to  the  Hon.  Mr.  Da- 
vis, Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Commerce,  dated  Febru- 
ary 1st,  1836,  "relative  to  the  obstructions  to  the  navigation 
of  the  White,  Big  Black,  and  St.  Francis  rivers,"  has  given  a 
lucid  geographical  and  descriptive  sketch  of  this  part  of  Mis- 
souri, from  which  we  have  room  for  a  brief  extract. 

"  The  memorable  earthquake  of  December,  1811,  after  shak- 
ing the  valley  of  the  Mississippi  to  its  centre,  vibrated  along 
the  courses  of  the  rivers  and  valleys,  and  passing  the  primi- 
tive mountain  barriers,  died  away  along  the  shores  of  the  At- 
lantic Ocean.  In  the  region  now  under  consideration,  during 
the  continuance  of  so  appalling  a  phenomenon,  which  com- 

*  Travels  in  the  Interior  of  America,  by  John  Bradbury,  pp.  199  to  207. 


590  Great  Earthquake.  1811. 

menced  by  distant  rumbling  sounds,  succeeded  by  discharges 
as  if  a  thousand  pieces  of  artillery  were  suddenly  exploded, 
the  earth  rocked  to  and  fro,  vast  chasms  opened,  from  whence 
issued  columns  of  water,  sand,  and  coal,  accompanied  by  hiss- 
ing sounds,  caused,  perhaps,  by  the  escape  of  pent-up  steam, 
while  ever  and  anon  flashes  of  electricity  gleamed  through  the 
troubled  clouds  of  night,  rendering  the  darkness  doubly  hor- 
rible. The  current  of  the  Mississippi,  pending  this  elemental 
strife,  was  driven  back  upon  its  source  with  the  greatest  ve- 
locity for  several  hours,  in  consequence  of  an  elevation  of 
its  bed.  But  this  noble  river  was  not  thus  to  be  stayed  in 
its  course.  Its  accumulated  waters  came  booming  on,  and, 
o'ertopping  the  barrier  thus  suddenly  raised,  carried  every- 
thing before  them  \vith  resistless  power.  Boats,  then  float- 
ing on  its  surface,  shot  down  the  declivity  like  an  arrow  from 
a  bow,  amid  roaring  billows  and  the  wildest  commotion.  A 
few  days'  action  of  its  powerful  current  sufficed  to  wear 
away  every  vestige  of  the  barrier  thus  strangely  interposed, 
and  its  waters  moved  on  in  their  wonted  channel  to  the 
ocean.  The  day  that  succeeded  this  night  of  terror  brought 
no  solace  in  its  dawn.  Shock  followed  shock ;  a  dense  black 
cloud  of  vapor  overshadowed  the  land,  through  which  no 
struggling  sunbeam  found  its  way  to  cheer  the  desponding 
heart  of  man,  who,  in  silent  communion  with  himself,  was 
compelled  to  acknowledge  his  weakness  and  dependence  on 
the  everlasting  God.  The  appearances  that  presented  them- 
selves after  the  subsidence  of  the  principal  commotion  were 
such  as  strongly  support  an  opinion  heretofore  advanced. 
Hills  had  disappeared,  and  lakes  were  found  in  their  stead  ; 
and  numerous  lakes  became  elevated  ground,  over  the  surface 
of  which  vast  heaps  of  sand  were  scattered  in  every  direction, 
while  in  many  places  the  earth  for  miles  was  sunk  below  the 
general  level  of  the  surrounding  country,  without  being  cov- 
ered with  water,  leaving  an  impression  in  miniature  of  a  catas- 
trophe much  more  important  in  its  effects,  which  had, perhaps,  pre- 
ceded it  ages  before.  One  of  the  lakes  formed  on  this  occasion 
is  sixty  or  seventy  miles  in  length,  and  from  three  to  twenty 
in  breadth.  It  is  in  some  places  very  shallow  -;  in  others  from 
fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  deep,  which  is  much  more  than  the 
depth  of  the  Mississippi  river  in  that  quarter.  In  sailing  over 
its  surface  in  the  light  canoe,  the  voyager  is  struck  with  as- 
tonishment at  beholding  the  giant  trees  of  the  forest  standing 
partially  exposed  amid  a  waste  of  waters,  branchless  and 
leafless.  But  the  wonder  is  still  further  increased  on  casting 
the  eye  on  the  dark-blue  profound,  to  observe  cane-brakes 
covering  its  bottom,  over  which  a  mammoth  species  of  testu- 
do  is  seen  dragging  his  slow  length  along,  while  countless 
myriads  of  fish  are  sporting  through  the  aquatic  thickets.]* 

*  Wetmore's  Gazetteer,  p.  139, 140. 


1811.  First  Western  Steamer.  691 

In  the  midst  of  this  terrible  convulsion,  the  first  of  western 
steamers  was  pursuing  her  way  toward  the  south.  But  before 
we  give  a  sketch  of  her  progress,  let  us  re-call  to  the  minds 
of  our  readers  the  previous  steps  taken  in  regard  to  steam 
navigation. 

In  1781,  the  invention  of  Watts'  double-acting  engine  was 
made  public  ;  and  in  1784  it  was  perfected.*  Previous  to  this 
time  many  attempts  had  been  made  to  apply  steam  to  navi- 
gation, but,  from  want  of  a  proper  engine,  all  had  been  fail- 
ures ;  and  the  first  efforts  to  apply  the  new  machine  to  boats 
were  made  in  America  by  John  Fitch  and  James  Rumsey. 
The  conception  by  Fitch,  if  we  may  trust  the  statement  made 
by  Robert  Wickliffe,  was  formed  as  early  as  June,  1780,  ante- 
rior to  the  announcement  of  Watts'  discovery  of  the  double- 
acting  engine,  though  eleven  years  after  his  single  engine  had 
been  patented. 

This  conception  Fitch  said  he  communicated  to  Rumsey. 
The  latter  gentleman,  however,  proposed  a  plan  so  entirely 
different  from  that  of  his  fellow  countrymen,  (a  plan  which 
he  is  said  to  have  originated  in  1782,  or  '83,)  that  we  cannot 
think  him  a  plagiarist.  The  idea  of  steam  navigation  was 
not  new ;  it  was  the  question, — How  shall  we  use  the  steam? 
which  was  to  be  so  answered  as  to  immortalize  the  successful 
respondent : — and  to  this  question  Fitch  replied,  By  using 
Watts'  engine  so  as  to  propel  a  system  of  paddles  at  the  sides 
of  the  boat ;  while  Rumsey  said,  By  applying  the  old  atmos- 
pheric engine  to  pump  up  water  at  the  bow  and  force  it  out 
at  the  stern  of  your  vessel,  and  so  drive  her  by  water  acting 
upon  water.  Referring  our  readers,  therefore,  to  the  authori- 
ties quoted  below,  relative  to  Fitch  and  others,  we  must  be 
content  with  saying  that  all  failed  until  Fulton,  in  1807, 
launched  his  vessel  upon  the  Hudson. — Fitch's  failure,  how- 
ever, was  not  from  any  fault  in  his  principle,  and  had  his  know- 
ledge of  mechanics  equalled  Fulton's,  or  had  his  means  been 
more  ample,  or  had  he  tried  his  boat  on  the  Hudson  where 
coaches  could  not  compete  with  him,  as  they  did  on  the  level 
banks  of  the  Delaware,  we  cannot  doubt  he  would  have  en- 
tirely succeeded  twenty  years  before  his  plans  were  realized 
by  another. f 

*  Renwick  on  steam  engine,  260. 

•f  American  Pioneer,  i.  33  to  36.  Sparks'  Amer.  Biography,  New  Series,  vol.  vi.  790, 104, 
111,  115.  Renwick  on  the  Steam  Engine,  209.  260.  Sparks' Washington,  is.  68,  104, 
Cincinnati  Directory,  for  1819,  p.  64.  Howe's  Virginia,  336  to  340.  Collin'a  Kentucky,  479. 


592  First  Western  Steamer.  1811. 

[In  the  Columbian  Magazine,  published  in  Philadelphia,  in 
(we  think)  1786,  is  a  plate  showing  the  steamboat  made  by 
Fitch  with  its  paddles,  and  a  description  of  its  action  on  the 
Delaware.  If  John  Fitch  had  received  the  patronage  neces- 
sary, it  is  probable  his  boat  would  have  been  successful.] 

When  Fulton  had  at  length  attained,  by  slow  degrees,  suc- 
cess upon  the  Hudson,  he  began  to  look  elsewhere  for  other 
fields  of  action,  and  the  west,  which  had  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  both  of  his  American  predecessors,  could  not  fail  to 
catch  his  eye.  Mr.  Latrobe,  who  spoke  as  will  be  seen  by 
authority,  says  : — 

The  complete  success  attending  the  experiments  in  steam 
navigation  made  on  the    Hudson  and   the    adjoining  waters 
previous  to  the  year  1809,  turned  the  attention  of  the  principal 
projectors  to  the  idea  of  its  application  on  the  western  rivers  ; 
and  in  the  month  of  April  of  that  year,  Mr.  Roosevelt  of  New 
York,  pursuant  to  an  agreement  with  Chancellor  Livingston 
and  Mr.  Fulton,  visited  those  rivers,  with  the  purpose  of  form- 
ing an  opinion  whether  they  admitted  of  steam  navigation  or 
not.     At  this  time  two  boats,  the  North  River  and  the  Cler- 
mont,   were  running  on  the  Hudson.     Mr.  R.  surveyed   the 
rivers  from  Pittsburgh  to  New  Orleans,  and  as  his  report  was " 
favorable,  it  was  decided  to  build  a  boat  at  the  former  town. 
This  was  done  under  his  direction,  and  in  the  course  of  1811 
the  first  boat  was  launched  on  the   waters  of  the   Ohio.     It 
was  called  the  "  New  Orleans,"  and  intended  to  ply  between 
Natchez,  in  the  State  of  Mississippi,  and  the  city  whose  name 
it  bore.     In  October  it  left   Pittsburgh  for  its   experimental 
voyage.     On  this  occasion  no   freight  or  passengers  were  ta- 
ken, the  object  being  merely  to  bring  the  boat  to  her  station. 
Mr.  R.,  his  young  wife  and  family,  Mr.  Baker,  the  engineer, 
Andrew  Jack,  the  pilot,  and  six  hands,  with  a  few  domestics, 
formed  her  whole  burden.     There  were  no  wood-yards  at  that 
time,  and  constant  delays  were  unavoidable.     When,   as  re- 
lated, Mr.  R.  had  gone  down  the  river  to  reconnoitre,  he  had 
discovered  two  beds  of  coal,   about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  below  the  Rapids  at  Louisville,  and  now  took   tools  to 
work  them,  intending  to  load  the  vessel  with  the  coal,  and  to 
employ  it  as  fuel,   instead  of  constantly  detaining  the  boat 
while  wood  was  procured  from  the  banks. 


1811.  First  Western  Sf earner.  593 

Late  at  night  on  the  fourth  day  after  quitting  Pittsburgh,  they 
arrived  in  safety  at  Louisville,  having  been  but  seventy  hours 
descending  upwards  of  seven  hundred  miles.  The  novel  ap- 
pearance of  the  vessel,  and  the  fearful  rapidity  with  which  it 
made  its  passage  over  the  broad  reaches  of  the  river,  excited 
a  mixture  of  terror  and  surprise  among  many  of  the  settlers 
on  the  banks,  whom  the  rumor  of  such  an  invention  had  nev- 
er reached  ;  and  it  is  related  that  on  the  unexpected  arrival 
of  the  boat  before  Louisville,  in  the  course  of  a  fine  still 
moonlight  night,  the  extraordinary  sound  which  filled  the  air 
as  the  pent-up  steam  was  suffered  to  escape  from  the  valves, 
on  rounding  to,  produced  a  general  alarm,  and  multitudes  in 
the  town  rose  from  their  beds  to  ascertain  the  cause.  I  have 
heard  that  the  general  impression  among  the  good  Kentucki- 
ans  was,  that  the  comet  had  fallen  into  the  Ohio ;  but  this 
does  not  rest  upon  the  same  foundation  as  the  other  facts 
which  I  lay  before  you,  and  which  I  may  at  once  say,  I  had  di- 
rectly from  the  lips  of  the  parties  themselves.  The  small 
depth  of  water  in  the  Rapids  prevented  the  boat  from  pursu- 
ing her  voyage  immediately ;  and  during  the  consequent  de- 
tention of  three  weeks  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Ohio,  several 
trips  were  successfully  made  between  Louisville  and  Cincin- 
nati. In  fine  the  waters  rose,  and  in  the  course  of  the  last 
wreek  in  November,  the  voyage  was  resumed,  the  depth  of 
water  barely  admitting  their  passage.* 

This  steamer,  after  being  nearly  overwhelmed  by  the  earth- 
quakes, reached  Natchez  at  the  close  of  the  first  week  of 
January,  1812. 

[Mr.  Bradbury,  from  whom  we  have  quoted,  and  his  travel- 
ing companion,  Mr.  Bridges,  took  their  passage  on  the  boat 
from  Natchez  to  New  Orleans  on  its  first  downward  trip. 

He  states : — 

"  In  the  morning  of  the  6th  inst.,  (January,  1812,)  I  went 
on  board  the  steamboat  from  Pittsburgh ;  she  had  passed  us 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas,  three  hundred  and  forty-one 
miles  above  Natchez ;  she  was  a  very  handsome  vessel,  of 
410  tons  burden,  and  was  impelled  by  a  powerful  engine,  also 
made  at  Pittsburgh,  from  whence  she  had  come  in  less  than 
twenty  days,  although  1,900  miles  distance."]f 

*  Rambler  in  North  America,  vol.  i.  87. 

t  Travels  in  the  Interior  of  America,  p.  203. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

BRITISH  AND  INDIAN  WAR. 

Movements  of  Tecumthe. — Events  in  the  North-west  preceding  the  War. — Declaration  of 
War  with  Great  Britain. — Surrender  of  Michigan  by  Governor  Hull. — Op  rations  of 
Governor  Edwards  in  Illinois. — Massacre  at  Chicago. — Attack  on  Fort  Harrison. — Gov- 
ernor Harrison  appointed  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  North-western  Army. — Expedi- 
tion against  the  Illinois  Indians. — Defeat  at  French-town. — Siege  of  Fort  Meigs. — 
Gallant  Defence  of  Fort  Stevenson. — Victory  of  Commodore  Perry  on  Lake  Erie. — 
Battle  of  the  Thames. — Expeditions  of  Captain  Holmes  and  General  McArthur. — Con- 
clusion of  the  War. 

[At  the  time  of  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  Tecumthe,  the 
master  spirit  in  Indian  diplomacy,  was  amongst  the  southern 
Indians,  to  bring  them  into  the  grand  confederacy  he  had  pro- 
jected. On  his  return,  where  he  supposed  he  had  made  a 
strong  and  permanent  impression,  a  few  days  after  the  disas- 
trous battle,  when  he  saw  the  dispersion  of  his  followers,  the 
disgrace  of  his  brother,  and  the  destruction  of  his  long  cher- 
ished hopes,  he  was  exceedingly  angry.  The  rash  presump- 
tuousness  of  the  Prophet,  in  attacking  the  American  army  a  t 
Tippecanoe,  destroyed  his  own  power  and  crushed  the  grand 
confederacy  before  it  was  completed. 

When  Tecumthe  first  met  the  prophet,  he  reproached  him 
in  the  bitterest  terms,  and  when  the  latter  attempted  to  pal- 
liate his  conduct,  he  seized  him  by  the  hair,  shook  him  vio- 
lently, and  threatened  to  take  his  life.* 

Tecumthe  immediately  sent  word  to  Governor  Harrison, 
that  he  had  returned  from  the  south,  and  that  he  was  ready 
to  visit  the  President  as  had  been  previously  proposed.  The 
Governor  gave  him  permission  to  proceed  to  Washington, 
but  not  as  the  leader  of  a  party  of  Indians,  as  he  desired.  The 
proud  chief,  who  had  appeared  at  Vincennes'  in  1810,  with  a 
large  party  of  braves,  had  no  desire  to  appear  before  his 
"  Great  Father,"  the  President,  \vithout  his  retinue.  The  pro- 
posed visit  was  declined,  and  the  intercourse  between  Tecum- 
the and  the  Governor  terminated. 

In  June,  he  sought  an  interview  with  the  Indian  agent  at 
Fort  Wayne;  disavowed  any  intention  of  making  war  on  the 
United  States,  and  reproached  General  Harrison  for  having 
marched  against  his  people  during  his  absence.  The  agent 
replied  to  this;  Tecumthe  listened  with  frigid  indifference, 

*  Brown's  Illinois,  p.  282. — Billy  Caldwell'a  verbal  statement  to  the  editor. 


1812.  Events  Preceding  the    War  of  1812.  595 

and  after  making  a  few  general  remarks,  with  a  haughty  air, 
left  the  Council-house,  and  departed  for  Fort  Maiden,  in 
Upper  Canada,  where  he  joined  the  British  standard-! 

[We  have  reserved  a  series  of  events  pertaining  to  Missou- 
ri, the  settlement  of  the  Boone's  Lick  country,  the  Indian 
War,  the  Territorial  Government,  and  sketches  of  St.  Louis, 
for  the  Appendix  of  this  volume.  Much  also  pertaining  to 
Illinois  will  also  appear  in  the  same  arrangement.  But  there 
are  some  facts  more  directly  connected  with  the  war  with  the 
British  and  Indians  in  1812,  that  must  have  a  place  in  this 
chapter.] 

We  have  already  referred  to  those  causes  of  complaint  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States  against  England,  which  at  length 
led  to  the  war  of  1812 :  they  were,  the  interference  with 
American  trade  enforced  by  the  blockade  system ;  the  impress- 
ment of  American  seamen ;  the  encouragement  of  the  Indians 
in  their  barbarities ;  and  the  attempt  to  dismember  the  Union 
by  the  mission  of  Henry.  Through  the  winter  of  1811-12, 
these  causes  of  provocation  were  discussed  in  Congress  and 
the  public  prints,  and  a  war  with  Great  Britain  openly  threat- 
ened: even  in  December,  1811,  the  proposal  to  invade  Cana- 
da in  the  following  spring  before  the  ice  broke  up,  was  deba- 
ted in  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  in  particular  was 
urged  the  necessity  of  such  operations  at  the  outset  of  the 
anticipated  contest,  as  should  wrest  from  the  enemy  the  com- 
mand of  the  upper  lakes,  and  secure  the  neutrality  or  favor  of 
the  Indian  tribes  by  the  conquest  of  Upper  Canada. 

While,  therefore,  measures  were  taken  to  seize  the  Lower 
province,  other  steps  were  arranged  for  the  defence  of  the 
north-west  frontier  against  Indian  hostility,  and  which,  in  the 
event  of  a  rupture  with  Great  Britain,  would  enable  the  Uni- 
ted States  to  obtain  the  command  of  Lake  Erie.  These  steps, 
however,  were  by  no  means  suitable  to  the  attainment  of  the 
object  last  named;  in  place  of  a  naval  force  upon  Lake  Erie, 
the  necessity  of  which  had  been  pressed  upon  the  Executive 
by  Governor  Hull  of  Michigan  Territory,  in  three  memorials, 
one  of  them  as  early  as  the  year  1809,  a  second  dated  March 
6th,  and  a  third  on  or  about  April  llth,  1S12;  and  although 
the  same  policy  was  pointedly  urged  upon  the  Secretary  o 
War  by  General  Armstrong,  in  a  private  letter  of  January 

*Brown's  History  of  Illinois,  283. 


596      Hull  sends  his  papers,  4<c->  by  water  to  Detroit.     1812. 

2nd,  yet  the  government  proposed  to  use  no  other  than  mili- 
tary means,  and  hoped  by  the  presence  of  two  thousand  sol- 
diers, to  effect  the  capture  or  destruction  of  the  British  fleet. 
Nay,  so  blind  was  the  War  Department,  that  it  refused  to  in- 
crease the  number  of  troops  to  three  thousand,  although  in- 
formed by  General  Hull,  that  that  was  the  least  number  from 
which  success  could  be  hoped. 

When,  therefore,  Governor,  now  General  Hull  (to  whom,  in 
consideration  of  his  revolutionary  services,  and  his  supposed 
knowledge  of  the  country  and  the  natives,  the  command  of 
the  army  destined  for  the  conquest  of  the  Canadas  had  been 
confided)  commenced  his  march  from  Dayton  on  the  1st  of 
June,  it  was  with  means  which  he  himself  regarded  as  utter- 
ly inadequate  to  the  object  aimed  at,  a  fact  which  sufficiently 
explains  his  vascillating,  nerveless  conduct.  Through  that 
whole  month,  he  and  his  troops  toiled  on  toward  the  Mau- 
mee,  busy  with  their  roads,  bridges  and  block-houses. 

On  the  24th,  advices  from  the  Secretary  of  War,  dated  on 
the  18th,  came  to  hand,  but  not  a  word  contained  in  them 
made  it  probable  that  the  long  expected  war  would  be  imme- 
diately declared,  although  Col.  Me  Arthur  at  the  same  time  re- 
ceived word  from  Chillicothe  warning  him,  on  the  authority 
of  Thomas  Worthington,  then  Senator  from  Ohio,  that  before 
the  letter  reached  him,  the  declaration  would  have  been  made 
public.  This  information  Me  Arthur  laid  before  General  Hull; 
and  when,  upon  reaching  the  Maumee,  that  Commander  pro- 
posed to  place  his  baggage,  stores,  and  sick  on  board  a  vessel, 
and  send  them  by  water  to  Detroit,  the  backwoodsman  warn- 
ed him  of  the  danger,  and  refused  to  trust  his  own  property 
on  board. 

Hull,  however,  treated  the  report  of  war  as  the  old  story 
which  had  been  current  through  all  the  spring,  and  refused 
to  believe  it  possible  that  the  government  would  not  give  him 
information  at  the  earliest  moment  that  the  measure  was  re- 
solved on.  He,  accordingly,  on  the  1st  of  July,  embarked  his 
disabled  men  and  most  of  his  goods  on  board  the  Cuyahoga 
Packet,  suffering  his  aid-de-camp  in  his  carelessness  to  send 
by  her  even  his  instructions  and  army-roll,  and  then  proceed- 
ed upon  his  way.  The  next  day,  July  2nd,  a  letter  of  the 
same  date  with  that  received  upon  the  24th  of  June,  reached 


1812.  Declaration  of  War.  597 

him,  and  apprized  him  that  the  declaration  of  war  was  indeed 
that  day  made,  and  before  his  astonishment  was  over,  word  was 
brought  of  the  capture  of  his  packet  off  Maiden,  with  all  his 
official  papers.  The  conduct  of  the  Executive  at  this  time 
was  certainly  most  remarkable ;  having  sent  an  insufficient 
force  to  effect  a  most  important  object,  it  next  did  all  in  its 
power  to  ensure  the  destruction  of  that  force. 

On  the  1st  of  June,  Mr.  Madison  recommended  war  to  the 
Senate;  on  the  3d  of  June,  Mr.  Calhoun  reported  in  favor  of 
it,  and  in  an  able  manifesto  set  forth  the  reasons ;  and,  on  the 
19th,  proclamation  of  the  contest  was  made.  Upon  the  day 
preceding,  Congress  having  passed  the  needful  act,  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  wrote  to  General  Hull  one  letter  saying  nothing 
of  the  matter,  and  sent  it  by  a  special  messenger, — and  a  se- 
cond containing  the  vital  news,  which  he  confided  to  a  half 
organized  post  as  far  as  Cleveland,  and  thence  literally  to  ac- 
cident. Nor  is  this  all :  while  the  General  of  the  Northwest- 
ern army  was  thus,  not  uninformed  merely,  but  actually  mis- 
led, letters  franked  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the 
United  States,  bore  the  notice  of  what  had  been  done  to  the 
British  post  of  St.  Joseph,  near  the  north-western  shore  of 
Lake  Huron ;  and  also  to  Maiden,  which  place  it  reached  up- 
on the  28th  of  June.  And  as  if  to  complete  the  circle  of  fol- 
ly, the  misled  General,  through  neglect,  suffered  his  official 
papers,  which  he  owned  ought  never  to  have  been  out  of  his 
possession,  to  pass  into  that  of  the  foe,  and  thus  informed 
them  of  his  purposes  and  his  strength.* 

That  strength,  however,  was  such,  compared  with  their  own* 
that  no  effort  was  made  to  prevent  the  march  of  the  Ameri- 
cans to  Detroit,  nor  to  interfere  with  their  passage  across  the 
river  to  Sandwich,  where  they  established  themselves  on  the 
12th  of  July,  preparatory  to  attacking  Maiden  itself,  and  com- 
mencing the  conquest  and  conversion  of  Upper  Canada.  And 
here,  at  once,  the  incapacity  of  Hull  showed  itself;  by  his 
own  confession  he  took  every  step  under  the  influence  of  two 
sets  of  fears ;  he  dared  not,  on  the  one  hand,  act  boldly,  for 
fear  that  his  incompetent  force  would  be  all  destroyed ;  while, 

*For  the  foregoing  facts  see  Manifesto  of  the  Senate,  June  3d,  1812,  American  State 
Papers,  iii.  567.— Niles'  Register,  i.  72,  311,  459,  vol.  ii.  5,  86,  239  and  273.— Madison's 
Message,  November  4,  1812,  in  American  State  Papers,  i.  80. — Gov.  Hull's  Defence,  24  to 
33  and  50. — Armstrong1!  Notices,  i.  48  and  Appendix,  p.  234.  Hull's  Defence,  pp.  7,  10, 
11, 16.— Cist's  Miscellany,  ii.  298.— McAffee's  History  of  the  War,  from  50  to  60. 


598  Governor  Hull  retires  to  Detroit.  1812. 

on  the  other  hand,  he  dared  not  refuse  to  act,  for  fear  his  mi- 
litia, already  uneasy,  would  utterly  desert  him. 

Thus  embarrassed,  he  proclaimed  freedom  and  the  need  of 
submission  to  the  Canadians,  held  out  inducements  to  the  Bri- 
tish militia  to  desert,  and  to  the  Indians  to  keep  quiet,  and  sat 
still  at  Sandwich,  striving  to  pacify  his  blood  thirsty  back- 
woodsmen, who  itched  to  be  at  Maiden.  To  amuse  his  own 
army,  and  keep  them  from  trying  dangerous  experiments,  he 
found  cannon  needful  to  the  assault  of  the  British  posts,  and 
spent  three  weeks  making  carriages  for  five  guns.  While 
these  were  under  way,  Colonel  Cass  and  Colonel  Miller,  by 
an  attack  upon  the  advanced  parties  of  the  enemy,  demon- 
strated the  willingness  and  power  of  their  men  to  push  their 
conquests,  if  the  chance  were  given,  but  Hull  refused  the  op- 
portunity ;  and  when  at  length  the  cannon  were  prepared,  the 
ammunition  placed  in  wagons,  and  the  moment  for  assault 
agreed  on,  the  General,  upon  hearing  that  a  proposed  attack 
on  the  Niagara  frontier  had  not  been  made,  and  that  troops 
from  that  quarter  were  moving  westward,  suddenly  abandon- 
ed the  enterprise,  and  with  most  of  his  army,  on  the  night  of 
the  7th  of  August,  returned  to  Detroit,  having  effected  noth- 
ing except  the  destruction  of  all  confidence  in  himself,  on  the 
part  of  the  whole  force  under  his  control,  officers  and  privates. 

Meanwhile,  upon  the  29th  of  July,  Colonel  Proctor  had 
reached  Maiden,  and  perceiving  instantly  the  power  which 
the  position  of  that  post  gave  him  over  the  supplies  of  the 
army  of  the  United  States,  he  commenced  a  series  of  opera- 
tions, the  object  of  which  was  to  cut  off  the  communications 
of  Hull  with  Ohio,  and  thus  not  merely  neutralize  all  active 
operations  on  his  part,  but  starve  him  into  surrender  or  force 
him  to  detail  his  whole  army,  in  order  to  keep  open  his  way  to 
the  only  point  from  which  supplies  could  reach  him.  A  proper 
force  on  lake  Erie,  or  the  capture  of  Maiden,  would  have  pre- 
vented this  annoying  and  fatal  mode  of  warfare,  but  the  im- 
becility of  the  government  and  that  of  the  General,  combined 
to  favor  the  plans  of  Proctor.* 

Having  by  his  measures  stopped  the  stores  on  their  way  to 
Detroit,  at  the  river  Raisin,  he  next  defeated  the  insufficient 

*  See  Hull's  Defence,  42  to  71.  Hull's  Proclamation  in  Brown's  History  of  Illinois,  p. 
302,  Note.  McAffee,  61 ;  also  ibid,  pp.  76,  77.  Col.  Cass'  Letter  in  Niles'  Register,  ii. 
383.  Armstrong's  Notices,  i.  24,  25. 


1812.  Huffs  Surrender.  599 

band  of  two  hundred  men  under  Van  Horn,  sent  by  Hull  to 
escort  them ;  and  so  far  withstood  that  of  five  hundred  un- 
der Miller,  as  to  cause  Hull  to  recall  the  remnant  of  that  vic- 
torious and  gallant  band,  though  it  had  completely  routed  the 
British  and  Indians.  By  these  means,  Proctor  amused  the 
Americans  until  General  Brock  reached  Maiden,  which  he 
did  upon  the  13th  of  August,  and  prepared  to  attempt  the 
conquest  of  Detroit  itself. 

And  here  again  occurred  a  most  singular  want  of  skill  on 
the  part  of  the  Americans.  In  order  to  prevent  the  forces  in 
Upper  Canada  from  being  combined  against  Hull,  General 
Dearborn  had  been  ordered  to  make  a  divsersion  in  his  favor 
at  Niagara  and  Kingston,  but  in  place  of  doing  this,  he  made 
an  armistice  with  the  British  commanders,  which  enabled  them 
to  turn  their  attention  entirely  to  the  more  distant  west,  and 
left  Hull  to  shift  for  himself.  On  the  14th  of  Aug.,  therefore, 
while  a  third  party,  under  McArthur,  was  despatched  by  Hull 
to  open  his  communications  with  the  river  Raisin,  though 
by  a  new  and  impracticable  road,  Gen.  Brock  appeared  at 
Sandwich,  and  began  to  erect  batteries  to  protect  his  farther 
operations.  These  batteries  Hull  would  not  suffer  any  to 
molest,  saying,  that  if  the  enemy  did  not  fire  on  him  he  would 
not  on  them,  and  though,  when  summoned  to  surrender  upon 
the  15th,  he  absolutely  refused,  yet  upon  the  16th,  without  a 
blow  struck,  the  Governor  and  General  crowned  his  course  of 
indecision  and  unmanly  fear,  by  surrendering  the  town  of  De- 
troit and  territory  of  Michigan,  together  with  fourteen  hundred 
brave  men  longing  for  battle,  to  three  hundred  English  sol- 
diers, four  hundred  Canadian  militia  disguised  in  red  coats, 
and  a  band  of  Indian  allies.* 

For  this  conduct  he  was  accused  of  treason  and  cowardice, 
and  found  guilty  of  the  latter.  Nor  can  we  doubt  the  justice 
of  the  sentence.  However  brave  he  may  have  been  person- 
ally, he  was,  as  a  commander,  a  coward  ;  and  moreover,  he 
was  influenced,  confessedly,  by  his  fears  as  a  father,  lest  his 
daughter  and  her  children  should  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  Indians.  In  truth,  his  faculties  seem  to  have  been  paraly- 
zed by  fear ;  fear  that  he  should  fail ;  fear  that  his  troops 
would  be  unfair  to  him,  fear  that  the  savages  would  spare 

*  McAffee,  from  92  to  85.  Armstrong's  Notices,  i.  26  to  33  ;  ibid.  i.  Appendix,  No.  10, 
p.  206.  Hull's  Trial.  Do.  Debeuse.  Terms  of  Capitulation,  McAffee,  90. 


600  Attack  on  Mackinac.  1812. 

no  one  if  opposed  with  vigor;  fear  of  some  undefined  and 
horrid  evil  impending.  McAffee  accuses  him  of  intemperance, 
but  no  effort  was  made  on  his  trial  to  prove  this,  and  we  have 
no  reason  to  think  it  a  true  charge ;  but  his  conduct  was  like 
that  of  a  drunken  man,  without  sense  or  spirit. 

But  the  fall  of  Detroit,  though  the  leading  misfortune  of  this 
unfortunate  summer,  was  not  the  only  one.  Word,  as  we  have 
stated,  had  been  sent  through  the  kindness  of  some  friend, 
under  a  frank  from  the  American  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
informing  the  British  commander  at  St.  Joseph,  of  the  declara- 
tion of  war ;  while  Lieut.  Hanks,  commanding  the  American 
fortress  at  Mackinac,  received  no  notice  from  any  source.  The 
consequence  was  an  attack  upon  the  key  of  the  northern  lakes 
on  the  17th  of  July,  by  a  force  of  British,  Canadians  and 
savages,  numbering,  in  all,  1021  :  the  garrison  amounting  to 
but  fifty-seven  effective  men,  felt  unable  to  withstand  so  for- 
midable a  body,  and  to  avoid  the  constantly  threatened  In- 
dian massacre,  surrendered  as  prisoners  of  war  and  were  dis- 
missed on  parole.* 

["The  whole  population  of  Michigan,"  says  Gov.  Hull,  "of 
which  Detroit  was  the  Capital,  was  between  four  and  five 
thousand  souls ;  their  settlements  were  on  the  Miami  [Mau- 
mee]  of  Lake  Erie,  the  river  Raisin,  Eros  Rouge,  the  Detroit 
river,  Lake  St.  Clair,  and  the  Isle  of  Mackinac.  The  greater 
part  were  Canadians.  They  were  miserable  farmers,  paid 
little  attention  to  agriculture,  and  depended  principally  on 
hunting,  fishing,  and  trading  with  the  Indians,  for  support. 
The  produce  of  the  territory,  in  the  substantial  articles  of  liv- 
ing, was  by  no  means  sufficient  for  the  subsistence  of  the  in- 
habitants. Many  were  supplied  with  beef,  pork,  flour,  and 
corn,  principally  from  the  State  of  Ohio,  New  York,  and 
Pennsylvania."!] 

[The  Indians  in  northern  Illinois,  and  the  country  bordering 
on  Lake  Michigan,  had  manifested  hostile  feelings  toward  the 
Americans  before  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe.  Governor  Ed- 
wards, who  was  indefatigable  in  his  efforts  to  protect  the  set- 
tlements, employed  trusty  Frenchmen,  who  had  traded  with 
these  Indians,  and  who  could  still  pass  under  that  guise,  as 
spies  in  the  Indian  country.  Their  communications,  in  a 

*  For  tho  British  account  of  Hull's  surrender,  see  Niles'  Kegistcr,  iii.  14,  33,  265  to  268. 
For  Col.  Ca«s'  Report,  Niles,  iii.  37  to  39.  For  Gov.  Hull's  Report,  ibid,  52  to  57.  For 
Articles  of  Capitulation,  ibid,  13;  various  anecdotes,  ibid,  44. 

•(•  Copied  from  Brown's  Illinois,  p.  301.    Note. 


1812.  The  Massacre  at  Chicago.  601 

plain  unlettered  style,  have  been  examined  on  the  files  of  the 
State  Department  of  Illinois.  They  are  often  particular  and 
minute  in  giving  the  position  of  Indian  villages,  number  of 
the  braves,  sources  from  whence  they  received  their  supplies, 
the  names  of  head  men,  and  other  details. 

These  facts,  at  short  intervals,  were  communicated  to  the 
War  Department,  as  proofs  that  the  Indians  were  hostile, 
and  were  urged  in  his  repeated  applications  to  the  War  De- 
partment for  protection  to  the  inhabitants  of  that  frontier  ter- 
ritory. 

We  now  come  to  a  mournful  and  disastrous  event ; — the 
massacre  at  Chicago.  And  in  this  sketch,  beside  the  State  pa- 
pers and  Niles'  Register,  (iii.  155  and  iv.  160)  we  have  avail- 
ed ourselves  of  an  address  delivered  at  Chicago  by  Wm.  H. 
Brown,  Esq. ;  —  A  Narrative  of  the  Massacre  at  Chicago,  by 
John  H.  Kinzie,Esq.,  who  was  born  in  a  trading  house  on  that 
spot ; — and  the  History  of  Illinois,  by  Henry  Brown,  Esq.  A 
large  portion  of  the  sketch  by  the  last  writer  is  made  up  from 
the  simple  and  truthful  narrative  of  Mr.  Kinzie. 

A  small  trading  post  had  been  established  at  Chicago  in  the 
period  of  the  French  explorations,  but  no  village  formed.  It 
was  one  of  the  thoroughfares  in  the  excursions  of  both  traders 
and  Indians.  By  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  in  1795,  negotia- 
ted with  the  Pottawatomies  and  Miamies,  &c.,  they  agreed 
to  relinquish  their  right  to  "  one  piece  of  land  six  miles 
square,  at  the  mouth  of  Chicago  river,  emptying  into  the 
south-west  end  of  Lake  Michigan,  where  a  fort  formerly  stood.''''* 

In  1804,  a  small  fort  was  erected  here  by  the  United  States' 
government.  It  stood  on  the  spot  where  the  fort  stood  in 
1833,  but  it  was  differently  constructed,  having  two  "block- 
houses on  the  southern  side,  and  on  the  northern  side,  a  sally- 
port, or  subterranean  passage  from  the  parade-ground  to  the 
river."f  It  was  called  Fort  Dearborn. 

The    officers  in   1812,  were    Captain Heald,   the 

commanding  officer,  Lieutenant  Helm,  and  Ensign  Ronan, 
(the  two  last  very  young  men)  and  the  Surgeon,  Dr.  Voor- 
hees,  with  seventy-five  men,  very  few  of  whom  were  effec- 
tive. 

Friendly  intercourse  had  existed  between  these  troops  and 

*  Indian  Treaties,  Washington,  1826,  p.  51. 
tKinzie,  p.  5. 

38 


602  The   Massacre  at  Chicago.  1812. 

individuals  and  bands  of  neighboring  Indians.  The  principal 
chiefs  and  braves  of  the  Pottavvatomie  nation  visited  Fort 
Maiden  on  the  Canada  side  annually,  received  presents  to  a 
large  amount,  and  were  in  alliance  with  Great  Britain. — 
Many  Pottavr  atomies,  Winnebagoes,  Ottawas,  and  Shawa- 
nese  were  in  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  yet  the  principal 
chiefs  in  the  immediate  vicinity  were  on  amicable  terms  with 
the  Americans,  and  gave  proof  of  it,,  by  their  rescue  of  those 
who  were  saved. 

Besides  those  persons  attached  to  the  garrison,  there  was 
the  family  of  Mr.  Kinzie,  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  fur 
trade  at  that  spot  from  1804,  and  a  few  Canadians,  or  enga- 
ges, with  their  wives  and  children,  who  were  attached  to  the 
same  establishment. 

On  the  7th  of  April,  a  marauding  party  of  Winnebagoes, 
attacked  Mr.  Lee's  settlement,  at  a  place  called  Hardscrab- 
ble,  about  four  miles  from  Chicago,  and  massacred  a  Mr. 
White,  and  a  Frenchman  in  his  employ.  Two  other  men  es- 
caped. This  was  near  the  junction  of  the  canal  with  the 
south  branch  of  the  Chicago.  For  some  days  after  this  there 
were  signs  of  hostile  Indians,  and  repeated  alarms  at  the  gar- 
rison, but  the  whole  passed  off  in  quietness  until  all  ap- 
prehension was  dismissed. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  7th  of  August,  Winncmeg,  or  Cat- 
fish, a  trust-worthy  Pottawatomie  chief  arrived  at  the  post, 
bringing  dispatches  from  Governor  Hull,  the  commander-in- 
chief  in  the  north-west.  These  dispatches  announced  the 
declaration  of  war  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Bri- 
tain ;  that  General  Hull,  at  the  head  of  the  army  in  the 
north-west,  was  on  his  way  from  Fort  Wayne  to  Detroit : — 
and  that  the  British  troops  had  taken  Mackinac. 

His  orders  to  Captain  Heald,  were,  "  to  evacuate  the  post, 
if  practicable,  and,  in  that  event,  to  distribute  the  property 
belonging  to  the  United  States,  in  the  fort,  and  in  the  factory 
•or  agency,  to  the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood. 

"After  having  delivered  his  dispatches, Winnemeg request- 
ed a  private  interview  with  Mr.  Kinzie,  who  had  taken  up  his 
residence  in  the  fort.  He  stated  to  Mr.  Kinzie  that  he  was 
acquainted  with  the  purport  of  the  communications  he  had 
brought,  and  begged  him  to  ascertain  if  it  were  the  intention 
of  Captain  Heald  to  evacuate  the  post.  He  advised  strongly 
that  such  a  step  should  not  be  taken,  since  the  garrison  was 


1812.  The  Massacre  at  Chicago.  603 

well  supplied  with  ammunition,  and  with  provision,  for  six 
months;  it  would,  therefore,  he  thought,  be  far  better  to  remain 
until  a  reinforcement  could  be  sent  to  their  assistance.  If, 
however,  Captain  Heald  should  decide  on  leaving  the  post,  it 
should,  by  all  means,  be  done  immediately.  The  Pottawato- 
mies,  through  whose  country  they  must  pass,  being  ignorant 
of  Winnemeg's  mission,  a  forced  march  might  be  made  before 
the  hostile  Indians  were  prepared  to  interrupt  them. 

Of  this  advice,  so  earnestly  given,  Captain  Heald  was  im- 
mediately informed.  He  replied  that  it  was  his  intention  to 
evacuate  the  post,  but  that  inasmuch  as  he  had  received  or- 
ders to  distribute  the  United  States  property,  he  should  not  feel 
justified  in  leaving  until  he  had  collected  the  Indians  in  the 
neighborhood,  and  made  an  equitable  division  among  them. 

Winnemeg  then  suggested  the  expediency  of  marching  out 
and  leaving  all  things  standing  —  possibly,  while  the  savages 
were  engaged  in  a  partition  of  the  spoils,  the  troops  might 
effect  their  retreat  unmolested.  This  advice  was  strongly  se- 
conded by  Mr.  Kinzie,  but  did  not  meet  the  approbation  of 
the  commanding  officer. 

The  order  for  evacuating  the  post  was  read  next  morning 
upon  parade.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  Capt.  Heald 
in  such  an  emergency,  omitted  the  usual  form  of  calling  a 
council  of  war,  with  his  officers.  Perhaps  it  arose  from  a 
want  of  hjirmonious  feeling  between  himself  and  one  of  his 
subalterns — Ensign  Ronan  —  a  high-spirited,  and  somewhat 
overbearing,  but  brave  and  generous  young  man.  In  the 
course  of  the  day,  finding  no  council  was  called,  the  officers 
waited  upon  Capt.  Heald,  to  be  informed  what  course  he  in- 
tended to  pursue.  When  they  learned  his  intention  to  leave 
the  post,  they  remonstrated  with  him  upon  the  following 
grounds : 

First.  It  was  highly  improbable  that  the  command  would 
be  permitted  to  pass  through  the  country  in  safety,  to  Fort 
Wayne.  For,  although  it  had  been  said  that  some  of  the 
chiefs  had  opposed  an  attack  upon  the  fort,  planned  the  pre- 
ceding autumn,  yet,  it  was  well  known,  that  they  had  been 
actuated  in  that  matter  by  motives  of  private  regard  to  one 
family,  and  not  to  any  general  friendly  feeling  towards  the 
Americans;  and  that,  at  any  rate,  it  was  hardly  to  be  expect- 
ed that  these  few  individuals  would  be  able  to  control  the 
whole  tribe,  who  were  thirsting  for  blood.  In  the  next  place, 
their  march  must  necessarily  be  slow,  as  their  movements 
must  be  accommodated  to  the  helplessness  of  the  women  and 
children,  of  whom  there  were  a  number  with  the  detach- 
ment. That  of  their  small  force,  some  of  the  soldiers  were 
superannuated  and  others  invalid ;  therefore,  since  the  course 
to  be  pursued  was  left  discretional,  their  advice  was  to  remain 
where  they  were,  and  fortify  themselves  as  strongly  as  possi- 


604  The  Massacre  at  Chicago.  1812. 

ble.  Succors  from  the  other  side  of  the  peninsula  might  ar- 
rive before  they  could  be  attacked  by  the  British  from  Macki- 
nac,  and  even  should  there  not,  it  were  far  better  to  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  latter,  than  to  become  the  victims  of  the 
savages. 

Capt.  Heald  argued  in  reply,  "that  a  special  order  had  been 
issued  by  the  War  Department,  that  no  post  should  be  sur- 
rendered without  battle  having  been  given  ;  and  that  his  force 
was  totally  inadequate  to  an  engagement  with  the  Indians. 
That  he  should,  unquestionably,  be  censured  for  remaining, 
when  there  appeared  a  prospect  of  a  safe  march  through,  and 
that  upon  the  whole,  he  deemed  it  expedient  to  assemble  the 
Indians,  distribute  the  property  among  them,  and  then  ask  of 
them  an  escort  to  Fort  Wayne,  with  the  promise  of  a  con- 
siderable reward  upon  their  safe  arrival — adding,  that  he  had 
full  confidence  in  the  friendly  professions  of  the  Indians,  from 
whom,  as  well  as  from  the  soldiers,  the  capture  of  Mackinac 
had  been  kept  a  profound  secret." 

From  this  time  the  officers  held  themselves  aloof,  and  spoke 
but  little  upon  the  subject,  though  they  considered  the  project 
of  Capt.  Heald  little  short  of  madness.  The  dissatisfaction 
among  the  soldiers  hourly  increased,  until  it  reached  a  high 
degree  of  insubordination.  Upon  one  occasion,  as  Captain 
Heald  was  conversing  with  Mr.  Kinzie,  upon  the  parade,  he 
said,  "I  could  not  remain,  even  if  I  thought  it  best,  for  I  have 
but  a  small  store  of  provisions."  "Why,  Captain,"  said 
a  soldier,  who  stood  near,  forgetting  all  etiquette,  in  the 
excitement  of  the  moment,  "  you  have  cattle  enough  to 
last  the  troops  six  months."  "But,"  replied  Captain  Heald, 
"I  have  no  salt  to  preserve  the  beef  with."  "Then  jerk* 
it,"  said  the  man,  "as  the  Indians  do  their  venison." 

The  Indians  now  became  daily  more  unruly.  Entering  the 
fort  in  defiance  of  the  sentinels,  they  made  their  way  without 
ceremony  into  the  quarters  of  the  officers.  On  one  occasion, 
an  Indian  took  up  a  rifle  and  fired  it  in  the  parlor  of  the  com- 
manding officer,  as  an  expression  of  defiance.  Some  were  of 
opinion,  that  this  was  intended,  among  the  young  men,  as  a 
signal  for  an  attack.  The  old  Chiefs  passed  backward  and 
forward,  among  the  assembled  groups,  with  the  appearance 
of  the  most  lively  agitation,  while  the  squaws  rushed  to  and 
fro  in  great  excitement,  and  evidently  prepared  for  some  fear- 
ful scene.  Any  further  manifestation  of  ill-feeling  was,  how- 
ever, suppressed  for  the  present,  and  Capt.  Heald,  strange  as 
it  may  seem,  continued  to  entertain  a  conviction  of  his  hav- 
ing created  so  amicable  a  disposition  among  the  Indians,  as 
would  ensure  the  safety  of  the  command,  on  their  march  to 
Fort  Wayne. 

*This  is  done  by  cutting  the  meat  in  thin  slices,  placing  it  upon  a  scaffold  and  making 
a  slow  fire  under  it,  which  dries  and  smokes  it  at  the  same  time. 


1812.  The  Massacre  at  Chicago.  605 

Daring  this  excitement  amongst  the  Indians,  a  runner  arri- 
ved with  a  message  from  Tecumthe,  with  the  news  of  the 
capture  of  Mackinac,  the  defeat  of  Van  Home,  and  the  re- 
treat of  Gen.  Hull  from  Canada.  He  desired  them  to  arm 
immediately  ;  and  intimated,  that  he  had  no  doubt  but  Hull 
would  soon  be  compelled  to  surrender.* 

In  this  precarious  condition,  matters  remained  until  the 
12th  of  August,  when  a  council  was  held  with  the  Indians 
who  collected  from  the  vicinity.  None  of  the  military  officers 
attended  but  Capt.  Heald,  though  requested  by  him.  They 
had  been  informed  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  young 
chiefs  to  massacre  them  in  council,  and  soon  as  the  comman- 
der left  the  fort,  they  took  command  of  the  block-houses, 
opened  the  port-holes  and  pointed  the  loaded  cannon  so  as  to 
command  the  whole  council.  This,  probably,  caused  a  post- 
ponement of  their  horrid  designs. 

The  Captain  informed  the  council  of  his  intentions  to  dis- 
tribute the  next  day,  among  them,  all  the  goods  in  the  store- 
house, with  the  ammunition  and  provisions.  He  requested 
the  Pottawatomies  to  furnish  him  an  escort  to  Fort  Wayne, 
promising  them  a  liberal  reward  upon  their  arrival  there,  in- 
addition  to  the  liberal  presents  they  were  now  to  receive. 
The  Indians  were  profuse  in  their  professions  of  good-will 
and  friendship,  assented  to  all  he  proposed,  and  promised  all 
he  desired.  The  result  shows  the  true  character  of  the 
Indians.  No  act  of  kindness,  nor  offer  of  reward,  could  as- 
suage their  thirst  for  blood. 

Mr.  Kinzie,  who  understood  well  the  Indian  character,  and 
their  designs,  waited  on  the  commander,  in  the  hope  of  open- 
ing his  eyes  to  the  appaling  danger.  He  told  him  the  Indians 
had  been  secretly  hostile  to  the  Americans  for  a  long  time  ; 
that  since  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  he  had  dispatched  orders 
to  all  his  traders  to  furnish  no  ammunition  to  them,  and  point- 
ed out  the  wretched  policy  to  Captain  Heald,  of  furnishing 
the  enemy  with  arms  and  ammunition  to  destroy  the  Ameri- 
cans. This  argument  opened  the  eyes  of  the  commander,  who 
was  struck  with  the  impolicy,  and  resolved  to  destroy  the  am- 
munition and  liquor. 


*  Kinzie,  pp.  12  to  15. 

t  Brown's  History  of  Illinois,  p.  307.  Note. 


606  The  Massacre  at  Chicago.  1812. 

The  next  day,  (13th)  the  goods,  consisting  of  blankets, 
cloths,  paints,  &c.,  were  distributed,  but  at  night  the  ammu- 
nition was  thrown  into  an  old  well,  and  the  casks  of  alcohol, 
including  a  large  quantity  belonging  to  Mr.  Kinzie,  was  tak- 
en through  the  sally-port,  their  heads  knocked  in,  and  the  con- 
tents poured  into  the  river.  The  Indians,  ever  watchful  and 
suspicious,  stealthily  crept  around,  and  soon  found  out  the 
loss  of  their  loved  "  fire-water." 

On  the  14th,  Capt.  Wells  departed  with  fifteen  friendly  Miam- 
ies.  He  was  a  brave  man,  had  resided  among  the  Indians  from 
boyhood,  and  knew  well  their  character  and  habits.  He  had 
heard  at  Fort  Wayne,  of  the  order  of  General  Hull  to  evacu- 
ate Fort  Dearborn,  and  knowing  the  hostile  intentions  of  the 
Pottawatomies,  he  had  made  a  rapid  march  through  the  wil- 
derness, to  prevent,  if  possible,  the  exposure  of  his  sister,  Mrs. 
Heald,  the  officers  and  garrison,  to  certain  destruction.  But 
he  came  too  late  !  The  ammunition  had  been  destroyed,  and 
on  the  provisions  the  enemy  was  rioting.  His  only  alterna- 
tive was  to  hasten  their  departure,  and  every  preparation  was 
made  for  the  march  of  the  troops  next  morning. 

A  second  Council  was  held  with  the  Indians  in  the  after- 
noon. They  expressed  great  indignation  at  the  destruction 
of  the  ammunition  and  liquor.  Murmurs  and  threats  were 
heard  from  every  quarter. 

Among  the  chiefs  and  braves  were  several,  who,  although 
they  partook  of  the  feelings  of  hostility  of  their  tribe  to  the 
Americans,  retained  a  personal  regard  for  the  troops,  and  the 
white  families  in  the  place.  They  exerted  their  utmost  influ- 
ence to  allay  the  angry  feelings  of  the  savage  warriors ;  but 
their  efforts  were  in  vain. 

Among  these  was  Black  Partridge,  a  chief  of  some  distinc- 
tion. The  evening  after  the  second  council,  he  entered  the 
quarters  of  the  commanding  officer.  "  Father,"  said  the  ven- 
erable chief,  "  I  come  to  deliver  up  to  you  the  medal  I  wear. 
It  was  given  me  by  the  Americans,  and  I  have  long  worn  it, 
in  token  of  our  mutual  friendship.  But  our  young  men  are 
resolved  to  imbrue  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  the  whites.  I 
cannot  restrain  them,  and  I  will  not  wear  a  token  of  peace 
while  I  am  compelled  to  act  as  an  enemy." 

The  reserved  ammunition,  twenty-five  rounds  to  a  man, 
was  now  distributed.  The  baggage  wagons  for  the  sicks  the 


1812.  The  Massacre  at   Chicago.  607 

women  and  children  were  ready,  and,  amidst  the  surrounding 
gloom,  and  the  expectation  of  a  fatiguing  march  through 
the  wilderness,  or  a  disastrous  issue  on  the  morrow,  the  whole 
party,  except  the  watchful  sentinels,  retired  for  a  little  rest. 

The  fatal  morning  of  the  15th  of  August,  arrived.  The  sun 
shone  out  in  brightness  as  it  arose  from  the  glassy  surface  of 
the  lake.  The  atmosphere  was  balmy,  and  could  the  feelings 
of  the  party  have  been  relieved  from  the  most  distressing  ap- 
prehensions, they  could  have  departed  with  exhilerating  feel- 
ings. 

Early  in  the  morning  a  message  was  received  by  Mr.  Kin- 
zie,  from  To-pc-nee-be,  a  friendly  chief  of  the  St.  Joseph's  band, 
informing  him  that  the  Pottawatomies,  who  had  promised  to 
be  an  escort  to  the  detachment,  designed  mischief.  Mr.  Kin- 
zie  had  placed  his  family  under  the  protection  of  some 
friendly  Indians.  This  party,  in  a  boat,  consisted  of  Mrs.  Kin- 
zie,  four  young  children,  a  clerk  of  Mr.  Kinzie's,  two  servants, 
and  the  boat-men,  or  voyageurs,  with  two  Indians  as  protec- 
tors. The  boat  was  intended  to  pass  along  the  southern'end 
of  the  lake  to  St.  Joseph's.  Mr.  Kinzie  and  his  eldest  son,  a 
youth,  had  agreed  to  accompany  Captain  Heald  and  the 
troops,  as  he  thought  his  influence  over  the  Indians  would  en- 
able him  to  restrain  the  fury  of  the  savages,  as  they  were 
much  attached  to  him  and  his  family. 

To-pe-nee-be  urged  him  and  his  son  to  accompany  his  fami- 
ly in  the  boat,  assuring  him  the  hostile  Indians  would  allow 
his  boat  to  pass  in  safety  to  St.  Joseph's. 

The  boat  had  scarcely  reached  the  lake,  when  another  mes- 
senger from  this  friendly  chief,  arrived  to  detain  them  where 
they  were.  We  leave  the  reader  to  imagine  the  feelings  of 
the  matter.  "  She  was  a  woman  of  uncommon  energy,  and 
strength  of  character,  yet  her  heart  died  within  her  as  she 
folded  her  arms  around  her  helpless  infants."  And  when  she 
heard  the  discharge  of  the  guns,  and  the  shrill,  terrific  war- 
whoop  of  the  infuriated  savages,  and  knew  the  party,  and 
most  probably  her  beloved  husband  and  first  born  son  were 
doomed  to  destruction,  language  has  not  power  to  describe 
her  agony  ! 

At  nine  o'clock  the  troops,  with  the  baggage  wagons,  left 
the  fort  with  martial  music  and  in  military  array.  Captain 
Wells,  at  the  head  of  his  band  of  Miamies,  led  the  advance 


•608  The  Massacre  at  Chicago.  1812. 

with  his  face  blackened  after  the  manner  of  Indians;  the 
troops,  with  the  wagons,  containing  the  women  and  children, 
the  sick  and  lame,  followed,  while  at  a  little  distance  behind, 
were  the  Pottawatomies,  about  five  hundred  in  number,  who 
had  pledged  their  honor  to  escort  them  in  safety  to  Fort 
Wayne.  The  party  took  the  road  along  the  lake  shore. 

On  reaching  the  point  where  a  range  of  sand  hills  commen- 
ced, (within  the  present  limits  of  Chicago,)  the  Pottawato- 
mies defiled  to  the  right  into  the  prairie,  to  bring  the  sand 
hills  between  them  and  the  Americans.  They  had  marched 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  fort,  when  Captain  Wells, 
who,  with  his  Miamies,  was  in  advance,  rode  furiously  back, 
and  exclaimed, 

"  They  are  about  to  attack  us :  form  instantly  and  charge 
upon  them." 

The  words  were  scarcely  uttered  when  a  volley  of  balls, 
from  Indian  muskets,  behind  the  sand  hills,  poured  upon  them. 
The  troops  were  hastily  formed  into  lines  and  charged  up  the 
bank.  One  man,  a  veteran  soldier  of  seventy,  fell  as  they 
mounted  the  bank.  The  battle  became  general.  The  Miam- 
ies fled  at  the  outset,  though  Captain  Wells  did  his  utmost  to 
induce  them  to  stand  their  ground.  Their  chief  rode  up  to 
the  Pottawatomies,  charged  them  with  treachery,  and,  bran- 
dishing his  tomahawk,  declared,  "  he  would  be  the  first  to  head 
a  party  of  Americans  and  punish  them."  He  then  turned  his 
horse  and  galloped  after  his  companions  over  the  prairie. 

The  American  troops  behaved  most  gallantly,  and  sold  their 
lives  dearly.  Mrs.  Helm,  the  wife  of  Lieutenant  Helm,  was 
in  the  action,  behaved  with  astonishing  presence  of  mind  (as 
did  all  the  other  females)  and  furnished  Mr.  Kinzie  with  many 
thrilling  facts,  from  which  we  make  the  following  extracts. 
Mrs.  Helm  was  the  step-daughter  of  Mr.  Kinzie.  She  states: 

"Our  horses  pranced  and  bounded  and  could  hardly  be  re- 
strained, as  the  balls  whistled  around  them.  I  drew  off  a 
little  and  gazed  upon  my  husband  and  father,  who  were  yet 
unharmed.  I  felt  that  my  hour  was  come,  and  endeavored  to 
forget  those  I  loved,  and  prepare  myself  for  my  approaching 
fate. 

"While  I  was  thus  engaged,  the  surgeon,  Dr.  V.,  came  up, 
he  was  badly  wounded.  His  horse  had  been  shot  under  him, 
and  he  had  received  a  ball  in  his  leg.  Every  muscle  of  his 
countenance  was  quivering  with  the  agony  of  terror.  He 


1812.  The  Massacre  at  Chicago.  609 

said  to  me,  'Do  you  think  they  will  take  our  lives  ?  I  am  badly 
wounded,  but  I  think  not  mortally.  Perhaps  we  might  pur- 
chase our  lives  by  promising  them  a  large  reward.  Do  you 
think  there  is  any  chance?' 

"  Dr.  V.  said  I,  "do  not  L't  us  waste  the  few  moments  that 
yet  remain  to  us,  in  such  vain  hopes.  Our  fate  is  inevitable. 
In  a  few  moments  we  must  appear  before  the  bar  of  God.  Let 
us  endeavor  to  make  what  preparation  is  yet  in  our  power.' 
'Oh  !  I  cannot  die !'  exclaimed  he,  'I  am  not  fit  to  die — if  I 
had  but  a  short  time  to  prepare — death  is  awful !  I  pointed  to 
Ensign  Ronan,  who,  though  mortally  wounded,  and  nearly 
down,  was  still  fighting  with  desperation,  upon  one  knee. 

"  'Look  at  that  man,'  said  I,  'at  least  he  dies  like  a  soldier  !' 

"  'Yes,'  replied  the  unfortunate  man,  with  a  convulsive 
gasp,  'but  he  has  no  terrors  of  the  future — he  is  an  unbe- 
liever !' 

"  At  this  moment,  a  young  Indian  raised  his  tomahawk  at 
me.  By  springing  aside,  I  avoided  the  blow  which  was  aimed 
at  my  skull,  but  which  alighted  on  my  shoulder.  I  seized  him 
around  the  neck,  and  while  exerting  my  utmost  efforts  to  get 
possession  of  his  scalping-knife,  which  hung  in  a  scabbard 
over  his  breast,  I  was  dragged  from  his  grasp  by  another  and 
an  older  Indian. 

"The  latter  bore  me,  struggling  and  resisting,  towards  the 
lake.  Notwithstanding  the  rapidity  with  which  I  was  hurri- 
ed along,  I  recognized,  as  I  passed  them,  the  lifeless  remains 
of  the  unfortunate  surgeon.  Some  murderous  tomahawk  had 
stretched  him  upon  the  very  spot  where  I  had  last  seen  him. 

"I  was  immediately  plunged  into  the  water,  and  held  there 
with  a  forcible  hand,  notwithstanding  my  resistance.  I  soon 
perceived,  however,  that  the  object  of  try  captor  was  not  to 
drown  me,  as  he  held  me  firmly  in  such  a  position  as  to  place 
my  head  above  the  water.  This  reassured  me,  and  regarding 
him  attentively,  I  soon  recognized,  in  spite  of  the  paint,  with 
which  he  was  disguised,  The  Black  Partridge. 

"When  the  firing  had  somewhat  subsided,  my  preserver  bore 
me  from  the  water,  and  conducted  me  up  the  sand-banks.  It 
was  a  burning  August  morning,  and  walking  through  the  sand 
in  my  drenched  condition,  was  inexpressibly  painful  and  fa- 
tiguing. I  stopped  and  took  offmy  shoes,  to  free  them  from  the 
sand,  with  which  they  were  nearly  filled,  when  a  squaw  seized 
and  carried  them  off,  and  I  was  obliged  to  proceed  without 
them.  When  we  had  gained  the  prairie,  I  was  met  by  my 
father  who  told  me  that  my  husband  was  safe,  and  but  slightly 
wounded.  They  led  me  gently  back  toward  the  Chicago  river, 
along  the  southern  bank  of  which  was  the  Pottawatomie  en- 
campment. At  one  time  I  was  placed  upon  a  horse  without 
a  saddle,  but  soon  finding  the  motion  insupportable,  I  sprang 
off.  Supported  partly  by  my  kind  conductor,  and  partly  by 


610  The  Massacre  at  Chicago.  1812. 

another  Indian,  Pee-so-tum,  who  held  dangling  in  his  hand, 
the  scalp  of  Capt.  Wells,  I  dragged  my  fainting  steps  to  one 
of  the  wigwams. 

"The  wife  of  Wau-bec-nce-mah,  a  chief  from  the  Illinois  river, 
was  standing  near,  and  seeing  my  exhausted  condition,  she 
seized  a  kettle,  dipped  up  some  water  from  a  little  stream  that 
flowed  near,  threw  into  it  some  maple  sugar,  and  stirring  it 
up  with  her  hand,  gave  it  to  me  to  drink.  This  act  of  kind- 
ness, in  the  midst  of  so  many  atrocities,  touched  me  most 
sensibly,  but  my  attention  was  soon  diverted  to  another 
object.  The  fort  had  become  a  scene  of  plunder,  to 
such  as  remained  after  the  troops  had  marched  out.  The 
cattle  had  been  shot  down  as  they  run  at  large,  and  lay  dead 
or  dying  around. 

"As  the  noise  of  the  firing  grew  gradually  less,  and 
the  stragglers  from  the  victorious  party  dropped  in,  I  received 
confirmation  of  what  my  father  had  hurriedly  communicated 
in  our  rencontre  on  the  lake  shore ;  namely,  that  the  whites 
had  surrendered,  after  the  loss  of  about  two-thirds  of  their 
number.  They  had  stipulated  for  the  preservation  of  their 
lives,  and  those  of  the  remaining  women  and  children,  and  for 
their  delivery  at  some  of  the  British  posts,  unless  ransomed  by 
traders  in  the  Indian  country.  It  appears  that  the  wounded 
prisoners  were  not  considered  as  included  in  the  stipulation, 
and  a  horrible  scene  occurred  upon  their  being  brought  into 
camp. 

"An  old  squaw,  infuriated  by  the  loss  of  friends,  or  excited 
by  the  sanguinary  scenes  around  her,  seemed  possessed  by  a 
demoniac  ferocity.  She  seized  a  stable  fork,  and  assaulted  one 
miserable  victim,  who  lay  groaning  and  writhing  in  the  agony 
of  his  wounds,  aggravated  by  the  scorching  beams  of  the  sun. 
With  a  delicacy  of  feeling  scarcely  to  have  been  expected, 
under  such  circumstances,  Wau-bcc-nce-mah  stretched  a  mat 
across  two  poles,  between  me  and  this  dreadful  scene.  I  was 
thus  spared,  in  some  degree,  a  view  of  its  horrors,  although  I 
could  not  entirely  close  my  ears  to  the  cries  of  the  sufferer. 
The  following  night,  five  more  of  the  wounded  prisoners  were 
tomahawked." 

But  why  dwell  upon  this  painful  subject?  Why  describe 
the  butchery  of  the  children,  twelve  of  whom,  placed  together 
in  one  baggage-wagon,  fell  beneath  the  merciless  tomahawk 
of  one  young  savage?  This  atrocious  act  was  committed  after 
the  whites,  twenty-seven  in  number,  had  surrendered.  When 
Capt.  W^ells  beheld  it,  he  exclaimed,  "Is  that  their  game? 
Then  I  will  kill  too !"  So  saying,  he  turned  his  horse's  head, 
and  started  for  the  Indian  camp  near  the  fort,  where  had  been 
left  their  squaws  and  children. 

Several  Indians  pursued  him,  firing  at  him  as  he  galloped 
along.  He  laid  himself  fiat,  on  the  neck  of  his  horse,  loading 


1812.  The   Massacre  at  Chicago.  611 

and  firing  in  that  position.  At  length,  the  balls  of  his  pursuers 
took  effect,  killing  his  horse,  and  severely  wounding  himself. 
At  this  moment  he  was  met  by  Winnemeg  and  Wau-ban-see, 
who  endeavored  to  save  him  from  the  savages  who  had  now 
overtaken  him  ;  but  as  they  supported  him  along,  after  hav- 
ing disengaged  him  from  his  horse,  he  received  his  death-blow 
from  one  of  the  party,  (Pce-so-tum,)  who  stabbed  him  in  the 
back. 

The  heroic  resolution  of  one  of  the  soldier's  wives  deserves 
to  be  recorded.  She  had,  from  the  first,  expressed  a  determi- 
nation never  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  savages,  believing 
that  their  prisoners  were  always  subjected  to  tortures  worse 
than  death.  When,  therefore,  a  party  came  up  to  her,  to 
make  her  prisoner,  she  fought  with  desperation,  refusing  to 
surrender,  although  assured  of  safe  treatment ;  and  literally 
suffered  herself  to  be  cut  to  pieces,  rather  than  become  their 
captive. 

The  heart  of  Capt.  Wells  was  taken  out,  and  cut  into  pieces, 
and  distributed  among  the  tribes.  His  mutilated  remains  re- 
mained unburied  until  next  day,  when  Billy  Caldwell  gath- 
ered up  his  head  in  one  place  and  mangled  body  in  another, 
and  buried  them  in  the  sand.* 

The  family  of  Mr.  Kinzie,  had  been  taken  from  the  boat 
to  their  home,  by  friendly  Indians,  and  there  strictly  guarded. 
Very  soon  a  very  hostile  party  of  the  Pottawatomie  nation 
arrived  from  the  Wabash,  and  it  required  all  the  skill  and 
bravery  of  Black  Partridge,  Waubansee,  Billy  Caldwell,  (who 
arrived  at  a  critical  moment,)  and  other  friendly  Indians,  to 
protect  them.  Runners  had  been  sent  by  the  hostile  chiefs  to 
all  the  Indian  villages,  to  apprise  them  of  the  intended  evacu- 
ation of  the  fort,  and  of  their  plan  of  attacking  the  troops. — 
In  eager  thirst  to  participate  in  such  a  scene  of  blood,  but  ar- 
rived too  late  to  participate  in  the  massacre.  They  were  in- 
furiated at  their  disappointment,  and  sought  to  glut  their  ven- 
geance on  the  wounded  and  prisoners.! 

On  the  third  day  after  the  massacre,  the  family  of  Mr.  Kin- 
zie, with  the  attaches  of  the  establishment,  under  the  care  of 
Francois,  a  half  breed  interpreter,  were  taken  to  St.  Joseph's 
in  a  boat,  where  they  remained  until  the  following  November, 
under  the  protection  of  To-pe-nc-be,  and  his  band.  They  were 
then  carried  to  Detroit,  under  the  escort  of  Chandonnai^  and  a 

*  Brown's  Illinois,  316.    Note, 
t  Kinzie,  26  to  23. 


612  Closing  Remarks.  1812. 

friendly  chief  by  the  name  of  Kee-po-tah,  and,  with  their  ser- 
vants, delivered  up,  as  prisoners  of  war,  to  the  British  com- 
manding officer. 

"  Of  the  other  prisoners,  Captain  Heald  and  Mrs.  Heald 
were  sent  across  the  lake  to  St.  Joseph's,  the  day  after  the 
battle.  Captain  Heald  had  received  two  wounds,  and  Mrs. 
Heald  seven,  the  ball  of  one  of  which  was  cut  from  her  arm 
by  Mr.  Kinzie,  with  a  pen-knife,  after  the  engagement. 

Mrs.  H.  was  ransomed  on  the  battle  field,  by  Chandonnai,  a 
half  breed  from  St.  Joseph's,  for  a  mule  he  had  just  taken,  and 
the  promise  of  ten  bottles  of  whisky. 

Captain  Heald  was  taken  prisoner  by  an  Indian  from  the 
Kankakee,  who,  seeing  the  wounded  and  enfeebled  state  of 
Mrs.  Heald,  generously  released  his  prisoner,  that  he  might 
accompany  his  wife. 

But  when  this  Indian  returned  to  his  village  on  the  Kanka- 
kee, he  found  that  his  generosity  had  excited  so  much  dissatis- 
faction in  his  band  that  he  resolved  to  visit  St.  Joseph's  and 
reclaim  his  prisoner.  News  of  his  intention  having  reached 
To-pe-ne-be,  Kee-po-tah,  Chandonnai,  and  other  friendly  braves, 
they  sent  them  in  a  bark  canoe,  under  the  charge  of  Rob- 
inson, a  half-breed,  along  the  eastern  side  of  Lake  Michi- 
gan, three  hundred  miles,  to  Mackinac,  where  they  were  de- 
livered over  to  the  commanding  officer. 

Lieutenant  Helm  was  wounded  in  the  action  and  taken 
prisoner;  and  afterwards  taken  by  some  friendly  Indians  to 
the  Au  sable,  and  from  thence  to  St.  Louis,  and  liberated  from 
captivity  through  the  agency  of  the  late  Thomas  Forsyth,  Esq. 

Mrs.  Helm  received  a  slight  wound  in  the  ancle  ;  had  her 
horse  shot  from  under  her  ;  and  after  passing  through  the  ag- 
onizing scenes  described,  went  with  the  family  of  Mr.  Kinzie 
to  Detroit. 

The  soldiers,  with  their  wives  and  children,  were  dispersed 
among  the  different  villages  of  the  Pottawatomies,  upon  the 
Illinois,  Wabash,  Rock  River  and  Milwaukee.  The  largest 
proportion  were  taken  to  Detroit  and  ransomed  the  following 
spring.  Some,  however,  remained  in  captivity  another  year, 
and  experienced  more  kindness  than  was  expected  from  an 
enemy  so  merciless. 

We  have  given  this  account  more  in  detail,  than  is  our 
usage,  partly  because  the  locality  was  Chicago,  where  some 


1812.  Official  Report  of  Captain  Hcald.  613 

individuals  are  still  living  who  passed  through  these  terrible 
scenes  ;  and  partly  to  correct  a  very  erroneous  notion,  pre- 
vailing amongst  many  humane  and  philanthropic  persons,  that 
Indian  hostilities  usually  commence  by  aggressions  of  the 
"  pale  faces,"  and  that  if  they  were  treated  kindly  and  libe- 
rally, they  will  be  kind  in  turn.  Individual  instances  have 
been  referred  to  as  proof  of  their  general  character. 

The  aborigines  of  this  country  were  always  rude  savages  ; 
subsisting  chiefly  by  fishing  and  hunting,  and  from  the  earli- 
est traditionary  notice,  were  engaged  in  petty  exterminating 
wars  with  each  other. 

Delight  in  war  and  thirst  for  human  blood  is  their  "  ruling 
passion."  The  liberal  distribution  of  goods  and  provisions, 
and  the  promise  of  more  ample -rewards  at  Fort  Wayne,  by 
Captain  Heald,  could  not  allay  this  passion.  They  gave  their 
solemn  pledges  for  the  protection  of  the  party  on  their  route 
to  Fort  Wayne,  and  sent  out  runners  to  rally  their  friends  to 
the  massacre  the  same  day. 

Since  the  foregoing  sketch  was  in  type,  we  have  found  the 
official  report  of  Capt.  Heald,  dated  Pittsburgh,  October  23d, 
1812.  It  is  contained  in  Niles'  Weekly  Register,  of  Novem- 
ber 7th,  volume  iii.,  p.  155.  It  varies  in  some  particulars, 
though  in  nothing  material,  from  the  documents  used  for  the 
sketch.  Probably,  he  wrote  in  part  from  memory. 

"  On  the  9th  of  August,  I  received  orders  from  General 
Hull  to  evacuate  the  post,  and  proceed  with  my  command  to 
Detroit,  leaving  it  at  my  discretion  to  dispose  of  the  public 
property  as  I  thought  proper.  The  neighboring  Indians  got 
the  information  as  early  as  I  did,  and  came  from  all  quarters 
to  receive  the  goods  in  the  factory  store,  which  they  under- 
stood were  to  be  given  to  them.  On  the  13th,  Captain  Wells 
of  Fort  Wayne,  arrived  with  about  thirty  Miamies,  for  the 
purpose  of  escorting  us  in  by  the  request  of  General  Hull. — 
On  the  14th,  I  delivered  the  Indians  all  the  goods  in  the  facto- 
ry store,  and  a  considerable  quantity  of  provisions,  which  we 
could  not  take  away  with  us. 

The  surplus  arms  and  ammunition,  I  thought  proper  to  de- 
stroy, fearing  they  would  make  bad  use  of  it,  if  put  in  their 
possession. 

I  also  destroyed  all  the  liquor  on  hand,  soon  after  they  be- 
gan to  collect.  The  collection  was  unusually  large  for  that 
place,  but  they  conducted  with  the  strictest  propriety,  till  after 
I  left  the  fort. 

On    he  15th,  at  9  o'clock,  A.  M.,  we  commenced  our  march 


614  Official  Report  of  Captain  Heald.  1812. 

— a  part  of  the  Miamies  were  detached  in  front,  the  remain- 
der in  our  rear  as  guards,  under  the  direction  of  Captain 
Wells.  The  situation  of  the  country  rendered  it  necessary 
for  us  to  take  the  beach,  with  the  lake  on  our  left,  and  a  high 
bank  on  our  right,  at  about  one  hundred  yards  distance.  We 
proceeded  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  when  it  was  discovered 
the  Indians  were  prepared  to  attack  us  from  behind  the  bank. 

I  immediately  marched  up  the  company  to  the  top  of  the 
bank,  when  the  action  commenced;  after  firing  one  round, re- 
charged, and  the  Indians  gave  way  in  front  and  joined  those 
on  our  flanks.  In  about  fifteen  minutes,  they  got  possession 
of  all  our  horses,  provision  and  baggage  of  every  description, 
and,  finding  the  Miamies  did  not  assist  us,  I  drew  off  the  few 
men  I  had  left,  and  took  possession  of  a  small  elevation  in 
the  open  prairie  out  of  shot  of  the  bank  or  any  other  cover. 
The  Indians  did  not  follow  me,  but  assembled  in  a  body  on 
the  top  of  the  bank,  and,  after  some  consultation  among 
themselves,  made  signs  to  me  to  approach  them.  I  advan- 
ced towards  them  alone,  and  was  met  by  one  of  the  Potta- 
watomie  chiefs  called  the  Blackbird,  with  an  interpreter. 

After  shaking  hands,  he  requested  me  to  surrender,  prom- 
ising to  spare  the  lives  of  all  the  prisoners.  On  a  few  mo- 
ments consideration,  I  concluded  it  would  be  the  most  pru- 
dent to  comply  with  his  request,  although  I  did  not  put  en- 
tire confidence  in  his  promise.  After  delivering  up  our  arms, 
we  were  taken  back  to  their  encampment  near  the  fort,  and 
distributed  among  the  different  tribes. 

The  next  morning  they  set  fire  to  the  fort,  and  left  the 
place,  taking  the  prisoners  with  them.  Their  number  of 
warriors  was  between  four  and  five  hundred,  mostly  of  the 
Pottawatomie  nation,  and  their  loss,  from  the  best  informa- 
tion I  could  get,  was  about  fifteen.  Our  strength  was  fifty- 
four  regulars  and  twelve  militia,  out  of  which  twenty-six 
regulars,  and  all  the  militia,  were  killed  in  the  action,  with 
two  women  and  twelve  children. 

Ensign  George  Ronan  and  Doctor  Isaac  V.  Van  Voor- 
hees,  of  my  company,  with  Captain  Wells,  of  Fort  Wayne, 
are,  to  my  great  sorrow,  numbered  among  the  dead.  Lieu- 
tenant Lina  T.  Healm,  with  twenty-five  non-commissioned 
officers  and  privates,  and  eleven  women  and  children,  were 
prisoners,  when  we  separated. 

Mrs.  Heald  and  myself  were  taken  to  the  mouth  of  the 
river  St.  Joseph,  and  being  both  badly  wounded,  were  per- 
mitted to  reside  with  Mr.  Burnet,  an  Indian  trader.  In  a 
few  days  after  our  arrival  there,  the  Indians  all  went  off 
to  take  Fort  Wayne,  and  in  their  absence  I  engaged  a 
Frenchman  to  take  us  to  Michillimackinac,  by  water,  where 
I  gave  myself  up  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  with  one  of  my  ser- 
geants. The  commanding  officer  Captain  Roberts,  offered 


1812.  Captain  Heald  and  his  Family.  615 

me  every  assistance  in  his  power  to  render  our  situation 
comfortable  while  we  remained  there,  and  to  enable  us  to 
proceed  on  our  journey.  To  him,  I  gave  my  parole  of  hon- 
or, and  reported  myself  to  Colonel  Proctor,  who  gave  us  a 
passage  to  Buffalo ;  from  that  place  1  came  by  the  way  of 
Presqu'  Isle  and  arrived  here  yesterday." 

Captain  (subsequently  Major)  Heald,  his  wife  and  family, 
settled  in  the  county  of  St.  Charles,  Mo.,  after  the  war, 
about  1817,  where  he  died  about  fifteen  years  since.  He 
was  respected  and  beloved  by  his  acquaintance.  His  health 
was  impaired  from  the  wounds  he  received. 

Mrs.  Heald,  who  still  survives  him,  was  a  daughter  of  the 
late  Colonel  Samuel  Wells,  of  the  same  county,  one  of  the 
prominent  men  in  Kentucky,  previous  to,  and  during  the 
war. 

Captain  William  Wayne  Wells,  who  was  killed  in  the  bat- 
tle, we  suppose  to  have  been  a  brother  of  Colonel  Samuel 
Wells,  and  was  for  some  years  a  prisoner  and  adopted 
amongst  the  Miami  Indians.  Consequently  he  was  uncle  to 
Mrs.  Heald,  though  in  Indian  fashion  he  called  her  sister. 

Mrs.  Heald  fought  like  a  perfect  heroine  in  the  action,  and 
received  several  wounds.  After  she  was  in  the  boat,  a  hos- 
tile Indian  assailed  her  with  his  tomahawk,  and  her  life  was 
saved  by  the  interposition  of  a  friendly  chief. 

After  the  defeat  of  General  Hull,  and  the  victories  of  the 
British  and  Indians  in  the  North-west,  the  people  in  the 
western  States,  and  especially  in  Kentucky  and  Ohio,  became 
excited,  and  but  one  sentiment  prevailed.  By  the  middle  of 
August,  the  whole  ^North-west,  with  the  exception  of  Fort 
Wayne  and  Fort  Harrison,  was  in  possession  of  the  British 
and  their  red  allies. 

Every  citizen  in  the  States  referred  to,  and  of  the  Territories 
of  Indiana  and  Illinois,  seemed  animated  with  one  desire — to 
wipe  off  the  disgrace  with  which  our  arms  had  been  stained, 
and  to  roll  back  the  desolation  that  threatened  the  frontiers  of 
Ohio  and  the  territories  beyond. 

Gov.  Harrison  had  been  appointed  Brigadier-General  in  the 
Army  of  the  United  States  in  August,  and,  upon  the  urgent 
recommendation  of  Gen.  Shelby,  Henry  Clay,  (then  Speaker 
of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  Congress,)  the  Hon.  Thos. 
Todd,  and  others,  was  appointed  by  Gen.  Scott,  Major-Gene- 
ral  by  brevet,  in  the  Kentucky  militia,  and  commanded  the 


616  General  Harrison  in   Command.  1812. 

expedition  to  the  North-west.     In  the  course  of  a  few  weeks 
Kentucky  had  about  seven  thousand  men  in  the  field.* 

Col.  R.  M.  Johnson,  and  his  brother  James  Johnson,  were 
engaged  in  raising  mounted  men  in  Kentucky.  Several 
regiments  were  directed  to  the  aid  of  Indiana  and  Illinois. 
Vincennes  was  made  the  principal  rendezvous,  and  General 
Samuel  Hopkins,  a  venerable  Revolutionary  officer,  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  command  of  the  Kentucky  troops  destined  to 
march  in  that  direction.  t 

In  the  meantime,  Governor  Edwards,  of  Illinois,  was  active 
in  raising  men  and  making  preparations  for  an  expedition 
against  the  hostile  Indians  on  the  Illinois  river. 

Col.  Wm.  Russell,  of  the  17th  United  States'  regiment,  was 
engaged  in  raising  companies  of  troops,  denominated  "Ran- 
gers," to  co-operate  with  Governor  Edwards.  Their  place  of 
rendezvous  was  near  the  present  town  of  Edwardsville,  West 
of  Cahokia,  and  named  "Camp  Russell."  The  scattered  set- 
tlements of  Illinois  then  extended  no  farther  north  than 
Wood  river,  near  Alton. 

A  line  drawn  from  that  point  past  Greenville  and  Mount 
Vernon  to  Shawneetown,  would  have  enclosed  all  the  white 
population,  except  a  few  families  on  the  Wabash,  adjacent  to 
Vincennes. 

The  concerted  arrangement  was,  for  General  Hopkins,  with 
about  four  thousand  mounted  riflemen,  to  move  up  the  Wa- 
bash to  Fort  Harrison,  cross  over  to  the  Illinois  country,  de- 
stroy all  the  Indian  villages  near  the  Wabash,  march  across 
the  prairies  to  the  head  waters  of  the  Sangamon  and  Ver- 
million  rivers,  form  a  junction  with  the  Illinois  rangers  under 
Governor  Edwards  and  Colonel  Russell,  and  sweep  over  all 
the  villages  along  the  Illinois  river. 

After  entering  the  prairies  of  Illinois,  the  troops  under  Gen. 
Hopkins  became  disorderly ;  were  wanting  in  discipline  and 
subordination,  and  the  expedition  was  defeated  in  its  objects. 
Success  depended  on  the  celerity  and  secrecy  of  their  march. 
If  the  Indians  obtained  knowledge  of  the  approach  of  such 
a  force,  they  would  desert  their  villages  and  flee  to  the  north, 
as  they  did.  Game  was  abundant,  especially  deer,  and  no 
authority  of  the  veteran  General,  or  his  aids,  could  prevent 
the  troops,  and  even  the  subaltern  officers  from  continually 

*  tiles'  Register,  iii.  25.     McAffee,  106  to  109. 


1812.  Expedition  under  Gen.  Hopkins.  617 

firing  at  game.  Add  to  this,  the  season  was  rainy,  they  had 
no  competent  guides,  and  the  fourth  day  from  Fort  Harrison, 
they  lost  the  course  in  the  prairies,  and  returned  to  the 
W  abash. 

On  the  29th  of  September,  General  Hopkins  wrote  to  Gov. 
Shelby,  of  Kentucky,  saying : 

"My  present  intention  is  to  attack  every  settlement  on  the 
Wabash,  and  destroy  their  property,  then  fall  upon  the  Illi- 
nois ;  and  I  trust,  in  all  the  next  month,  to  perform  much  of 
it.  Serious  opposition  I  hardly  apprehend,  although  I  intend 
to  be  prepared  for  it."* 

How  mortifying  to  the  veteran  soldier  must  it  have  been  to 
write  the  official  communication  he  did  from  Fort  Harrison, 
October  6 th.f 

One  great  effect  resulted  from  this  expedition.  It  so  alarmed 
the  Indians  on  the  waters  of  the  Sangamon,  Mackinac  and 
Illinois  rivers,  that  they  retreated  with  their  families,  towards 
the  north. 

For  a  sketch  of  the  expedition  of  Col.  Russell  and  Gover- 
nor Edwards,  to  the  Kickapoo  and  Peoria  towns,  we  are  in- 
debted to  a  communication  from  the  Hon.  John  Reynolds,  of 
Belleville,  Illinois,  who  was  an  officer  in  the  expedition.  Our 
limits  compel  us  to  give  it  in  an  abridged  form  ;  still  preserv- 
ing the  language  of  the  writer. 

"Towards  the  last  of  September,  1812,  all  the  forces  of 
United  States'  rangers,  and  mounted  volunteers,  to  the  num- 
ber of  three  hundred  and  fifty,  were  assembled  at  Camp  Rus- 
sell, and  duly  organized,  preparatory  to  marching  against  the 
Indians,  and  join  the  army  under  Gen.  Hopkins.  Camp  Rus- 
sell was  one  mile  and  a  half  north  of  Edvvardsville,  and  then 
on  the  frontier. 

Col.  Russell  commanded  the  United  States'  rangers ;  Cols. 
Stephenson  and  Rector  were  in  command  of  the  volunteers  ; 
Maj.  John  Moredock,  and  several  others,  (names  not  recol- 
lected,) were  field  •officers.  Captains  William  B.  Whiteside, 
James  B.  Moore,  Jacob  Short,  Samuel  Whiteside,  Willis  Har- 
grave,  (perhaps  others,)  commanded  companies. 

Colonel  Jacob  Judy  was  the  Captain  of  a  small  corps  of 
spies,  comprising  twenty- one  men.  [Gov.  Reynolds  was  in 
this  company.] 

The  staff  of  Gov.  Edwards  were,  N.  Rector,  Robert  K.  Mc- 

*Niles'  Register,  iii.  170. 
t  Ibid,  p.  204. 

39 


618  Statement  of  Governor  Reynolds.  1812. 

Laughlin,  and  Nathaniel  Pope.     There  may  have  been  more, 
but  the  writer  does  not  recollect  them. 

This  little  army  being  organized,  and  with  their  provisions 
for  twenty  or  thirty  days  packed  on  the  horses  they  rode,  (ex- 
cept in  a  few  instances  where  pack  horses  were  fitted  out,) 
took  up  the  line  of  march  in  a  northwardly  direction. 

Captain  Craig,  with  a  small  company,  was  ordered  to  take 
charge  of  a  boat,  fortified  for  the  occasion,  with  provision 
and  supplies,  and  proceed  up  the  Illinois  river  to  Peoria. 

This  little  army  at  that  time  was  all  the  efficient  force  to 
protect  Illinois.  We  commenced  the  march  from  Camp  Rus- 
sell, on  the  last  day  of  September.  At  that  period  the  Indians 
on  the  Sangamon,  Mackinac  and  Illinois  rivers  were  both 
numerous  and  hostile. 

The  route  lay  on  the  west  side  of  Cahokia  creek,  to  the 
lake  fork  of  the  Macoupin,  and  across  Sangamon  river  below 
the  forks,  a  few  miles  east  of  Springfield.  We  left  the  Elk- 
heart  grove  to  the  left,  and  passed  the  old  Kickapoo  village  on 
Kickapoo  creek,  and  directed  our  course  towards  the  head  of 
Peoria  lake.  The  old  Kickapoo  village  which  the  indians  had 
abandoned  was  destroyed.  As  the  army  approached  near 
Peoria,  Governor  Edwards  despatched  Lieutenant  Peyton, 
James  Reynolds,  and  some  others,  to  visit  the  village  ot  the 
Peorias,  but  they  made  no  discoveries. 

There  was  a  village  of  the  Kickapoos  and  Pottawatomies 
on  the  eastern  bluff  of  the  Illinois  river,  nearly  opposite  the 
head  of  Peoria  lake. 

The  troops  moved  with  rapidity  and  caution  towards  the 
village  and  encamped  for  the  night  within  a  few  miles  of  it. 
Thomas  Carlin,[late  Governor  of  Illinois,]  Robert  Whiteside, 
Stephen  Whiteside,  and  Davis  Whiteside,  were  sent  by  the 
Governor  to  reconnoitre  the  position  of  the  enemy,  and  report 
to  the  commanding  officer.  This  duty  was  performed  at  con- 
siderable peril,  but  with  much  adroitness.  Their  position  was 
found  to  be  about  five  miles  from  our  troop,  on  a  bluff,  and 
surrounded  by  swamps  impassable  by  mounted  men,  and 
scarcely  by  footmen.  The  swamps  were  not  only.miry,  but 
at  that  time  covered  with  high  grass  and  brushwood,  so  that 
an  Indian  could  not  be  discovered  until  within  a  few  feet  of 
him. 

In  the  morning  early,  and  concealed  by  a  dense  fog,  the 
army  marched,  and  it  was  not  long  before  Capt.  Judy,  with 
his  spies,  came  on  an  Indian  and  squaw.  The  Captain  shot 
him,  but  while  staggering  and  singing  his  death  song,  Capt. 
Wright  of  Wood  river  settlement,  incautiously  approached 
him,  when,  with  the  instinctive  emotions  peculiar  to  a  dying 
Indian,  he  shot  and  mortally  wounded  Capt.  Wright,  who 
died  after  he  was  brought  home.  The  squaw  was  taken 
prisoner  and  afterwards  restored  to  her  nation. 


1812.  Statement  of   Governor  Reynolds.  619 

The  army  marched  under  the  bluff,  that  they  might  reach 
the  village  undiscovered,  but  as  they  approached,  the  Indians 
with  their  squaws  were  on  the  retreat  to  their  swamps.  In- 
stant pursuit  was  given,  and  in  a  short  distance  from  the 
village,  horses,  riders,  arms  and  baggage,  were  overwhelmed 
in  the  morass.  It  was  a  democratic  overthrow,  for  the  Gover- 
nor and  his  horse  shared  the  same  fate  as  the  subaltern,  or 
the  private  soldier.  We  were  all  literally  "swamped" 

A  pursuit  on  foot  was  ordered,  and  executed  with  readiness 
but  extreme  difficulty.  In  this  chase  many  of  the  enemy 
were  killed,  and  at  every  step,  kettles,  mats,  and  other  Indian 
property  were  distributed  in  the  morass. 

Captain  Samuel  Whiteside,  with  a  party,  pursued  the  scat- 
tered enemy  to  the  river,  and  several  were  shot  in  attempting 
to  cross  to  the  opposite  shore.  So  excited  were  the  men,  that 
Charles  Kitchen,  Pierre  Saint  Jean,  and  John  Howard,  crossed 
the  river  on  logs  to  follow  the  retreating  foe.  The  Indians  fled 
into  the  interior  wilderness.  Some  of  our  men  were  wounded, 
but  none  killed  in  the  charge. 

On  our  return  to  the  village,  some  children  wrere  found  hid 
in  the  ashes  and  were  taken  to  the  settlement.  After  destroy- 
ing their  corn  and  other  property,  and  securing  all  their 
horses,  we  commenced  the  homeward  march.  After  travel- 
ing till  dark  to  find  a  good  camping  ground,  the  rain  set  in, 
and  the  night  was  dark.  Not  knowing  but  that  there  were 
other  Indian  towns  above,  and  learning  that  the  expedition  of 
Gen.  Hopkins  had  failed  to  meet  us,  we  apprehended  danger 
from  a  night  attack.  Many  of  the  soldiers  had  lost  their 
blankets  and  other  clothing,  in  the  swamp,  and  there  was 
much  suffering  in  camp  that  night. 

Captain  Craig  arrived  at  Peoria  with  his  boat,  where  he 
remained  several  days,  was  repeatedly  attacked  by  Indians, 
but,  being  fortified,  and  on  his  own  ground,  sustained  no  dam- 
age. He  returned  with  the  stores  in  safety.  The  troops 
marched  back  to  Camp  Russell,  where  they  were  discharged. 

There  are  many  incidents  in  the  Annals  of  Illinois  in  1812, 
and  subsequent  years,  which  we  reserve  for  the  Appendix. 

The  Pottawatomies,  Ottowas,  and  other  hostile  Indians, 
made  an  attack  on  Fort  Wayne,  on  the  28th  of  August,  which 
was  continued  by  cutting  off  all  intercourse,  until  the  16th  of 
September,  when  the  garrison  was  relieved  by  the  force  under 
Gen.  Harrison. 

Early  in  September  a  fierce  attack  was  made  on  Fort  Har- 
rison, which  was  situated  a  short  distance  above  Terre  Haute 
Its  defender  was  Captain  Taylor,  now  General  Taylor,  the 
commander  of  the  army  in    Mexico,   and    at    present    the 


620  Capt.  Z.   Taylor's  Defence  of  Fort  Harrison.        1812. 

most  eminent  of  American  military  men  ;  and  that  his  present 
position  is  derived  from  the  possession  of  true  merit  was  pro- 
ved by  his  conduct  at  Fort  Harrison,  no  less  than  by  his  beha- 
vior at  Palo  Alto,  Resaca  de  Pahna,  and  Monterey,  as  the  fol- 
lowing account  will  show. 

Letter  from  Captain  Zachary  Taylor,  commanding  Fort  Harrison,  Indiana  Territory, 
to  General  Harrison. 

Fort  Harrison,  Sept  10th. 

Dear  Sir  : — On  Thursday  evening,  the  third  instant,  after 
retreat  beating,  four  guns  were  heard  to  fire  in  the  direction 
where  two  young  men  (citizens  who  resided  here)  were  mak- 
ing hay,  about  four  hundred  yards  distant  from  the  fort.  I  was 
immediately  impressed  with  the  idea  that  they  had  been  kill- 
ed by  the  Indians,  as  the  Prophet's  party  would  soon  be  here 
for  the  purpose  of  commencing  hostilities,  and  that  they  had 
been  directed  to  leave  this  place,  as  we  were  about  to  do.  I 
did  not  think  it  prudent  to  send  out  at  that  late  hour  of  the 
night  to  see  what  had  become  of  them ;  and  their  not  coming 
in  convinced  me  that  I  was  right  in  my  conjecture.  I  waited 
till  eight  o'clock  next  morning,  when  I  sent  out  a  corporal 
with  a  small  party  to  find  them,  if  it  could  be  done  without 
running  too  much  risk  of  being  drawn  into  an  ambuscade. 
He  soon  sent  back  to  inform  me  that  he  had  found  them  both 
killed,  and  wished  to  know  my  further  orders;  I  sent  the  cart 
and  oxen,  and  had  them  brought  in  and  buried ;  they  had  been 
shot  with  two  balls,  scalped,  and  cut  in  the  most  shocking 
manner.  Late  in  the  evening  of  the  fourth  instant,  old  Jos. 
Lenar,  and  about  thirty  or  forty  Indians,  arrived  from  the 
Prophet's  town,  with  a  white  flag;  among  whom  were  about 
ten  women,  and  the  men  were  composed  of  chiefs  of  the 
different  tribes  that  compose  the  Prophet's  party.  A  Shaw- 
anee  man,  that  could  speak  good  English,  informed  me  that 
old  Lenar  intended  to  speak  to  me  next  morning,  and  try  to 
get  something  to  eat. 

At  retreat  beating  I  examined  the  men's  arms,  and  found 
them  all  in  good  order,  and  completed  their  cartridges  to  fif- 
teen rounds  per  man.  As  I  had  not  been  able  to  mount  a 
guard  of  more  than  six  privates  arid  two  non-commissioned 
officers  for  some  time  past,  and  sometimes  part  of  them  every 
other  day,  from  the  unhealthiness  of  the  company,  I  had  not 
conceived  my  force  adequate  to  the  defence  of  this  post,  should 
it  be  vigorously  attacked,  for  some  time  past. 

As  I  had  just  recovered  from  a  very  severe  attack  of  the  fever, 
I  was  not  able  to  be  up  much  through  the  night.  After  tatoo, 
I  cautioned  the  guard  to  be  vigilant,  and  ordered  one  of  the 
non-commissioned  officers,  as  the  sentinels  could  not  see  every 
part  of  the  garrison,  to  walk  round  on  the  inside  during  the 
whole  night,  to  prevent  the  Indians  taking  any  advantage  of 


1812.  Captain  Z.   Taylor's  Letter.  621 

us,  provided  they  had  any  intention  of  attacking  us.  About 
11  o'clock  I  was  awakened  by  the  firing  of  one  of  the  sen- 
tinels; I  sprang  up,  ran  out,  and  ordered  the  men  to  their 
posts;  when  my  orderly  sergeant,  who  had  charge  of  the  up- 
per block-house,  called  out  that  the  Indians  had  fired  the 
lower  block-house,  (which  contained  the  property  of  the 
contractor,  which  was  deposited  in  the  lower  part,  the 
upper  having  been  assigned  to  a  corporal  and  ten  pri- 
vates as  an  alarm  post.)  The  guns  had  begun  to  fire  pretty 
smartly  from  both  sides.  I  directed  the  buckets  to  be  got 
ready  and  water  brought  from  the  well,  and  the  fire  extin- 
guished immediately,  as  it  was  perceivable  at  that  time  ;  but 
from  debility  or  some  other  cause,  the  men  were  very  slow  in 
executing  my  orders — the  word  fire  appeared  to  throw  the 
whole  of  them  into  confusion ;  and  by  the  time  they  had  got 
the  water  and  broken  open  the  door,  the  fire  had  unfortunate- 
ly communicated  to  a  quantity  of  whisky,  (the  stock  having 
licked  several  holes  through  the  lower  part  of  the  building, 
after  the  salt  that  was  stored  there,  through  which  they  had 
introduced  the  fire  without  being  discovered,  as  the  night  was 
very  dark,)  and  in  spite  of  every  exertion  we  could  make  use 
of,  in  less  than  a  moment  it  ascended  to  the  roof  and  baffled 
every  effort  we  could  make  to  extinguish  it.  As  the  block- 
house adjoined  the  barracks  that  make  part  of  the  fortifica- 
tions, most  of  the  men  immediately  gave  themselves  up  for 
lost,  and  I  had  the  greatest  difficulty  in  getting  my  orders  exe- 
cuted—  and,  Sir,  what  from  the  raging  of  the  fire — the  yelling 
and  howling  of  several  hundred  Indians — the  cries  of  nine 
women  and  children  (a  part  soldiers'  and  a  part  citizens' 
wives,  who  had  taken  shelter  in  the  fort)  and  the  desponding 
of  so  many  of  the  men,  which  was  worse  than  all — I  can  as- 
sure you  that  my  feelings  were  unpleasant — and  indeed  there 
were  not  more  than  ten  or  fifteen  men  able  to  do  a  great  deal, 
the  others  being  sick  or  convalescent — and  to  add  to  our  other 
misfortunes,  two  of  the  strongest  men  in  the  fort,  and  that  I 
had  every  confidence  in,  jumped  the  picket  and  left  us.  But 
my  presence  of  mind  did  not  forsake  me  for  a  moment.  I  saw, 
by  throwing  off  a  part  of  the  roof  that  joined  the  block-house 
that  was  on  fire,  and  keeping  the  end  perfectly  wet,  the  whole 
row  of  buildings  might  be  saved,  and  leave  only  an  opening 
of  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  for  the  entrance  of  the  Indians  after 
the  house  was  consumed ;  and  that  a  temporary  breast-work 
might  be  executed  to  prevent  their  even  entering  there — I  con- 
vinced the  men  that  this  might  be  accomplished  and  it  appear- 
ed to  inspire  them  with  new  life,  and  never  did  men  act  with 
more  firmness  and  desperation.  Those  that  were  able  (while 
the  others  kept  up  a  constant  fire  from  the  other  block-house 
and  the  two  bastions)  mounted  the  roofs  of  the  houses,  with 
Dr.  Clark  at  their  head,  who  acted  with  the  greatest  firmness 


622  Capt.  Z.   Taylor's  Letter.  1812. 

and  presence  of  mind  the  whole  time  the  attack  lasted,  which 
was  seven  hours,  under  a  shower  of  bullets,  and  in  less  than 
a  moment  threw  off  as  much  of  the  roof  as  was  necessary. 
This  was  done  only  with  a  loss  of  one  man  and  two  wounded, 
and  1  am  in  hopes  neither  of  them  dangerously  ;  the  man  that 
was  killed  was  a  little  deranged,  and  did  not  get  off  the  house 
as  soon  as  directed,  or  he  would  not  have  been  hurt — and  al- 
though the  barracks  were  several  times  in  a  blaze,  and  an  im- 
mense quantity  of  fire  against  them,  the  men  used  such  exer- 
tions that  they  kept  it  under,  and  before  day  raised  a  tempo- 
rary breast-work  as  high  as  a  man's  head,  although  the  In- 
dians continued  to  pour  in  a  heavy  fire  of  ball  and  innumerable 
quantity  of  arrows  during  the  whole  time  the  attack  lasted,  in 
every  part  of  the  parade.  I  had  but  one  other  man  killed,  nor 
anyother  wounded  inside  the  fort,  and  he  lost  his  life  by  being 
too  anxious — he  got  into  one  of  the  gallies  in  the  bastion,  and 
fired  over  the  pickets,  and  called  out  to  his  comrades  that  he 
hadkilled  an  Indian,  and  neglecting  to  stoop  down,  in  an  instant 
he  was  shot  dead.  One  of  the  men  that  jumped  the  pickets, 
returned  an  hour  before  day,  and  running  up  towards  the 
gate,  begged  for  God's  sake  for  it  to  be  opened.  1  suspected 
it  to  be  a  stratagem  of  the  Indians  to  get  in,  as  I  did  not  recol- 
lect the  voice.  I  directed  the  men  in  the  bastion,  where  I 
happened  to  be,  to  shoot  him  let  him  be  who  he  would,  and 
one  of  them  fired  at  him,  but  fortunately  he  ran  up  to  the 
other  bastion,  where  they  knew  his  voice,  and  Dr.  Clark  di- 
rected him  to  lie  down  close  to  the  pickets  behind  an  empty 
barrel  that  happened  to  be  there,  and  at  day-light  1  had  him 
let  in.  His  arm  was  broken  in  a  most  shocking  manner  ; 
which  he  says  was  done  by  the  Indians — which,  I  suppose,  was 
the  cause  of  his  returning — I  think  it  probable  that  he  will 
not  recover.  The  other  they  caught  about  130  yards  from 
the  garrison,  and  cut  him  all  to  pieces.  After  keeping  up  a 
constant  fire  until  about  six  o'clock  the  next  morning,  which 
we  began  to  return  with  some  effect  after  day-light,. they  re- 
moved out  of  the  reach  of  our  guns.  A  party  of  them  drove 
up  the  horses  that  belonged  to  the  citizens  here,  and  as  they 
could  not  catch  them  very  readily,  shot  the  whole  of  them  in 
our  sight,  as  well  as  a  number  of  their  hogs.  They  drove  off 
the  whole  of  the  cattle,  which  amounted  to  65  head,  as  well 
as  the  public  oxen.  I  had  the  vacancy  filled  up  before  night, 
(which  was  made  by  the  burning  of  the  block-house,)  with  a 
strong  row  of  pickets,  which  I  got  by  pulling  down  the  guard- 
house. We  lost  the  whole  of  our  provisions,  but  must  make 
out  to  live  upon  green  corn  until  we  can  get  a  supply,  which 
I  am  in  hopes  will  not  be  long.  I  believe  that  the  whole  of 
the  Miamies  or  Weas,  were  among  the  Prophet's  party,  as  one 
chief  gave  his  orders  in  that  language,  which  resembled  Stone 
Eater's  voice,  and  I  believe  Negro  Legs  was  there  likewise.  A 


1812.  Capt.  Z.   Taylor's  Letter.  623 

Frenchman  here  understands  their  different  languages,  and 
several  of  the  Miamies  or  Weas,  that  have  been  frequently 
here,  were  recognized  by  the  Frenchman  and  soldiers,  next 
morning.  The  Indians  suffered  smartly,  but^  were  so  numer- 
ous as  to  take  off  all  that  were  shot.  They  continued  with  us 
until  the  next  morning,  but  made  no  further  attempt  upon  the 
fort,  nor  have  we  seen  any  thing  more  of  them  since.  I  have 
delayed  informing  you  of  my  situation,  as  I  did  not  like  to 
weaken  the  garrison,  and  I  looked  for  some  person  from  Vin- 
cennes,  and  none  of  my  men  were  acquainted  with  the  woods, 
and  therefore  I  would  either  have  to  take  the  road  or  the  river, 
which  I  was  fearful  was  guarded  by  small  parties  of  Indians 
that  would  not  dare  to  attack  a  company  of  Rangers  that  was 
on  a  scout;  but  being  disappointed,  I  have  at  length  deter- 
mined to  send  a  couple  of  my  men  by  water,  and  am  in  hopes 
they  will  arrive  safe.  I  think  it  would  be  best  to  send  the 
provisions  under  a  pretty  strong  escort,  as  the  Indians  may  at- 
tempt to  prevent  their  coming.  If  you  carry  on  an  expedi- 
tion against  the  Prophet  this  fall,  you  ought  to  be  well  provi- 
ded with  every  thing,  as  you  may  calculate  on  having  every 
inch  of  ground  disputed  between  this  and  there,  that  they 
can  with  advantage.  Z.  TAYLOR. 

His  Excellency  Gov.  HARRISON. 

Fort  Harrison,  September  13,  1812. 

Dear  Sir — I  wrote  you  on  the  10th  instant,  giving  you  an 
account  of  the  attack  on  this  place,  as  well  as  my  situation, 
which  account  I  attempted  to  send  by  water,  but  the  two  men 
whom  I  despatched  in  a  canoe  after  night,  found  the  river  so 
well  guarded,  that  they  were  obliged  to  return.  The  Indians 
had  built  a  fire  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  a  short  distance  be- 
low the  garrison,  which  gave  them  an  opportunity  of  seeing 
any  craft  that  might  attempt  to  pass,  and  were  waiting  with  a 
canoe  ready  to  intercept  it.  I  expect  the  fort,  as  well  as  the 
road  to  Vincennes,  is  as  well  or  better  watched  than  the  river. 

But  my  situation  compels  me  to  make  one  other  attempt  by 
land,  and  my  orderly  sergeant,  with  one  other  man,  sets  out  to- 
night with  strict  orders  to  avoid  the  road  in  the  day  time,  and 
depend  entirely  on  the  woods,  although  neither  of  them  have 
ever  been  in  Vincennes  by  land,  nor  do  they  know  any  thing 
of  the  country,  but  1  am  in  hopes  they  will  reach  you  in  safety. 
I  send  them  with  great  reluctance  from  their  ignorance  of  the 
woods.  I  think  it  very  probable  there  is  a  large  party  of  In- 
dians waylaying  the  road  between  this  and  Vincennes,  likely 
about  the  Narrows,  for  the  purpose  of  intercepting  any  party 
that  may  be  coming  to  this  place,  as  the  cattle  they  got  here 
will  supply  them  plentifully  with  provisions  for  some  time  to 
come.  Z.  TAYLOR.* 

His  Excellency  Gov.  HARRISON. 

*  Niles'  Ecgister,  iii.  90.— McAfee,  153. 


Wm.  H.  Harrison  Commander-in- Chief.  1812. 

But  before  the  surrender  of  Hull  took  place,  extensive  pre- 
parations had  been  made  in  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Virginia,  and 
Pennsylvania,  to   bring  into  service    a    large    and    efficient 
army.*     Thiee  points  needed  defence,  Fort  Wayne  and  the 
Maumee,  the  Wabash,  and  the  Illinois  river :  the  troops  des- 
tined for  the  first  point  were  to  be  under  the  command  of  Gen- 
eral Winchester,  a  revolutionary  officer  resident  in  Tennessee, 
and  but  little  known  to  the  frontier  men  ;f  those  for  the  Wa- 
bash were  to  be  under  Harrison,  whose  name  since  the  battle 
of  Tippecanoe   was   familiar  everywhere ;    while   Governor 
Edwards,  of  the  Illinois  Territory,  was  to  command  the  expe- 
dition upon  the  river  of  the  same  name.      Such  were  the  in- 
tentions of  the  Government,  but  the   wishes  of  the   people 
frustrated  them,  and  led,  first,  to  the  appointment  of  Harrison 
to  the  command  of  the  Kentucky  volunteers,  destined  to  assist 
Hull's  army, ||  and  next  to   his  elevation  to  the  post  of  com- 
mander-in-chief  over  all  the  forces  of  the  west  and  north-west: 
this  last  appointment  was  made  September  17th,  and  was  no- 
tified to  the  General  upon  the  24th  of  that  month. §     Mean- 
time Fort  Wayne  had  been  relieved,  and  the  line  of  the  Mau- 
mee secured  ;^[  so  that  when  Harrison  found  himself  placed 
at  the  head  of  military  affairs  in  the  West,  his  main   objects 
were,  first,  to  drive  the  Indians  from  the  western  side  of  the 
Detroit  river;  second,  to  take  Maiden  ;  and  third,  having  thus 
secured  his  communications,  to  recapture  the  Michigan  Ter- 
ritory and  its  dependencies.**     To  do  all  this  before  winter, 
and  thus  be  prepared  to  conquer  Upper  Canada,  Harrison  pro- 
posed to   take    possession  of  the  rapids  of  the  Maumee  and 
there  to  concentrate  his  forces  and  his  stores ;  in  moving  upon 
this  point  he  divided  his  troops  into  three  columns,  the  right 
to  march  from  Wooster  through  Upper  Sandusky,  the  centre 
from  Urbana  by  Fort  McArthur  on  the  heads  of  the  Scioto, 
and  the  left  from  St.  Mary's  by  the  Au-Glaize  and  Maumee, — 

*McAfee,  102  to  110. 

^Armstrong's  Notices,  i.  52  to  66.    Appendix,  No.  8,  p.  203.    McAfee,  131. 
||The  propriety  of  this  step  was  much  questioned,  See  McAfee,   107,  <fcc.    Armstrong's 
Notices,  i.  58. 
{jMcAfee,  140.— Also,  Letter  of  Secretary  of  War,  McAfee  118. 

IfSee  the  details  in  McAfee,  120  to  139. 
**Ann8trong's  Notices,  i.  59.— McAfee,  142. 


1813.  Defeat  at  Frenchtown.  625 

all  meeting,  of  course,  at  the  rapids.*  This  plan,  however, 
failed :  the  troops  of  the  left  column  under  Winchester,  worn 
out  and  starved,  were  found  on  the  verge  of  mutiny,  and  the 
mounted  men  of  the  centre  under  General  Tupper  were  una- 
ble to  do  any  thing,  partly  from  their  own  want  of  subordina- 
tion, but  still  more  from  the  shiftlessness  of  their  commander  ;f 
this  condition  of  the  troops,  and  the  prevalence  of  disease 
among  them,  together  with  the  increasing  difficulty  of  trans- 
portation after  the  autumnal  rains  set  in,  forced  upon  the  com- 
mander the  conviction  that  he  must  wait  until  the  winter  had 
bridged  the  streams  and  morasses  with  ice,J  and  even  when 
that  had  taken  place,  he  was  doubtful  as  to  the  wisdom  of  an 
attempt  to  conquer  without  vessels  on  Lake  Erie.|| 

Thus,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1812,  nothing  effectual  had 
been  done  towards  the  re-conquest  of  Michigan  :  Winchester, 
with  the  left  wing  of  the  army  was  on  his  way  to  the  Rapids, 
his  men  enfeebled  by  sickness,  want  of  clothes,  and  want  of 
food ;  the  right  wing  approaching  Sandusky ;  and  the  centre 
resting  at  Fort  McArthur.§ 

In  December,  General  Harrison  despatched  a  party  of  600 
men  against  the  Miami  villages  upon  the  Mississinneway,  a 
branch  of  the  Wabash.  This  body,  under  the  command  of 
Lieutenant  Colonel  Campbell,  destro3red  several  villages,  and 
fought  a  severe  battle  with  the  Indians,  who  were  defeated  : 
but  the  severity  of  the  weather,  the  number  of  his  wounded 
(forty-eight,)  the  scarcity  of  provisions,  and  the  fear  of  being 
attacked  by  Tecumthe,  at  the  head  of  600  fresh  savages,  led 
Colonel  Campbell  to  retreat  immediately  after  the  battle,  with- 
out destroying  the  principal  town  of  the  enemy.  The  expe- 
dition, however,  was  not  without  results,  as  it  induced  some 
of  the  tribes  to  come  openly  and  wholly  under  the  protection 
and  within  the  borders  of  the  Republic.^  , 

On  the  10th  of  January,  1813,  Winchester  with  his  troops 
reached  the  Rapids,  General  Harrison  with  the  right  wing  of 

*McAfee,  142,  Ac.,  192,  Ac.  at  the  latter  reference  Harrison's  letter  is  given, 
f  McAfee,  146  to  151. — General  Tuppor's  account  is  in  Niles'  Register,  iii.  167. 
J  McAfee,  164,165. 

||  McAfee,  187,  196  to  199.— Dawson,  333,  341. 
I  McAfee,  201,  199,  163. 

•[[McAfee,  176  to  182.— Campbell's  and  Harrison's  accounts  are  in  Niles'  Register,  iii« 
316,  331. 


626  Winchester's  Movements.  1813. 

the  army  being  still  at  Upper  Sandusky,  and  Tapper  with  the 
centre  at  Fort  McArthur.*  From  the  13th  to  the  16th,  mes- 
sengers arrived  at  Winchester's  camp  from  the  inhabitants  of 
Frenchtown  on  the  river  Raisin,  representing  the  danger  to 
which  that  place  was  exposed  from  the  hostility  of  the  British 
and  Indians,  and  begging  for  protection.!  These  representa- 
tions and  petitions  excited  the  feelings  of  the  Americans,  and 
led  them,  forgetful  of  the  main  objects  of  the  campaign,  and 
of  military  caution,  to  determine  upon  the  step  of  sending  a 
strong  party  to  the  aid  of  the  sufferers.J  On  the  17th,  accor- 
dingly, Colonel  Lewis  was  despatched  with  550  men  to  the 
river  Raisin,  and  soon  after  Colonel  Allen  followed  with  110 
more.  Marching  along  the  frozen  borders  of  the  Bay  and 
Lake,  on  the  afternoon  of  the  18th,  the  Americans  reached 
and  attacked  the  enemy  who  were  posted  in  the  village,  and 
after  a  severe  contest  defeated  them.  Having  gained  pos- 
session of  the  town,  Colonel  Lewis  wrote  for  reinforce- 
ments and  prepared  himself  to  defend  the  position  he  had 
gained. ||  And  it  was  evident  that  all  his  means  of  defence 
would  be  needed,  as  the  place  was  but  eighteen  miles  from 
Maiden,  where  the  whole  British  force  was  collected  under 
Procter.  Winchester,  on  the  19th,  having  heard  of  the  ac- 
tion of  the  previous  day,  marched  with  250  men,  which  was 
the  most  he  dared  detach  from  the  Rapids,  to  the  aid  of  the 
captor  of  Frenchtown,  which  place  he  reached  on  the  next 
evening.  But  instead  of  placing  his  men  in  a  secure  posi- 
tion, and  taking  measures  to  prevent  the  secret  approach  of 
the  enemy,  Winchester  suffered  the  troops  he  had  brought 
with  him  to  remain  in  the  open  ground,  and  took  no  effi- 
cient measures  to  protect  himself  from  surprise,  although  in- 
formed than  attack  might  be  expected  at  any  moment.^f  The 
consequence  was  that  during  the  night  of  the  21st,  the  whole 
British  force  approached  undiscovered,  and  erected  a  battery 
within  300  yards  of  the  American  camp.  From  this,  before 
the  troops  were  fairly  under  arms  in  the  morning,  a  discharge 

•McAfee,  202,  203. 
t McAfee,  204. 

%  See  Colonel  Allen's  Speech  in  Armstrong's  Notices,  i,  67. 
|1  Lewis'  account  may  be  found  in  Niles'  Kegistcr,  iv.  49. 

^  McAfee,  211. — Winchester  in  his  own  account  owns  that  he  entirely  disregarded  the 
warning  given  him. 


1813.  Defeat  at  Frcnchtown.  627 

of  bombs,  balls,  and  grape-shot,  informed  the  devoted  sol- 
diers of  Winchester,  of  the  folly  of  their  commander,  and  in 
a  moment  more  the  dreaded  Indian  yell  sounded  on  every 
side.  The  troops  under  Lewis  were  protected  by  the  garden 
pickets,  behind  which  their  commander,  who  alone  seems  to 
have  been  upon  his  guard,  had  stationed  them  ;  those  last  ar- 
rived were,  as  we  have  said,  in  the  open  field,  and  against 
them  the  main  effort  of  the  enemy  was  directed.  Nor  was  it 
long  so  directed  without  terrible  results;  the  troops  yielded, 
broke  and  fled,  but  fled  under  a  fire  which  mowed  them  down 
like  grass :  Winchester  and  Lewis,  (who  had  left  his  pickets 
to  aid  his  superior  officer,)  were  taken  prisoners.  Upon  the 
party  who  fought  from  behind  their  slight  defences,  however, 
no  impression  could  be  made,  and  it  was  not  till  Winchester 
was  induced  to  send  them  what  was  deemed  an  order  to  sur- 
render* that  they  dreamed  of  doing  so.  This  Procter  per- 
suaded him  to  do  by  the  old  story  of  an  Indian  massacre  in 
case  of  continued  resistance,  to  which  he  added  a  promise  of 
help  and  protection  for  the  wounded,  and  of  a  removal  at  the 
earliest  moment ;  without  which  last  promise  the  troops  of 
Lewis  refused  to  yield  even  when  required  by  their  General.f 
But  the  promise,  even  if  given  in  good  faith,  was  not  redeem- 
ed, and  the  horrors  of  the  succeeding  night  and  day  will  long 
be  remembered  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  frontier.  Of  a  por- 
tion of  those  horrors  we  give  a  description  in  the  words  of 
an  eye  witness. 

Nicholasville,  Kentucky,  April  24th,  1813. 

Sir: — Yours  of  the  5th  instant,  requesting  me  to  give  you 
a  statement  respecting  the  late  disaster  at  Frenchtown,  was 
duly  received.  Rest  assured,  sir,  that  it  is  with  sensations  the 
most  unpleasant,  that  I  undertake  to  recount  the  infamous 
and  barbarous  conduct  of  the  British  and  Indians,  after  the 
battle  of  the  22d  January.  The  blood  runs  cold  in  my  veins 
when  I  think  of  it. 

On  the  morning  of  the  23d,  shortly  after  light,  six  or  eight 
Indians  came  to  the  house  of  Jean  Baptiste  Jereaume,  where 
I  was,  in  company  with  Major  Graves,  Captains  Hart  and 
Hickman,  Doctor  Todd,  and  fifteen  or  twenty  volunteers,  be- 
longing to  different  corps.  They  did  not  molest  any  person 
or  thing  on  their  first  approach,  but  kept  sauntering  about 
until  there  was  a  large  number  collected,  (say  one  or  two 

*  He  says  he  did  not  mean  it  for  an  order,  but  merely  for  advice, 
t  McAfee,  215. 


628  Massacre  of  the  Wounded.  1813. 

hundred)  at  which  time  they  commenced  plundering  the 
houses  of  the  inhabitants,  and  the  massacre  of  the  wounded 
prisoners.  I  was  one  amongst  the  first  that  was  taken  pris- 
oner, and  was  taken  to  a  horse  about  twenty  paces  from 
the  house,  after  being  divested  of  a  part  of  my  clothing,  and 
commanded  by  signs  there  to  remain  for  further  orders. — 
Shortly  after  being  there,  I  saw  them  knock  down  Captain 
Hickman  at  the  door,  together  with  several  others  with  whom 
I  was  not  acquainted.  Supposing  a  general  massacre  had 
commenced,  I  made  an  effort  to  get  to  a  house  about  one  hun- 
dred yards  distant,  which  contained  a  number  of  wounded, 
but  on  my  reaching  the  house,  to  my  great  mortification, 
found  it  surrounded  by  Indians,  which  precluded  the  possibili- 
ty of  my  giving  notice  to  the  unfortunate  victims  of  savage 
barbarity.  An  Indian  chief  of  the  Tawa  tribe,  of  the  name 
of  McCarty,  gave  me  possession  of  his  horse  and  blanket, 
telling  me  by  signs,  to  lead  the  horse  to  the  house  which  I  had 
just  before  left.  The  Indian  that  first  took  me,  by  this  time 
came  up  and  manifested  a  hostile  disposition  towards  me,  by 
raising  his  tomahawk  as  if  to  give  me  the  fatal  blow,  which 
was  prevented  by  my  very  good  friend  M'Carty.  On  my 
reaching  the  house  which  I  had  first  started  from,  I  saw  the 
Indians  take  off  several  prisoners,  which  I  afterwards  saw  in 
the  road,  in  a  most  mangled  condition,  and  entirely  stripped 
of  their  clothing. 

Messrs.  Bradford,  Searls,  Turner  and  Blythe,  were  collected 
round  a  carryall,  which  contained  articles  taken  by  the  In- 
dians from  the  citizens.  We  had  all  been  placed  there,  by 
our  respective  captors,  except  Blythe,  who  came  where  we 
were  entreating  an  Indian  to  convey  him  to  Maiden,  promi- 
sing to  give  him  forty  or  fifty  dollars,  and  whilst  in  the  act  of 
pleading  for  mercy,  an  Indian  more  savage  than' the  other, 
stepped  up  behind,  tomahawked,  stripped  and  scalped  him. — 
The  next  that  attracted  my  attention,  was  the  houses  on  fire 
that  contained  several  wounded,  whom  I  knew  were  not  able 
to  get  out.  After  the  houses  were  nearly  consumed,  we  re- 
ceived marching  orders,  and  after  arriving  at  Sandy  Creek, 
the  Indians  called  a  halt  and  commenced  cooking ;  after  pre- 
paring and  eating  a  little  sweetened  gruel,  Messrs.  Bradford, 
Searls,  Turner  and  myself,  received  some,  and  were  eating, 
when  an  Indian  came  up  and  proposed  exchanging  his  moc- 
casins for  Mr.  Searls'  shoes,  which  he  readily  complied  with. 
They  then  exchanged  hats,  after  which  the  Indian  inquired 
how  many  men  Harrison  had  with  him,  and  at  the  same  time, 
calling  Searls  a  Washington  or  Madison,  then  raised  his  tom- 
ahawk and  struck  him  on  the  shoulder,  which  cut  into  the 
cavity  of  the  body.  Searls  then  caught  hold  of  the  tomahawk 
and  appeared  to  resist,  and  upon  my  telling  him  his  fate  was 
inevitable,  he  closed  his  eyes  and  received  the  savage  blow 


1813.  Harrison  Retreats  from  the  Maumee.  629 

which  terminated  his  existence.  I  was  near  enough  to  him 
to  receive  the  brains  and  blood,  after  the  fatal  blow,  on  my 
blanket.  A  short  time  after  the  death  of  Searls,  I  saw  three 
others  share  a  similar  fate.  We  then  set  out  for  Brownstown, 
which  place  we  reached  about  12  or  1  o'clock  at  night.  Af- 
ter being  exposed  to  several  hours  incessant  rain  in  reaching 
that  place,  we  were  put  into  the  council  house,  the  floor  of 
which  was  partly  covered  with  water,  at  which  place  we  re- 
mained until  next  morning,  when  we  again  received  march- 
ing orders  for  their  village  on  the  river  Rouge,  which  place 
we  made  that  day,  where  I  was  kept  six  days,  then  taken  to 
Detroit  and  sold.  For  a  more  detailed  account  of  the  pro- 
ceedings, I  take  the  liberty  of  referring  you  to  a  publication 
which  appeared  in  the  public  prints,  signed  by  Ensign  J.  L. 
Baker,  and  to  the  publication  of  Judge  Woodward,  both  of 
which  I  have  particularly  examined,  and  find  them  to  be  lite- 
rally correct,  so  far  as  came  under  my  notice. 

I  am,  sir,  with  due  regard,  your  fellow-citizen, 

GUSTAVUS  M.  BOWER, 

Surgeon's  mate,  5th  Regiment  Kentucky  Volunteers. 
JESSE  BLEDSOE,  Esq.,  Lexington.* 

Of  the  American  army,  which  was  about  800  strong,  one- 
third  were  killed  in  the  battle  and  the  massacre  which  follow- 
ed, and  but  33  escaped. f 

General  Harrison,  as  we  have  stated,  was  at  Upper  San- 
dusky  when  Winchester  reached  the  Rapids  ;  on  the  night  of 
the  16th  word  came  to  him  of  the  arrival  of  the  left  wing  at 
that  point,  and  of  some  meditated  movement.  He  at  once 
proceeded  with  all  speed  to  Lower  Sandusky,  and  on  the  mor- 
ning of  the  18th  sent  forward  a  battalion  of  troops  to  the  sup- 
port of  Winchester.  On  the  19th  he  learned  what  the  move- 
ment was  that  had  been  meditated  and  made,  and  with  addi- 
tional troops  he  started  instantly  for  the  falls,  where  he  arri- 
ved early  on  the  morning  of  the  20th  ;  here  he  waited  the  ar- 
rival of  the  regiment  with  which  he  had  started,  but  which  he 
had  outstripped ;  this  came  on  the  evening  of  the  21st,  and 
on  the  following  morning,  was  despatched  to  Frenchtown, 
while  all  the  troops  belonging  to  the  army  of  Winchester  yet 
at  the  falls,  300  in  number,  were  also  hurried  on  to  the  aid  of 

*  American  State  Papers,  xii.  372.    Do.  367  to  375. 

•{•McAfee,  221. — See  the  accounts  of  Winchester  and  Major  Madison  in  Armstrong's 
Notices,  i.  Appendix  No.  7.  p.  196.— In  Niles'  Register,  iv.  9  to  13,  may  be  found  the  Bri. 
tish  account,  Winchester's,  and  one  accompanied  by  a  diagram :  same  vol.  p.  29,  is  a  full- 
er account  by  Winchester,  and  on  page  83  ono  by  Lewis  and  the  other  officers. 


630  Plan  of  a  new   Campaign.  1813. 

their  commander.*  But  it  was,  of  course,  in  vain  ;  on  that 
morning  the  battle  was  fought,  and  General  Harrison  with 
his  reinforcements  met  the  few  survivors  long  before  they 
reached  the  ground.  A  council  being  called,  it  was  deemed 
unwise  to  advance  any  farther,  and  the  troops  retired  to  the 
Rapids  again:  here,  during  the  night  another  consultation 
took  place,  the  result  of  which  was  a  determination  to  retreat 
yet  farther  in  order  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  being  cut  off 
from  the  convoys  of  stores  and  artillery  upon  their  way  from 
Sandusky.  On  the  next  morning,  therefore,  the  block-house, 
which  had  been  built,  was  destroyed,  together  with  the  pro- 
visions it  contained,  and  the  troops  retired  to  Portage  river, 
18  miles  in  the  rear  of  Winchester's  position,  there  to  await 
the  guns  and  reinforcements  which  were  daily  expected,  but 
which,  as  it  turned  out,  were  detained  by  rains  until  the  30th 
of  January. f  Finding  his  army  1700  strong,  General  Harri- 
son, on  the  1st  of  February,  again  advanced  to  the  Rapids, 
where  he  took  up  a  new  and  stronger  position,  at  which  point 
he  ordered  all  the  troops  as  rapidly  as  possible  to  gather.  He 
did  this  in  the  hope  of  being  able  before  the  middle  of  the 
month  to  advance  upon  Maiden,  but  the  long  continuance  of 
warm  and  wet  weather  kept  the  roa'ds  in  such  a  condition  that 
his  troops  were  unable  to  join  him,  and  the  project  of  advan- 
cing upon  the  ice  was  entirely  frustrated ;  so  at  length  the 
winter  campaign  had  to  be  abandoned,  as  the  autumnal  one 
had  been  before. 

So  far  the  military  operations  of  the  north-west  had  certain- 
ly been  sufficiently  discouraging ;  the  capture  of  Mackinac, 
the  surrender  of  Hull,  the  massacre  of  Chicago,  and  the  over- 
whelming defeat  of  Frenchtown,  are  the  leading  events. — 
Nothing  had  been  gained,  and  of  what  had  been  lost  nothing 
had  been  retaken :  the  slight  successes  over  the  Indians  by 
Hopkins,  Edwards,  and  Campbell,  had  not  shaken  the  power 
or  the  confidence  of  Tecumthe  and  his  allies,  while -the  fruit- 
less efforts  of  Harrison  through  five  months  to  gather  troops 
enough  at  the  mouth  of  the  Maumee  to  attempt  the  recon- 
quest  of  Michigan,  which  had  been  taken  in  a  week,  depres- 
sed the  spirits  of  the  Americans,  and  gave  new  life  and  hope 
to  their  foes. 

*  McAfee,  209  to  211,  227  to  235. 
t  McAfee,  236  to  239. 


1813.  Plan  of  a  new  Campaign.  631 

About  the  time  that  Harrison's  unsuccessful  campaign  drew 
to  a  close,  a  change  took  place  in  the  War  Department,  and 
General  Armstrong  succeeded  his  incapable  friend,  Dr.  Eus- 
tis.  Armstrong's  views  were  those  of  an  able  soldier;  in  Oc- 
tober, 1812,  he  had  again  addressed  the  Government  through 
Mr.  Gallatin,  on  the  necessity  of  obtaining  the  command  of 
the  lakes,*  and  when  raised  to  power  determined  to  make 
naval  operations  the  basis  of  the  military  movements  of  the 
north-west.  His  views  in  relation  to  the  coming  campaign 
in  the  west,  were  based  upon  two  points,  viz:  the  use  of  re- 
gular troops  alone,  and  the  command  of  the  lakes,  which  he 
was  led  to  think  could  be  obtained  by  the  20th  of  June.f 

Although  the  views  of  the  Secretary,  in  relation  to  the  non- 
employment  of  militia,  were  not,  and  could  not  be,  adhered 
to,  the  general  plan  of  merely  standing  upon  the  defensive 
until  the  command  of  the  lake  was  secured,  was  persisted  in, 
although  it  was  the  2nd  of  August  instead  of  the  1st  of  June, 
before  the  vessels  on  Erie  could  leave  the  harbor  in  which 
they  had  been  built.  Among  these  defensive  operations  of 
the  spring  and  summer  of  1813,  that  at  Fort  or  Camp  Meigs, 
the 'new  post  taken  by  Harrison  at  the  Rapids,  and  that  at 
Lower  Sandusky,  deserve  to  be  especially  noticed.  It  had 
been  anticipated  that,  with  the  opening  of  spring,  the  British 
would  attempt  the  conquest  of  the  position  upon  the  Mau- 
mec,  and  measures  had  been  taken  by  the  General  to  forward 
reinforcements,  which  were  detained,  however,  as  usual,  by 
the  spring  freshets  and  the  bottomless  roads.  As  had  been 
expected,  on  the  28th  of  April,  the  English  forces  began  the 
investment  of  Harrison's  camp,  and  by  the  1st  of  May  had 
completed  their  batteries ;  meantime,  the  Americans  behind 
their  tents  had  thrown  up  a  bank  of  earth  twelve  feet  high, 
and  upon  a  basis  of  twenty  feet,  behind  which  the  whole  gar- 
rison withdrew  the  moment  that  the  gunners  of  the  enemy 
were  prepared  to  commence  operations.  Upon  this  bank, 
the  ammunition  of  his  Majesty  was  wasted  in  vain,  and  down 
to  the  5th,  nothing  was  effected  by  either  party.  On  that 

*  Armstrong's  Notices,  i.  177,  note. — Steps  to  command  the  lake  had  been  taken  before 
October.— See  Niles'  Register,  iii.  142,  127. 

•(•  Armstrong's  Notices,  i.  Appendix,  No.  23,  p.  245. — The  Secretary  and  General  did  not 
entirely  agree  as  to  the  plans  of  the  campaign. — See  the  Notices  i.  176,  &c. — McAfee,  249 
Ac. — Full  accounts  of  the  arrangements  of  the  army  in  this  year,  may  be  seen  in  Niles' 
Register,  iv.  145,  158,  187. 


632  Siege  of  Fort  Meigs.  18 13. 

day,  General  Clay,  with  1200  additional  troops,  came  down 
the  Maumee  in  flatboats,  and,  in  accordance  with  orders  re- 
ceived from  Harrison,  detached  800  men  under  Colonel  Dud- 
ley to  attack  the  batteries  upon  the  left  bank  of  the  river, 
while,  with  the  remainder  of  his  forces,  he  landed  upon  the 
southern  shore,  and  after  some  loss  and  delay,  fought  his  way 
into  camp.  Dudley,  on  his  part,  succeeded  perfectly  in  cap- 
turing the  batteries,  but  instead  of  spiking  the  cannon,  and 
then  instantly  returning  to  his  boats,  he  suffered  his  men  to 
waste  their  time,  and  skirmish  with  the  Indians,  until  Proctor 
was  able  to  cut  them  off  from  their  only  chance  of  retreat; 
taken  by  surprise,  and  in  disorder,  the  greater  part  of  the  de- 
tachment became  an  easy  prey,  only  150  of  the  800  escaping 
captivity  or  death.*  This  sad  result  was  partially,  though  but 
little,  alleviated  by  the  success  of  a  sortie  made  from  the  fort 
by  Colonel  Miller,  in  which  he  captured  and  made  useless  the 
batteries  that  had  been  erected  south  of  the  Maumee.j-  The 
result  of  the  day's  doings  had  been  sad  enough  for  the  Ameri- 
cans, but  still  the  British  General  saw  in  it  nothing  to  encour- 
age him  ;  his  cannon  had  done  nothing,  and  were  in  fact  no 
longer  of  value  ;  his  Indian  allies  found  it  "  hard  to  fight  peo- 
ple who  lived  like  groundhogs"  ;J  news  of  the  American  suc- 
cesses below  had  been  received;  and  additional  troops  were 
approaching  from  Ohio  and  Kentucky.  Proctor,  weighing  all 
things,  determined  to  retreat,  and  upon  the  9th  of  May  re- 
turned to  Malden.|| 

The  ship-building  going  forward  at  Erie  had  not,  mean- 
while, been  unknown  to  or  disregarded  by  the  English,  who 
proposed  all  in  good  time  to  destroy  the  vessels  upon  which 
so  much  depended,  and  to  appropriate  the  stores  of  the  Repub- 
licans: "the  ordnance  and  naval  stores  you  require,"  said  Sir 
George  Prevost  to  General  Proctor,  "  must  be  taken  from  the 
enemy,  wrhose  resources  on  Lake  Erie  must  become  yours.  I 
am  much  mistaken,  if  you  do  not  find  Captain  Barclay  dis- 
posed to  play  that  game."§  Captain  Barclay  was  an  expe- 

*  Harrison's  Report. 

f  McAfee,  264  to  272. 

J  See  Tecumthe's  Speech,  McAfee. 

|j  For  account  of  si°ge  of  Fort  Meigs,  by  Harrison,  &c.,  see  Niles'  Register,  iv.  191,  Ac., 
210,  &c. — For  diary  of  siege,  do.  iv.  243  ;  for  British  account,  do.  iv.  272.— O'Fallon's  (aid 
to  General  Harrison)  is  in  National  Intelligencer,  June  16,  1840. 

§  Letter  of  July  llth,  given  in  Armstrong's  Notices,  i.  Appendix,  No.  19,  p.  228. 


1813.  Croghan' s  Defence  of  Fort  Stephenson.  633 

rienced,  brave,  and  able  seaman,  and  was  waiting  anxiously 
for  a  sufficient  body  of  troops  to  be  spared  him,  in  order  to 
attack  Erie  with  success ; — a  sufficient  force  was  promised 
him  on  the  18th  of  July,  at  which  time  the  British  fleet  went 
down  the  lake  to  reconnoitre,  and  if  it  were  wise,  to  make 
the  proposed  attempt  upon  the  Americans  at  Erie  ;  none,  how- 
ever, was  made.*  About  the  same  time,  the  followers  of 
Proctor  again  approached  Fort  Meigs,  around  which  they  re- 
mained for  a  week,  effecting  nothing,  though  very  numerous. 
The  purpose  of  this  second  investment  seems,  indeed,  rather 
to  have  been  the  diversion  of  Harrison's  attention  from  Erie, 
and  the  employment  of  the  immense  bands  of  Indians  which 
the  English  had  gathered  at  Malden,f  than  any  serious  blow; 
and  finding  no  progress  made,  Proctor  next  moved  tp  Sandus- 
ky,  into  the  neighborhood  of  the  commander-in-chief.  The 
principal  stores  of  Harrison  were  at  Sandusky,  while  he  was 
himself  at  Seneca,  and  Major  Croghan  at  Fort  Stephenson  or 
Lower  Sandusky.  This  latter  post  being  deemed  indefensi- 
ble against  heavy  cannon,  and  it  being  supposed  that  Proctor 
would  of  course  bring  heavy  cannon,  if  he  attacked  it,  the 
General  and  a  council  of  war  called  by  him,  thought  it  wisest 
to  abandon  it;  but  before  this  could  be  done  after  the  final 
determination  of  the  matter,  the  appearance  of  the  enemy 
upon  the  31st  of  July  made  it  impossible.  The  garrison  of 
the  little  fort  was  composed  of  150  men,  under  a  commander 
just  past  his  21st  year,J  and  with  a  single  piece  of  cannon, 
while  the  investing  force,  including  Tecumthe's  Indians,  was, 
it  is  said,  3,300  strong,  and  with  six  pieces  of  artillery,  all  of 
them,  fortunately,  light  ones.  Proctor  demanded  a  surrender, 
and  told  the  unvarying  story  of  the  danger  of  provoking  a 
general  massacre  by  the  savages,  unless  the  fort  was  yielded : 
to  all  which  the  representative  of  young  Croghan  replied  by 
saying  that  the  Indians  would  have  none  left  to  massacre,  if 
the  British  conquered,  for  every  man  of  the  garrison  would 
have  died  at  his  post.§  Proctor,  upon  this,  opened  his  fire, 
which  being  concentrated  upon  the  north-west  angle  of  the 

*  Letter  of  General  DeRottenburg,  in  Armstrong's  Notices,  L  Appendix  No.  19,  p.  229. 
McAfee,  343. 

t  McAfee,  297  to  299 ;  2,500  warriors  were  about  Maiden. 
J  General  Harrison,  quoted  in  McAfee,  329. 
2  McAfee,  325. 

40 

I 


634  Perry's  Victory.  1813. 

fort,  led  the  commander  to  think  that  it  was  meant  to  make  a 
breach  there,  and  carry  the  works  by  assault ;  he,  therefore, 
proceeded  to  strengthen  that  point  by  bags  of  sand  and  flour, 
while  under  cover  of  night  he  placed  his  single  six  pounder  in 
a  position  to  rake  the  angle  threatened,  and  then,  having 
charged  his  infant  battery  with  slugs,  and  hidden  it  from  the 
enemy,  he  waited  the  event.  During  the  night  of  the  1st  of 
August,  and  till  late  In  the  evening  of  the  2nd,  the  firing  con- 
tinued upon  the  devoted  north-west  corner ;  then,  under  cover 
of  the  smoke  and  gathering  darkness,  a  column  of  350  men 
approached  unseen  to  within  20  paces  of  the  walls.  The 
musketry  opened  upon  them,  but  with  little  effect, — the  ditch 
was  gained,  and  in  a  moment  filled  with  men:  at  that  instant, 
the  masked  cannon,  only  thirty  feet  distant,  and  so  directed 
as  to  sweep  the  ditch, — was  unmasked  and  fired, — killing  at 
once  27  of  the  assailants  ;  the  effect  was  decisive,  the  column 
recoiled,  and  the  little  fort  was  saved  with  the  loss  of  one 
man  : — on  the  next  morning  the  British  and  their  allies,  hav- 
ing the  fear  of  Harrison  before  their  eyes,  were  gone,  leaving 
behind  them  in  their  haste,  guns,  stores,  and  clothing.* 

[The  late  Governor  Joseph  Duncan  of  Illinois,  then  of  Ken- 
tucky, was  an  Ensign,  and  one  of  the  heroic  defenders  of 
Fort  Stephenson.] 

From  this  time  all  were  busy  in  preparing  for  the  long  an- 
ticipated attack  upon  Maiden.  Kentucky  especially  sent  her 
sons  in  vast  numbers,  under  their  veteran  Governor,  Shelby, 
and  the  yet  more  widely  distinguished  Richard  M.  Johnson. 
On  the  4th  of  August,  Perry  got  his  vessels  out  of  Erie  into 
deep  water ;  but  for  a  month  was  unable  to  bring  matters  to 
a  crisis;  on  the  10th  of  September,  however,  the  fleet  of  Bar- 
clay was  seen  standing  out  of  port,  and  the  Americans  has- 
tened to  receive  him.  Of  the  contest  we  give  Perry's  own 
.account : 

United  States  schooner  Ariel,  Put-in-Bay,  > 
13th  September,  1813.      j 

Sir:  In  my  last  I  informed  you  that  we  had  captured  the 
enemy's  fleet  on  this  lake.  1  have  now  the  honor  to  give  you 
the  most  important  particulars  of  the  action.  On  the  morning 
of  the  10th  instant,  at  sunrise,  they  were  discovered  from  Put- 

»  McAfee,  324  to  328. — The  accounts  by  Croghan  and  Harrison  are  in  Niles'  Register, 
388  to  390. — A  further  account  and  plan  of  the  fort  do.  v.  7  to  9. 


1813.  Perry's  Victory.  635 

in-Bay,  where  I  lay  at  anchor  with  the  squadron  under  my 
command.  We  got  under  weigh,  the  wind  light  at  S.  W. 
and  stood  for  them.  At  10  A.  M.  the  wind  hauled  to  S.  E. 
and  brought  us  to  windward  ;  formed  the  line  and  brought  up. 
At  15  minutes  before  12,  the  enemy  commenced  firing;  at  5 
minutes  before  12,  the  action  commenced  on  our  part.  Find- 
ing their  fire  very  destructive,  owing  to  their  long  guns,  and 
its  being  mostly  directed  to  the  Lawrence,  I  made  sail,  and 
directed  the  other  vessels  to  follow,  for  the  purpose  of  closing 
with  the  enemy.  Every  brace  and  bow  line  being  shot  away, 
she  became  unmanageable,  notwithstanding  the  great  exer- 
tions of  the  Sailing  Master.  In  this  situation  she  sustained 
the  action  upwards  of  two  hours,  within  canister  shot  distance, 
until  every  gun  was  rendered  useless,  and  a  greater  part  of 
the  crew  either  killed  or  wounded.  Finding  she  could  no 
longer  annoy  the  enemy,  I  left  her  in  charge  of  Lieutenant 
Yarnall,  who,  I  was  convinced,  from  the  bravery  already  dis- 
played by  him,  would  do  what  would  comport  with  the  honor 
of  the  flag.  At  half  past  2,  the  wind  springing  up,  Captain 
Elliott  was  enabled  to  bring  his  vessel,  the  Niagara,  gallantly 
into  close  action  ;  I  immediately  went  on  board  of  her,  when 
he  anticipated  my  wish  by  volunteering  to  bring  the  schooners, 
which  had  been  kept  astern  by  the  lightness  of  the  wind,  into 
close  action.  It  was  with  unspeakable  pain  that  I  saw,  soon 
after  I  got  on  board  the  Niagara,  the  flag  of  the  Lawrence 
come  down,  although  I  was  perfectly  sensible  that  she  had 
been  defended  to  the  last,  and  that  to  have  continued  to  make 
a  show  of  resistance  would  have  been  a  wanton  sacrifice  of 
the  remains  of  her  brave  crew.  But  the  enemy  was  not  able 
to  take  possession  of  her,  and  circumstances  soon  permitted 
her  flag  again  to  be  hoisted.  At  forty-fivejninutes  past  two, 
the  signal  was  made  for  "close  action."  The  Niagara  being 
very  little  injured,  I  determined  to  pass  through  the  enemy's 
line,  bore  up  and  passed  ahead  of  their  two  ships  and  a  brig, 
giving  a  raking  fire  to  them  from  the  starboard  guns,  and  to  a 
large  schooner  and  sloop,  from  the  larboard  side,  at  half  pistol 
shot  distance.  The  smaller  vessels  at  this  time  having  got 
within  grape  aud  canister  distance,  under  the  direction  of  Cap- 
tain Elliott,  and  keeping  up  a  well  directed  fire,  the  two  ships, 
a  brig,  and  a  schooner,  surrendered,  a  schooner  and  sloop 
making  a  vain  attempt  to  escape. 

Those  officers  and  men  who  were  immediately  under  rny 
observation  evinced  the  greatest  gallantry,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  that  all  others  conducted  themselves  as  became  Ameri- 
can officers  and  seamen.* 

Meanwhile  the  American  army  had  received  its  reinforce- 

*  American  State  Paper?,  xiv.  295.  For  Perry's  Letters  gee  Niles'  Register,  v.  60  to  62. 
See  also  Cooper's  Naval  History;  Life  of  Commodore  Elliott,  (Philadelphia,  1836;)  Tristam 
Burgess'  account  of  the  battle,  with  diagrams,  (Boston,  1839.) 


636  Crogharfs  Defeat  at  Fort  Stcphcnson.  1813. 

ments,  and  was  only  waiting  the  expected  victory  of  the 
fleet  to  embark.  On  the  27th  of  September,  it  set  sail  for  the 
shore  of  Canada,  and  in  a  few  hours  stood  around  the  ruins 
of  the  deserted  and  wasted  Maiden,  from  which  Proctor  had 
retreated  to  Sandwich,  intending  to  make  his  way  to  the  heart 
of  Canada,  by  the  valley  of  the  Thames.*  On  the  29th  Harrison 
was  at  Sandwich,  andMcArthur  took  possession  of  Detroit  and 
the  territory  of  Michigan.  At  this  point  Col.  Johnson's  mounted 
rifle  regiment,  which  had  gone  up  the  west  side  of  the  river,  re- 
joined the  main  army.  On  the  2d  of  October,  the  Americans 
began  their  march  in  pursuit  of  Proctor,  whom  they  overtook 
upon  the  5th.  He  had  posted  his  army  with  its  left  resting 
upon  the  river,  while  the  right  flank  was  defended  by  a  marsh ; 
the  ground  between  the  river  and  the  marsh  was  divided 
lengthwise  by  a  smaller  swamp,  so  as  to  make  two  distinct 
fields  in  which  the  troops  were  to  operate.  The  British  were 
in  two  lines,  occupying  the  field  between  the  river  and  small 
swamp ;  the  Indians  extended  from  the  small  to  the  large 
morass,  the  ground  being  suitable  to  their  mode  of  warfare, 
and  unfavorable  for  cavalry.  Harrison  at  first  ordered  the 
mounted  Kentuckians  to  the  left  of  the  American  army,  that 
is,  to  the  field  farthest  from  the  river,  in  order  to  act  against 
the  Indians,  while  with  his  infantry  formed  in  three  lines  and 
strongly  protected  on  the  left  flank  to  secure  it  against  the 
savages,  he  proposed  to  meet  the  British  troops  themselves. 
Before  the  battle  commenced,  however,  he  learned  two  facts, 
which  induced  him  to  change  his  plans ;  one  was  the  bad  na- 
ture of  the  ground  on  his  left  for  the  operations  of  horse  ;  the 
other  was  the  open  order  of  the  English  regulars,  which  made 
them  liable  to  a  fatal  attack  by  cavalry.  Learning  these 
things,  Harrison,  but  whether  upon  his  own  suggestion  or  not, 
we  cannot  say,  ordered  Colonel  Johnson  with  his  mounted 
men  to  charge,  and  try  to  break  the  regular  troops,  by  passing 
through  their  ranks  and  forming  in  their  rear.  In  arranging 
to  do  this,  Johnson  found  the  space  between  the  river  and 
small  swamp  to  narrow  for  all  his  men  to  act  in  with  effect ; 
so,  dividing  them,  he  gave  the  right  hand  body  opposite  the 
regulars  in  charge  to  his  brother  James,  while  crossing  the 
swamp  with  the  remainder,  he  himself  led  the  way  against 
Tecumthe  and  his  savage  followers.  The  charge  of  James 

*  See  official  account!  in  Niles'  Register,  v.  117. 


1813.  Battle  of  the  Thames.  637 

Johnson  was  perfectly  successful ;  the  Kentuckians  received 
the  fire  of  the  British,  broke  through  their  ranks,  and  forming 
beyond  them,  produced  such  a  panic  by  the  novelty  of  the  at- 
tack, that  the  whole  body  of  troops  yielded  at  once.  On  the 
left  the  Indians  fought  more  obstinately,  and  .the  horsemen 
were  forced  to  dismount,  but  in  ten  minutes  Tecumthe  was 
dead,*  and  his  followers,  who  had  learned  the  fate  of  their 
allies,  soon  gave  up  the  contest: — in  half  an  hour  all  was 
over,  except  the  pursuit  of  Proctor,  who  had  fled  at  the  onset. 
The  whole  number  in  both  armies,  was  about  5000,  the  whole 
number  killed,  less  than  forty,  so  entirely  was  the  affair  deci- 
ded by  panic.  We  have  thus  given  an  outline  of  the  battle 
of  the  Thames,  which  practically  closed  the  war  in  the  north- 
west ;  and  to  our  own  we  add  part  of  Harrison's  official 
statement. 

The  troops  at  my  disposal  consisted  of  about  120  regulars 
of  the  27th  regiment,  five  brigades  of  Kentucky  volunteer 
militia  infantry,  under  His  Excellency  Gov.  Shelby,  averaging 
less  than  500  men,  and  Col.  Johnson's  rigiment  of  mounted  in- 
fantry, making  in  the  whole  an  aggregate  something  above 
3,000. f  No  disposition  of  an  army,  opposed  to  an  Indian 
force,  can  be  safe  unless  it  is  secured  on  the  flanks  and  in  the 
rear.  I  had,  therefore,  no  difficulty  in  arranging  the  infantry 
conformably  to  my  general  order  of  battle.  General  Trotter's 
brigade  of  500  men,  formed  the  front  line,  his  right  upon  the 
road  and  his  left  upon  the  swamp.  General  King's  brigade 
as  a  second  line,  150  yards  in  the  rear  of  Trotter's,  and  Chiles' 
brigade  as  a  corps  of  reserve  in  the  rear  of  it.  These  three 
brigades  formed  the  command  of  Major  General  Henry  ;  the 
whole  of  Gen.  Desha's  division,  consisting  of  two  brigades, 
were  formed  en  potence  upon  the  left  of  Trotter. 

Whilst  I  was  engaged  in  forming  the  infantry,  I  had  directed 
Col.  Johnson's  regiment,  which  was  still  in  front,  to  be  formed 
in  two  lines  opposite  to  the  enemy,  and  upon  the  advance  of 
the  infantry,  to  take  ground  to  the  left  and  forming  upon  that 
flank  to  endeavor  to  turn  the  right  of  the  Indians.  A  mo- 
ments reflection,  however,  convinced  me  that  from  the  thick- 
ness of  the  woods  and  swampiness  of  the  ground,  they  would 
be  unable  to  do  any  thing  on  horseback,  and  there  was  no 
time  to  dismount  them  and  place  their  horses  in  security ;  I 
therefore  determined  to  refuse  my  left  to  the  Indians,  and  to 
break  the  British  lines  at  once,  by  a  charge  of  the  mounted 

*  As  to  who  killed  Tecumthe,  see  Drake's  life  of  that  chief,  p.  199  to  219,  and  Atwa- 
ter's  History  of  Ohio,  236. 

•fThis  estimate  was  too  high,  there  were  not  more  than  2,500.  The  British  were  nearly 
as  numerous.  See  McAfee,  Dawson,  Ac. 


638  Battle  of  the  Thames.  1813. 

infantry :  the  measure  was  not  sanctioned  by  any  thing  that 
I  had  seen  or  heard  of,  but  I  was  fully  convinced  that  it  would 
succeed.  The  American  backwoodsmen  ride  better  in  the 
woods  than  any  other  people.  A  musket  or  rifle  is  no  im- 
pediment to  them,  being  accustomed  to  carry  them  on  horse- 
back from  their  earliest  youth.  I  was  persuaded,  too,  that 
the  enemy  would  be  quite  unprepared  for  the  shock,  and  that 
they  could  not  resist  it.  Conformably  to  this  idea,  I  directed 
the  regiment  to  be  drawn  up  in  close  column,  with  its  right 
at  the  distance  of  fifty  yards  from  the  road,  (that  it  might  be 
in  some  measure  protected  by  the  trees  from  the  artillery)  its 
left  upon  the  swamp,  and  to  charge  at  full  speed  as  soon  as 
the  enemy  delivered  their  fire.  The  few  regular  troops  of  the 
27th  regiment,  under  their  Colonel  (Paull)  occupied,  in  col- 
umn of  sections  of  four,  the  small  space  between  the  road 
and  the  river,  for  the  purpose  of  seizing  the  enemy's  artillery, 
and  some  ten  or  twelve  friendly  Indians  were  directed  to 
move  under  the  bank.  The  crotchet  formed  by  the  front  line, 
and  General  Desha's  division,  was  an  important  point.  At 
that  place,  the  venerable  Governor  of  Kentucky  was  posted, 
who  at  the  age  of  sixty-six  preserves  all  the  vigor  of  youth, 
the  ardent  zeal  which  distinguished  him  in  the  revolutionary 
war,  and  the  undaunted  bravery  which  he  manifested  at 
King's  Mountain.  With  my  aids-de-camp,  the  acting  assistant 
Adjutant  General,  Captain  Butler,  my  gallant  friend  Commo- 
dore Perry,  who  did  me  the  honor  to  serve  as  my  volunteer 
Aid-de-camp,  and  Brigadier  General  Cass,  who  having  no 
command,  tendered  me  his  assistance,  I  placed  myself  at  the 
head  of  the  front  line  of  iniantry,  to  direct  the  movements  of 
the  cavalry,  and  give  them  the  necessary  support.  The  army 
had  moved  on  in  this  order  but  a  short  distance,  when  the 
mounted  men  received  the  fire  of  the  British  line,  and  were 
ordered  to  charge ;  the  horses  in  the  front  of  the  column  re- 
coiled from  the  fire ;  another  was  given  by  the  enemy,  and 
our  column  at  length  getting  in  motion,  broke  through  the 
enemy  with  irresistible  force.  In  one  minute  the  contest  in 
front  was  over ;  the  British  officers  seeing  no  hopes  of  redu- 
cing their  disordered  ranks  to  order,  and  our  mounted  men 
wheeling  upon  them  and  pouring  in  a  destructive  fire,  imme- 
diately surrendered.  It  is  certain  that  three  only  of  our  troops 
were  wounded  in  this  charge.  Upon  the  left,  however,  the 
contest  was  more  severe  with  the  Indians.  Colonel  Johnson, 
who  commanded  on  that  flank  of  his  regiment,  received  a 
most  galling  fire  from  them,  which  was  returned  with  great 
effect.  The  Indians  still  further  to  the  right  advanced  and 
fell  in  with  our  front  line  of  infantry,  near  its  junction  with 
Desha's  division,  and  for  a  moment  made  an  impression  upon 
it.  His  Excellency,  Governor  Shelby,  however,  brought  up  a 
regiment  to  its  support,  and  the  enemy  receiving  a  severe  fire 


1814.  Holmes'  Expedition.  639 

in  front,  and  a  part  of  Johnson's  regiment  having  gained  their 
rear,  retreated  with  precipitation  Their  loss  was  very  consi- 
derable in  the  action,  and  many  were  killed  in  their  retreat.* 
Those  who  wish  to  see  a  fuller  account,  are  referred  to  the 
authorities  below,  many  of  which  are  easily  accessible.! 

We  have  said  that  the  battle  of  the  Thames  practically 
closed  the  war  in  the  north-west: — the  nominal  operations 
which  followed  were  as  follows  : 

First  was  undertaken  an  expedition  into  Canada  in  February 
1814,  by  Captain  Holmes,  a  gallant  young  officer  whose  career 
closed  soon  after.  In  the  previous  month  the  enemy  had  taken 
post  again  upon  the  Thames,  not  far  above  the  field  of  Proc- 
tor's defeat;  Holmes  directed  his  movement  against  this 
point.  Before  he  reached  it,  however,  he  learned  that  a  much 
stronger  force  than  his  own  was  advancing  to  meet  him,  and 
taking  up  an  eligible  position  upon  a  hill,  he  proceeded  to 
fortify  his  camp,  and  waited  their  approach.  They  surroun- 
ded and  attacked  his  entrenchments  with  great  spirit,  but  be- 
ing met  with  an  obstinacy  and  courage  equal  to  their  own, 
and  losing  very  largely  from  the  well-directed  fire  of  the  un- 
exposed  Americans,  the  British  were  forced  to  retreat  again, 
without  any  result  of  consequence  to  either  party .J 

Second ;  a  fruitless  attempt  was  made  by  the  Americans  to 
retake  Mackinac.  It  had  been  proposed  to  do  this  in  the 
autumn  of  1813,  after  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  but  one  of 
the  storms,  which  at  that  season  are  so  often  met  with  upon  the 
lakes, — -by  obliging  the  vessels  that  were  bringing  stores  from 
below,  to  throw  over  the  baggage  and  provisions, — defeated 
the  undertaking.§  Early  in  the  following  April  the  expedi- 
tion up  lake  Huron  was  once  more  talked  of;  the  purpose 
being  two-fold,  to  capture  Mackinac,  and  to  destroy  certain 
vessels  which  it  was  said  the  English  were  building  in  Glou- 

*Niles'  Register,  r.  130.    Dawson,  427. 

•J-  Dawson,  425  to  432.  Drake's  Tecumthe,  193  to  219.  Atwater's  Ohio,  233  to  238.  But- 
ler's Kentucky,  433  to  448.  Hall's  Life  of  Harrison.  Dodd  and  Drake's  Life  of  Harrison, 
See  American  accounts  of  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  in  Nilea'  Register,  v.  129  to  234.  Bri- 
tish accounts  do.  285.  See  also  letter  from  R.  M.  Johnson  in  Armstrong's  Notices.  Ap- 
pendix, vol.  i.  The  whole  number  of  troops  furnished  by  Kentucky,  up  to  this  tim«,  was 
supposed  to  be  about  17,400  :  see  particulars  in  Niles'  Register,  v.  173. 

JMcAfee,  441  to  445.  Holmes'  own  account  is  in  Niles'  Register,  vi.  115.— See  also,  same 

vol.  p.  80. 

.8ft  n  i  «  {fe<;«A*t»n  K'no%V.«lI- .-# >  v-i  -* 
gMcAfee'  403. 


640  Maj.  Holmes  killed  at  Fort  Mackinac.  1814. 

cester  bay,  at  the  south-east  extremity  of  the  Lake.  This 
plan,  however,  was  also  abandoned ;  in  part,  from  the  want 
of  men ;  in  part,  from  a  belief  that  Great  Britain  did  not,  as 
had  been  supposed,  intend  to  make  an  effort  to  regain  the 
command  of  the  Upper  Lakes  ;  and  also,  in  part,  from  a  mis- 
understanding between  General  Harrison  and  Col.  Croghan, 
who  commanded  at  Detroit,  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  Secre- 
tary of  Waron  the  other.  Gen.  Armstrong  had  seen  fit  to  pass 
by  both  the  officers  named,  and  to  direct  his  communications 
to  Maj.  Holmes,  their  junior,  a  breach  of  military  etiquette 
that  offended  them  both,  and,  in  connection  with  other  mat- 
ters of  a  similar  kind,  led  General  Harrison  to  resign  his  post.* 
No  sooner,  however,  had  the  plan  of  April  been  abandoned 
than  it  was  revived  again,  in  consequence  of  new  information 
as  to  the  establishment  at  Gloucester  bay,  or  properly  at  Mac- 
kadash.f  In  consequence  of  the  orders  issued  upon  the  2d  of 
June,  750  men  under  Col.  Croghan,  embarked  in  the  Ameri- 
can squadron  commanded  by  Sinclair,  and  upon  the  12th  of 
July  entered  lake  Huron.  After  spending  a  week  in  a  vain 
effort  to  get  into  Mackadashin  order  to  destroy  the  imaginary 
vessels  there  building,  the  fleet  sailed  to  St.  Josephs,  which 
was  found  deserted  ;  thence  a  small  party  was  sent  to  St. 
Mary's  Falls,  while  the  remainder  of  the  forces  steered  for 
Mackinac.  At  the  former  point  the  trading  house  was  des- 
troyed, and  the  goods  seized  ;  at  Mackinac  the  result  was  far 
different :  the  troops  landed  upon  the  west  of  the  island  upon 
the  4th  of  August,  but  after  a  severe  action,  in  which  Major 
Holmes  and  eleven  others  were  killed,  still  found  themselves 
so  situated,  as  to  lead  Croghan  to  abandon  the  attempt  to 
prosecute  the  attack  ;  and  Mackinac  was  left  in  the  possession 
of  the  enemy.  Having  failed  in  this  effort,  it  was  determined 
by  the  American  leaders  to  make  an  attempt  to  capture  the 
schooner  Nancy,  which  was  conveying  supplies  to  the  island 
fortress.  In  this,  or  rather  in  effecting  the  destruction  of  the 
vessel,  they  succeeded,  and  having  left  Lieutenant  Turner  to 
prevent  any  other  provisions  from  Canada  reaching  Mackinac, 
the  body  of  the  fleet  sailed  for  Detroit,  which  it  reached,  shat- 
tered and  thinned  by  tempests.  Meanwhile  the  crew  of  the 
Nancy,  who  had  escaped,  passed  over  to  Mackinac  in  a  boat 

*  McAfee,  414  to  422. — Harrison's  resignation  is  on  419. 
t  McAfee,  421  to  425. — Armstrong's  letters  are  given. 


1814.  McArthur's  Expedition.  641 

which  they  found,  and  an  expedition  was  at  once  arranged  by 
Lieut.  Worsley,  who  had  commanded  them,  for  frustrat- 
ing all  the  plans  of  Croghan  and  Sinclair.  Taking  with  him 
70  or  80  men  in  boats,  he  [first  attacked  and  captured  the 
Tigress,  an  American  vessel  lying  off  St.  Josephs ;  the  next, 
sailing  down  the  lake  in  the  craft  thus  taken,  easily  made  the 
three  vessels  under  Turner,  his  own.  In  this  enterprize,  there- 
fore, the  Americans  failed  signally,  at  every  point.* 

In  the  third  place  an  attempt  was  made  to  control  the  tribes 
of  the  Upper  Mississippi  by  founding  a  fort  at  Prairie  du 
Chien.f  Early  in  May,  Gov.  Clark  of  Missouri  was  sent 
thither,  and  there  commenced  Fort  Shelby,  \vithout  opposi- 
tion. By  the  middle  of  July,  however,  British  and  Indian 
forces  sent  from  Mackinac,  surrounded  the  post,  and  Lieuten- 
ant Perkins,  having  but  60  men  to  oppose  to  1200,  and  being 
also  scant  of  ammunition,  after  a  defence  of  some  days,  was 
forced  to  capitulate  :  so  that  there  again  the  United  States 
was  disappointed  and  defeated.^ 

A  fourth  expedition  was  led  by  Gen.  Me  Arthur,  first  against 
some  bands  of  Indians  which  he  could  not  find  ;  and  then 
across  the  Peninsula  of  Upper  Canada  to  the  relief  of  Gen. 
Brown  at  Fort  Erie.  The  object  of  the  last  movement  was 
either  to  join  General  Brown,  or  to  destroy  certain  mills  on 
Grand  river,  from  which  it  was  known  that  the  English  forces 
obtained  their  supplies  of  flour.  On  the  26th  of  October, 
McArthur,  with  720  mounted  men,  left  Detroit,  and  on  the  4th 
of  November  was  at  Oxford :  from  this  point  he  proceeded  to 
Burford,  and  learning  that  the  road  to  Burlington  was  strong- 
ly defended,  he  gave  up  the  idea  of  joining  Brown,  and  turn- 
ing toward  the  lake  by  the  Long  Point  road,  defeated  a  body 
of  militia  who  opposed  him,  destroyed  the  mills,  five  or  six 
in  number,  and  managing  to  secure  a  retreat  along  the  lake 
shore,  although  pursued  by  a  regiment  of  regular  troops  nearly 
double  his  own  men  in  number,— on  the  17th  reached  Sand- 
wich again  with  the  loss  of  but  one  man.  This  march, 
though  productive  of  no  very  marked  results,  was  of  conse- 
quence from  the  vigor  and  skill  displayed  both  by  the  com- 

*  McAfee,  422  to  437.    The  official  accounts  are  in  Niles'  Register,  vii.  4,  <tc.,  18,  156, 
173,  and  Appendis  to  same,  vol.  129  to  135. 

|See  Jetter  of  Gov.  Edwards  to  GOT.  Shelby.    (Niles'  Register,  iv.  148,)  dated  March  22, 
1813,  given  in  the  Appendix, 
t  McAfee,  439  to  442. 


642  Peace  with  Indians  and  with  England.  1814. 

mander  and  his  troops.  Had  the  summer  campaign  of  1812 
been  conducted  with  equal  spirit,  Michigan  would  not  have 
needed  to  be  retaken,  and  the  labors  of  Perry  and  Harrison 
would  have  been  uncalled  for  in  the  North-west.* 

With  McArthur's  march  through  Upper  Canada  the  annals 
of  war  in  the  North-west  closed. 

Meanwhile,  upon  the  22d  of  July,  a  treaty  had  been  formed 
at  Greenville,  under  the  direction  of  General  Harrison  and 
Governor  Cass,  by  which  the  United  States  and  the  faithful 
Wyandots,  Delawares,  Shawanese,  and  Senecas,  gave  peace 
to  the  Miamis,  Weas,  and  Eel  river  Indians,  and  to  certain  of 
the  Pottawatomies,  Ottawas,  and  Kickapoos;  and  all  the  In- 
dians engaged  to  aid  the  Americans  should  the  war  with 
Great  Britain  continue.f  But  such,  happily,  was  not  to  be 
the  case,  and  on  the  24th  of  December,  the  treaty  of  Ghent 
was  signed  by  the  representatives  of  England  and  the  United 
States.J 

*  McAfee,  444  to  453. — McArthur's  own  account  is  in  Niles'  Register,  vii.  239,  282,  &o . 
f  American  State  Papers,  v.  826  to  836.~-Cist'3  Cincinnati  Miscellany,  ii.  293, 
£  Holmes'  Annals,  ii,  471, 


CHAPTER  XIX. 
MISCELLANEOUS   EVENTS. 

The  British  Sine  qua  non — Indian  Treaties  at  the  close  of  the  War — Progress  of  Settle- 
ments— Trade  of  the  Lakes— Contest  of  Ohia  with  the  United  States'  Bank — Canals  ia 
Ohio — Common  Schools  in  Ohio. 

Negotiations  at  Ghent. 

[It  is  proper  here  to  review  some  of  the  events  of  1814,  con- 
nected with  the  war.] 

In  the  summer,  Mr.  Madison,  with  the  approval  of  the  Sen- 
ate, sent  out  as  Commissioners  to  negotiate  peace,  Messrs. 
Adams,  Bayard,  Clay,  Russell,  and  Gallatin.  On  the  part  of 
His  Britannic  Majesty,  were  Lord  Garrbier,  Sir  Henry  Goul- 
burne,  and  Hon.  William  Adams.  The  city  of  Ghent,  in  Bel- 
gium was  selected  as  the  seat  of  the  negotiations.  On  the  12th 
of  August,  the  American  Commissioners  communicated  to 
President  Madison  the  purport  of  several  conferences.  This 
document  "Mr.  Madison  laid  before  the  Senate  and  House  of 
Representatives.  On  the  10th  of  October  following,  the  act 
to  which  we  allude  to,  had  previously  found  a  place  in  the 
public  journals,  and  great  indeed  was  the  indignation  of  the 
people.  Even  many  of  the  Federal  party,  who,  from  the  first, 
had  opposed  the  war,  gave  in  their  adhesion,  and  sternly  re- 
solved to  fight  until-Great  Britain  yielded  her  preposterous  and 
unrighteous  demands.  There  were  several  very  objectiona- 
ble propositions  made  by  the  British  plenipotentiaries,  in  lan- 
guage scarcely  courteous,  but  one  proposition  was  called  the 
"Sine  qua  non"  The  meaning,  when  elaborated,  is,  without 
which  no  negotiations, — no  treaty.  This  related  to  their  "In- 
dian allies,"  was  the  second  proposition  as  the  basis  of  discus- 
sion, and  expressed  in  these  words  : 

"The  Indian  allies  of  Great  Britain  to  be  included  in  the 
pacification,  and  a  definite  boundary  to  be  settled  for  their 
territories." 

The  British  Commissioners  stated  that  "an  arrangement  on 
this  point  was  a  Sine  qua  non; — that  they  were  not  authori- 
zed to  conclude  a  treaty  of  peace  which  did  not  embrace  the 
Indians  as  allies  of  his  Britannic  Majesty  ;  and  that  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  definite  boundary  of  the  Indian  territory  was 


644  The  British  "  Sine  qua  Non."  1814. 

necessary  to  a  permanent  peace,  not  only  with  the  Indians, 
but  also  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain." 

At  a  subsequent  conference,  explanations  were  asked  and 
given.  The  commissioners  on  the  part  of  the  United  States 
report : — 

"  We  took  this  opportunity  to  remark,  that  no  nation  ob- 
served a  policy  more  liberal  and  humane  towards  the  Indians, 
than  that  performed  by  the  United  States  ; — that  our  object 
had  been,  by  all  practicable  means,  to  introduce  civilization 
amongst  them  ; — that  their  possessions  were  secured  by  well 
defined  boundaries  ; — that  their  persons,  lands,  and  other  pro- 
perty, were  now  more  effectually  protected  against  violence 
or  frauds  from  any  quarter,  than  they  had  been  under  any  for- 
mer government ; — that  even  our  citizens  were  not  allowed 
to  purchase  their  lands ; — that  when  they  gave  up  their  title 
to  any  portion  of  their  country  to  the  United  States,  it  was 
by  voluntary  treaty  with  our  government,  who  gave  them  a 
satisfactory  equivalent ; — and  that  through  these  means  the 
United  States  had  succeeded  in  preserving,  since  the  treaty  of 
Greenville  of  1795,  an  uninterrupted  peace  of  sixteen  years, 
with  all  the  tribes,  a  period  of  tranquility  much  longer  than 
they  were  known  to  have  enjoyed  heretofore. 

"  It  was  then  expressly  stated  on  our  part,  that  the  proposi- 
tion respecting  the  Indians  was  not  distinctly  understood. — 
We  asked  whether  the  pacification  and  the  settlement  of  a 
boundary  for  them  were  both  made  a  sine  qua  non,  which  was 
answered  in  the  affirmative." 

On  the  8th  of  August,  the  Commissioners  on  the  part  of 
His  Britannic  Majesty,  laid  before  the  American  Commission- 
ers the  following  protocol  in  writing: — 

"That  the  peace  be  extended  to  the  Indian  allies  of  Great 
Britain,  and  that  the  boundary  of  their  territory  be  definitely 
marked  out  as  a  permanent  barrier  between  the  dominions  of 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  Arrangements  on  this 
subject  to  be  regarded  a  sine  qua  non  of  a  treaty  of  peace.*" 

The  boundary  line  established  by  the  treaty  of  Greenville, 
in  1795,  was  the  one  claimed  as  a  permanent  boundary  on 
the  part  of  Great  Britain,  for  her  "Indian  allies."  This  line 
commenced  "  at  the  mouth  of  the  Guy ahoga  river,  run  up  the 
same  to  the  portage,  between  that  and  the  Tuscarawas  branch 
of  the  Muskingum,  thence  down  that  branch  to  the  crossing 
place  above  Fort  Lawrence,  [Laurens,]  thence  westerly  to  a 

*Niles'  Register,  vii.  70  to  76;— 81  to  92;-218. 


1814.  Demands  of  the  British.  645 

fork  of  that  branch  of  the  Great  Miami  river,  running  into 
the  Ohio,  at  or  near  which  fork  stood  Loromie's  store,  and 
where  commences  the  portage  between  the  Miami  of  the 
Ohio,  and  St.  Mary's  river,  which  is  a  branch  of  the  Miami 
which  runs  into  Lake  Erie ;  thence  westerly  to  Fort  Recove- 
ry, which  stands  on  a  branch  of  the  Wabash ;  thence  south- 
westerly in  a  direct  line  to  the  Ohio  opposite  the  mouth  of 
the  Kentucke." 

Carrying  out  the  same  principle  in  reference  to  Illinois,  and 
the  Indian  boundary  would  have  run  from  the  vicinity  of  Fort 
Harrison  across  the  State  to  a  point  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Illinois  river.  Another  principle  involved  in  the  sine  qua  non, 
was  the  entire  sovereignty  and  independence  of  the  Indian 
confederacy ;  a  principle  never  admitted  by  any  civilized  na- 
tion, and  least  of  all  by  Great  Britain  to  bands  of  wandering 
savages. 

Other  claims,  not  less  preposterous  and  insulting,  were  put 
forth  by  the  British  Commissioners, — that  the  boundary  line  in 
Maine  should  be  so  altered  as  to  afford  Great  Britain  a  direct 
communication  from  Quebec  to  Halifax  ;  that  the  right  to  the 
fisheries  on  the  banks  of  Newfoundland,  and  the  coast  of  La- 
brador, which  had  been  guaranteed  as  a  national  right  in  the 
treaty  of  1783,  should  be  abrogated;  and  that  the  exclusive 
naval  authority  of  Great  Britain,  should  be  held  over  all  the 
northern  lakes. 

The  reason  assigned  for  this  last  insulting  demand,  was, 
that  the  British  possessions  of  Canada  might  be  in  danger 
from  American  aggression,  and  that  it  would  be  no  inconven- 
ience to  the  Americans,  for  Great  Britain  to  have  entire  con- 
trol of  the  lake  navigation. 

Of  course,  our  Commissioners  unanimously  resisted  all  these 
claims.  The  able  and  masterly  documents  were  from  the  pen 
of  the  late  John  Q.  Adams.  They  have  been  pronounced  by 
high  authorities,  as  masterly  productions  in  diplomatic  corres- 
pondence. Every  communication  from  the  American  Com- 
missioners was  sent  to  London,  and  the  British  Commissioners 
waited  for  instructions  before  they  replied.  The  claims  of 
Britain  were  yielded  only  inch  by  inch,  but  before  the  24th  of 
December,  they  had  given  up  all  these  questions.* 

The   cause  of  the  sine  qua  non,  on  behalf  of  the  Indian  al- 

*  For  the  correspondence  see  Niles'  Register,  vii.  222,  239 — Treaty,  Niles,  viL  397,  400. 


646  Demands  of  the  British.  1814. 

lies  of  Great  Britain,  is  to  be  sought  in  the  pledges  of  the 
British  authorities,  to  Tecumthe  soon  after,  (more  likely  pre- 
vious to)  the  declaration  of  war  in  1812.  On  condition  that 
Tecumthe  and  his  Indian  confederation,  would  form  an  alli- 
ance, offensive  and  defensive  with  Great  Britain,  that  govern- 
ment would  sustain  them  as  an  independent  sovereignty  in 
their  claims  to  the  country  south  of  the  lakes,  and  make  the 
line  established  at  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  the  permanent 
boundary  between  the  Indians  and  the  United  States,  never 
to  be  abrogated  without  the  consent  of  the  contracting  par- 
ties. Our  evidence  for  this  fact  is,  first,  the  train  of  events 
during  the  period  of  the  war,  to  the  termination  at  the  treaty 
of  Ghent,  when  the  sine  qua  non  was  yielded,  and  their  "  In- 
dian allies"  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  United  Slates.  Second- 
ly, we  have  proof  from  two  sources,  on  which  we  place  great 
confidence. 

In  1818,  we  became  acquainted  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ruddel, 
(often  spelled  and  pronounced  Riddle,)  who  was  taken  prison- 
er in  boyhood  at  Ruddel's  station,  in  Kentucky,  raised 
among  the  Shawanese,  in  the  same  village  with  Tecumthe, 
became  an  Indian  in  habit,  and  was  liberated  at  the  period  of 
Wayne's  treaty.  He  returned  to  Kentucky,  adopted  civilized 
habits,  learned  to  read,  married,  professed  religion  and  became 
a  preacher  of  the  Christian  sect.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  he 
was  employed  by  several  families  of  Kentucky  to  visit  the 
Indian  tribes,  especially  the  Shawanese  of  the  North-west,  to 
obtain  the  release  of  captives.  Mr.  Ruddel  felt  interested  in 
the  fate  of  his  old  friend  Tecumthe,  and  from  his  former  asso- 
ciates, learned  the  following  particulars:  That  the  British  au- 
thorities did  pledge  Tecumthe  to  protect  their  interests  and 
secure  for  them,  as  an  ally,  permanent  possession  of  the  ter- 
ritory not  included  in  the  relinquishment  at  Greenville ;  that 
Tecumthe  became  dissatisfied  with  the  delay  of  Gen.  Proctor, 
and  doubted  the  ability  of  the  allied  army  of  British  and  Indians 
to  conquer  the  United  States;  and  that  a  few  days  before  the 
battle  of  the  Thames  he  held  a  private  council  with  his  princi- 
pal chiefs  and  suggested,  that  if  the  British  army  did  not  act 
with  more  energy  and  promptitude,  he  would  go  over  to  the 
American  side  with  all  his  forces,  and  secure  by  their  alliance 
the  rights  of  the  Indians.  Knowing  the  liability  of  Mr.  Rud- 
del being  deceived,  in  1833  we  held  conversation  with  Billy 


1816.  Cause  of  the  "Sine  qua  now."  647 

Caldwell  at  Chicago,  heretofore  mentioned,  and  he  confirmed 
substantially  the  statement  of  Ruddel. 

He  was  anxious  to  find  some  trust-worthy  American  citi- 
zen to  write  the  biography  of  Tecumthe,  and  gave  as  a  reason, 
that  no  British  officer  should  ever  perform  that  service  to  his 
distinguished  friend,  remarking  at  the  same  time,  "the  British 
officers  promised  to  stand  by  the  Indians  until  we  gained  our 
object ;  they  basely  deserted  us,  got  defeated,  and  after  put- 
ting in  our  claims  in  the  negotiations  at  Ghent,  finally  left  us 
to  make  peace  with  the  Americans  on  the  best  terms  we 
could.  The  Americans  fairly  whipped  us,  and  then  treated  with 
us  honorably,  and  no  Briton  shall  touch  one  of  my  papers. 
Mr.  Caldwell  had  a  trunk  well  filled  with  papers  and  docu- 
ments pertaining  to  Tecumthe.  He  also  confirmed  Ruddel's 
statement  that  Tecumthe  would  have  deserted  the  British 
standard,  had  not  the  battle  of  the  Thames  occurred  at  the 
time  it  did. 

We  give  these  facts  and  leave  our  readers  to  draw  their 
own  conclusions. 

The    most  prominent    events   during    1815,   pertaining   to 
the  West,  are  the  treaties   negotiated  with  the  Indians. 

The  first  in  sequence  was  made  at  Greenville,  Ohio,  July 
22,  1814,  by  Wm.  Henry  Harrison  and  Lewis  Cass,  Commis- 
sioners on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  and  the  Wyandots, 
Delawares,  Sliawanese,  Senecas  and  Miamics.  In  this  treaty  the 
Wyandots,  Delawares,  Shawanese  and  Senecas  made  peace 
with  the  Miami,  Eel  river,  and  the  Wea  tribes ;  those  bands 
of  the  Pottawatomies,  which  adhered  "to  the  Grand  Sachem 
Topenebe,  and  the  chief  Onoxa;  to  the  Ottowas  of  Blanch- 
ard's  creek,"  and  to  several  other  small  bands  who  were 
friendly  to  the  United  States.  All  these  tribes  and  bands  en- 
gaged to  give  their  aid  to  the  United  States,  in  prosecuting  the 
war  against  Great  Britain  and  her  allies.  On  the  faithful 
performance  of  these  conditions,  the  United  States  agreed  to 
confirm  and  establish  all  the  boundaries  between  their  lands 
and  those  of  the  several  tribes  concerned  in  the  treaty,  as 
they  existed  before  the  war  with  Great  Britain.  This  treaty 
was  signed  on  the  22d  July,  1814. 

About  the  middle  of  July,  1815,  a  large  number  of  Indians, 
as  deputies  from  the  nations  and  tribes  of  the  North-west,  as- 
sembled at  Portage  des  Sioux,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, a  few  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  to  ne- 


648  Indian   Treaties  at  Portage  des  Sioux.  1815. 

gotiate  treaties  of  peace  with  the  United  States.  The  Com- 
missioners were  William  Clark,  Governor  of  Missouri,  and 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
Ninian  Edwards,  Governor  and  Superintendent  of  Indian  Af- 
fairs in  Illinois,  and  the  Hon.  Anguste  Chouteau  of  St.  Louis. 
Robert  Wash,  Esq.,  was  Secretary  to  the  commission.  Henry 
Dodge,  Brigadier-General,  with  a  strong  military  force  was 
present  to  prevent  any  collision,  or  surprise. 

The  first  in  order  was  with  the  Pottawatomies.  Every  injury, 
or  act  of  hostility  by  either  party  against  the  other,  was  to  be 
mutually  forgiven  ;  all  prisoners  to  be  delivered  up  ;  and  "  in 
sincerity  of  mutual  friendship,"  every  treaty,  contract,  and 
agreement,  heretofore  made  between  the  United  States  and 
Pottawatomie  nation  to  be  recognized,  re-established  and  con- 
firmed. The  same  day  a  similar  treaty  was  made  with  the 
Piankeshaws. 

On  the  19th  of  July,  a  series  of  treaties  were  made  sepa- 
rately with  several  tribes  of  the  Sioux  or  N'Dokatah  nation. 
Similar  terms  were  granted,  as  to  the  Pottawatomies,  and 
these  branches  of  the  Sioux  nation  acknowledged  themselves 
under  the  protection  of  the  United  States. 

On  the  20th  a  similar  treaty  was  made  with  the  Mahas,  from 
the  tipper  Missouri. 

The  next  in  order  was  with  the  Kickapoos,  on  the  2nd  of 
September,  and  the  conditions  exactly  similar  to  those  of  the 
Pottawatomies. 

On  the  13th  of  September,  a  treaty  was  made  with  that 
portion  of  the  Sac  nation  of  Indians,  then  residing  on  the 
Missouri  river,  by  twelve  chiefs.  They  affirmed  they  had  en- 
deavored to  fulfill  the  treaty  made  at  St.  Louis,  on  the  third 
day  of  November,  1804,  in  perfect  good  faith;  and  for  that 
purpose  had  been  compelled  to  separate  themselves  from  the 
rest  of  their  nation,  and  remove  to  the  Missouri  river,  where 
they  had  continued  to  give  proofs  of  their  friendship  and  fidel- 
ity; they  propose  to  confirm  and  re-establish  the  treaty  of 
1804 ;  that  they  will  continue  to  live  separate  and  distinct 
from  the  Sacs  of  Rock  River,  and  give  them  no  aid,  until 
peace  shall  be  concluded  between  them  and  the  United  States. 
The  United  States  on  their  part  promise  to  allow  the  Sacs  of 
the  Missouri  river,  all  the  rights  and  privileges  secured  to  them 
by  the  treaty  at  St.  Louis. 


1815.  Indian   Treaty  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes.  649 

The  next  day,  September  14th,  a  treaty  was  made  with  the 
Fox  tribe  of  Indians.  The  conditions  place  these  Indians  on 
the  same  footing  they  were  before  the  war,  and  they  also  re- 
establish and  confirm  the  treaty  of  St.  Louis,  of  1804.  On 
the  12th  September,  treaties  were  made  with  the  Great  and 
Little  Osage  nations,  in  which  every  act  of  hostility  by  either 
of  the  contracting  parties  against  the  other,  was  to  be  mu- 
tually forgiven  and  forgot.  The  treaty  of  1808,  made  at 
"Fort  Clark,"  on  the  Missouri,  was  re-confirmed. 

We  neglected  to  mention  in  its  proper  place,  (p.  574,)  that 
the  Commissioner  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  was  the 
late  Colonel  Pierre  Chouteau,  of  St.  Louis.  Fort  Clark,  call- 
ed subsequently  Fort  Osage,  was  situated  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Missouri,  five  miles  above  Prairie  de  Feu,  (Fire  Prairie) 
in  Jackson  county,  a  few  miles  below  Independence. 

On  the  16th  of  September,  a  treaty,  (and  the  first  we  find 
on  record,)  was  made  with  the  loway  Indians,  on  the  same  con- 
ditions as  with  the  other  hostile  tribes. 

On  the  28th  day  of  October  a  treaty  was  made  with  the 
Kauzau  nation,  on  the  same  terms. 

We  will  anticipate  a  treaty  made  on  the  13th  of  May,  1816, 
that  we  may  finish  up  the  Indian  negotiations  for  peace  in 
this  article.  The  same  Commissioners  officiated  on  the  part 
of  St.  Louis,  and  the  negotiations  were  transacted  in  St.  Louis. 

As  this  treaty,  in  connection  with  the  one  already  noticed, 
(ante  page  546)  and  the  ones  with  branches  of  the  united  na- 
tions of  Sacs  and  Foxes  already  mentioned,  will  cast  light  on 
the  "  Black  Hawk  war,"  and  remove  imputations  cast  on  the 
people  of  Illinois  and  the  officers  of  the  United  States,  of  un- 
fair treatment  of  the  Indians.  These  Indians  had  been  hos- 
tile for  some  years,  and  refused  to  come  to  the  treaty  ground! 
the  preceding  year. 

A  small  party,  led  by  the  noted  brave,  Black  Hawk,  even* 
now  refused  to  attend  the  treaty,  proclaimed  themselves  to  be 
British  subjects,  and  \vent  to  Canada  to  receive  presents.  We 
give  the  treaty  in  full.* 

Whereas,  by  the  ninth  article  of  the  treaty  of  peace,  which1 
was  concluded  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  December,  eighteen 
hundred  and  fourteen,  between  the  United  States  and  Great 

*  For  these  treaties,  see  Indian  Treaties  and  Laws,  "Washington,  D.  C.,  1826',  pp.  75,  227^. 
234,  236,  263,  273,  276,  277,  278,  281,  283,  286,  289. 

41 


650  Treaty  with  the  Sacs  of  Rock  River.  1814. 

Britain,  at  Ghent,  and  which  was  ratified  by  the  President, 
with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Senate,  on  the  seventeenth 
day  of  February,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifteen,  it  was  stipula- 
ted that  the  said  parties  should  severally  put  an  end  to  all 
hostilities  with  the  Indian  tribes,  with  whom  they  might  be  at 
war,  at  the  time  of  the  ratification  of  said  treaty;  and  to 
place  the  said  tribes  inhabiting  their  respective  territories,  on 
the  same  footing  upon  which  they  stood  before  the  war  :  Pro- 
vided, they  should  agree  to  desist  from  all  hostilities  against 
the  said  parties,  their  citizens  or  subjects,  respectively,  upon 
the  ratification  of  the  said  treaty  being  notified  to  thern,  and 
should  so  desist  accordingly. 

And  whereas,  the  United  States  being  determined  to  exe- 
cute every  article  of  the  treaty  with  perfect  good  faith,  and 
wishing  to  be  particularly  exact  in  the  execution  of  the  article 
above  alluded  to,  relating  to  the  Indian  tribes  :  The  President, 
in  consequence  thereof,  for  that  purpose,  on  the  eleventh  day 
of  March,  eighteen  hundred  and  fifteen,  appointed  the  under- 
signed, William  Clark,  Governor  of  Missouri  territory,  Ninian 
Edwards,  Governor  of  Illinois  territory,  and  Auguste  Chquteau, 
Esq.,  of  the  Missouri  territory,  Commissioners,  with  full  power 
to  conclude  a  treaty  of  peace  and  amity  with  all  those  tribes 
of  Indians,  conformably  to  the  stipulations  contained  in  the  said 
article,  on  the  part  of  the  U.  States,  in  relation  to  such  tribes. 

And  whereas,  the  Commissioners,  in  conformity  with  their 
instructions  in  the  early  part  of  last  year,  notified  the  Sacs  of 
Rock  river,  and  the  adjacent  country,  of  the  time  of  the  ratifi- 
cation of  said  treaty;  of  the  stipulations  it  contained  in  rela- 
tion to  them;  of  the  disposition  of  the  American  government 
to  fulfil  those  stipulations,  by  entering  into  a  treaty  with  them, 
conformably  thereto ;  and  invited  the  said  Sacs  of  Rock  river, 
and  the  adjacent  country,  to  send  forward  a  deputation  of 
their  chiefs  to  meet  the  said  Commissioners  at  Portage  des 
Sioux,  for  the  purpose  of  concluding  such  a  treaty  as  afore- 
said, between  the  United  States  and  the  said  Indians,  and  the 
said  Sacs  of  Rock  river,  and  the  adjacent  country,  having  not 
only  declined  that  friendly  overture,  but  having  continued  their 
hostilities,  and  committed  many  depredations  thereafter, 
which  would  have  justified  the  infliction  of  the  severest  chas- 
tisement upon  them;  but  having  earnestly  repented  of  their 
conduct,  now  emploring  mercy,  and  being  anxious  to  return 
to  the  habits  of  peace  and  friendship  with  the  United  States  ; 
and  the  latter  being  always  disposed  to  pursue  the  most  liberal 
and  humane  policy  towards  the^Indian  tribes  within  their  ter- 
ritory, preferring  their  reclamation  by  peaceful  measures,  to 
their  punishment,  by  the  application  of  the  military  force  of 
the  nation — Now,  therefore, 

The  said    William    Clark,   Ninian  Edwards,  and  Auguste 
Chouteau,  Commissioners  as  aforesaid,  and  the  undersigned 


1814.  Treaty  with  the  Sacs  of  Rock  River.  651 

chiefs  and  warriors,  as  aforesaid,  for  the  purpose  of  restoring 
peace  and  friendship  between  the  parties,  do  agree  to  the  fol- 
lowing articles: 

ART.  1.  The  Sacs  of  Rock  river,  and  the  adjacent  country, 
do  hereby  unconditionally  assent  to  recognize,  re-establish, 
and  confirm  the  treaty  between  the  United  States  of  America 
and  the  united  tribes  of  Sacs  and  Fox  Indians,  which  was  con- 
cluded at  St.  Louis,  on  the  third  day  of  November,  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  four;  as  well  as  all  other  contracts 
and  agreements,  heretofore  made  between  the  Sac  tribe  or 
nation,  and  the  United  States. 

ART.  2.  The  United  States  agree  to  place  the  aforesaid  Sacs 
of  Rock  river,  on  the  same  footing  upon  which  they  stood  be- 
fore the  war ;  provided  they  shall,  on  or  before  the  first  day  of 
July  next,  deliver  up  to  the  officer  commanding  at  canton- 
ment Davis,  on  the  Mississippi,  all  the  property  they,  or 
any  part  of  their  tribe,  have  plundered  or  stolen  from  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  since  they  were  notified,  as  afore- 
said, of  the  time  of  the  ratification  of  the  late  treaty  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain. 

ART.  3.  If  the  said  tribe  shall  fail  or  neglect  to  deliver  up  the 
property  aforesaid,  or  any  part  thereof,  on  or  before  the  first 
day  of  July  aforesaid,  they  shall  forfeit  to  the  United  States 
all  right  and  title  to  their  proportion  of  the  annuities  which, 
by  the  treaty  of  St.  Louis,  were  covenanted  to  be  paid  to  the 
Sac  tribe ;  and  the  United  States  shall  forever  afterwards  be 
exonerated  from  the  payment  of  so  much  of  said  annuities  as, 
upon  a  fair  distribution,  would  fall  to  the  share  of  that  por- 
tion of  the  Sacs  who  are  represented  by  the  undersigned  chiefs 
and  warriors.* 

There  were  some  other  treaties  made  in  1815-'16,  which 
were  of  inferior  purport. 

A  careful  examination  of  these  and  all  other  Indian  trea- 
ties, with  full  and  correct  knowledge  of  the  historical  events, 
will  enable  every  unprejudiced  person  to  perceive  that  the 
course  of  procedure  on  the  part  of  the  government  of  the  Uni- 
ted States  with  the  aborigines  of  our  country,  has  been  highly 
paternal,  beneficent  and  liberal.  The  conduct  of  Great  Bri- 
tain cannot  be  brought  in  comparison.  In  justice  and  equity, 
the  United  States  might  have  made  and  enforced  remunera- 
tion in  lands  as  a  penalty  for  the  hostilities  committed,  but 
the  language  in  each  treaty  is  "  that  every  injury,  or  act  of 
hostility,  shall  be  forgiven  and  forgot." 

The  war  being  over,  and  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  north- 
west being  deprived  of  their  distinguished  British  ally,  and 

*  Indian  Treaties,  p.  237. 


652  Progress  of  Settlements.  1816. 

having  consented  to  be  at  peace,  confidence  was  restored  to 
the  frontier  settlements,  and  emigration  again  began  to  push 
into  the  forests  and  prairies. 

The  campaigns  of  the  rangers  and  mounted  volunteers, 
who  had  traversed  the  groves  and  prairies  of  Indiana,  Illinois, 
Missouri  and  Michigan,  served  as  explorations  of  new  and 
fertile  countries,  and  opened  the  way  for  thousands  of  hardy 
pioneers,  and  the  formation  of  settlements. 

The  rich  and  delightful  lands  along  the  waters  of  the  Wa- 
bash,  the  Kaskaskia,  the  Sangamon,  and  the  Illinois  rivers, 
had  filled  their  hearts  with  enthusiasm,  and  the  very  men, 
who  in  hostile  array,  had  traversed  the  country,  began  to  ad- 
vance with  their  families  in  the  peaceful  character  of  hus- 
bandmen, and  to  plant  new  settlements  in  all  this  region. 

In  the  Territory  of  Michigan,  a  much  larger  portion  of  the 
soil  remained  in  possession  of  the  aborigines  than  further 
south.  Previous  to  the  war,  but  few  settlements  were  made 
beyond  the  vicinity  of  Detroit,  and  along  the  river  Raisin. — 
These,  to  a  great  extent,  had  been  broken  up  by  the  savages 
and  their  English  allies  during  the  war.  It  was  not  until  a  later 
period  that  the  immigrants  penetrated  the  interior  of  that  ter- 
ritory. But  Indiana,  Illinois  and  Missouri,  from  1816  to  1820, 
received  a  continuous  succession  of  immigrants.  Ohio,  but 
particularly  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  sent  out  vast  numbers 
to  these  new  regions,  where  land  was  abundant,  cheap  and 
productive. 

In  the  early  part  of  1816,  Congress  having  previously  grant- 
ed authority,  a  Convention  was  elected  and  assembled  to  form 
a  State  Government.  A  constitution  was  adopted  and  report- 
ed to  Congress.  It  was  approved  by  that  body,  and  the  "State 
of  Indiana"  received  admission  into  the  Union  on  the  19th 
day  of  April,  1816. 

The  new  State  Government  went  into  operation  by  the 
election  of  the  Hon.  Jonathan  Jennings,  Governor,  who  had 
represented  the  territory  as  Delegate  in  Congress  from  1809. 
The  General  Assembly  discharged  its  duties  in  the  formation 
of  the  various  departments,  agreeable  to  the  provisions  of  the 
constitution,  and  changing  the  territorial  laws  in  accordance 
with  its  position  as  a  State. 

We  shall  now  give  several  items  in  the  progress  of  the 
north-west,  chiefly  in  Ohio,  from  Mr.  Perkins,  as  found  in  the 


1816.  Banks  in  Ohio.  653 

first  edition  of  these  Annals;  leaving  all  that  pertains  to  Illi- 
nois, Missouri,  and  the  still  more  recently  settled  regions  of 
the  north-west,  for  our  Appendix. 

It  ought  to  have  been  chronicled  under  the  proper  date,  that 
on  the  26th  February,  1814,  Hon.  John  Cleves  Symmes,  the 
patriarch  of  the  settlement  in  the  Miami  country,  died  in  Cin- 
cinnati, in  the  seventy-second  year  of  his  age.  He  was  bu- 
ried at  the  North  Bend,  and  his  grave  is  to  be  found  about 
thirty  rods  to  the  north-west  of  the  tomb  of  President  Harri- 
son.*] 

On  the  18th  of  March,  18 16,  Pittsburgh  was  incorporated  as 
a  city ;  it  had  been  incorporated  as  a  borough  on  the  22d  of 
April,  1794. 

In  1817  it  contained  five  glass  houses,  four  air-furnaces,  one 
hundred  and  nine  stores,  eight  steam-engines  in  mills,  1,303 
houses,  8,000  people,  and  manufactured  400  tons  of  nails  by 
steam.f 

Columbus  was  this  year  made  permanently  the  Capital  of 
Ohio. 

Congress  in  1804  had  granted  to  Michigan  a  township  of 
land,  for  the  support  of  a  College;  in  this  year,  (1817,)  the 
University  of  Michigan  was  established  by  the  Governor  and 
Judges. 

During  1817,  an  effort  was  made  to  extinguish  the  Indian 
title  within  the  State  of  Ohio,  and  had  the  Miamies  attended 
the  council,  held  at  the  Rapids  of  the  Maumee,  in  September, 
it  probably  would  have  been  done.  As  it  was,  Cass  and  Mc- 
Arthur  purchased  of  the  other  tribes  nearly  the  whole  north- 
west of  the  Buckeye  State,  the  number  of  acres,  exclusive  of 
reservations,  being  estimated  at  3,694,540,  for  which  were  paid 
140,893  dollars  ;  being  3  cents  and  8  mills  an  acre.J 

A  full  history  of  banking  in  Ohio,  would  as  much  exceed 
our  limits  as  we  fear  it  would  tire  the  patience  of  our  readers. 
But  as  about  this  time  the  disposition  to  an  excess  in  the  crea- 
tion of  such  institutions  was  plainly  manifested,  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  mention  the  leading  acts  of  the  Legislature  in  re- 
ference to  the  subject. 

The  earliest  bank  chartered  was  the  Miami  Exporting  Com- 
pany of  Cincinnati,  the  bill  for  which  passed  in  April,  1803. 

*  See  Howe's  Ohio,  235. 

•(•  American  Pioneer,  i.  307,  309.    Thi?  paper  contains  many  facts  respecting  Pittsburgh. 

%  American  State  Papers,  Y.  131  to  140, — 149,  150.    Lanman's  Michigan,  230,  note. 


664  Banks  in  Ohio.  1817. 

Banking  was  with  this  company  a  secondary  object,  its  main 
purpose  being  to  facilitate  trade,  then  much  depressed ;  nor 
was  it  till  1808  that  the  first  bank,  strictly  speaking,  that  of 
Marietta,  was  chartered.  During  the  same  session  the  pro- 
position of  founding  a  State  Bank  was  considered,  and  report- 
ed upon  by  Mr.  Worthington  ;  it  resulted  in  the  establishment 
of  the  Bank  of  Chillicothe.  From  that  time  charters  were 
granted  to  similar  institutions  up  to  the  year  1816,  when  the 
great  banking  law  was  passed,  incorporating  twelve  new 
banks,  extending  the  charters  of  old  ones,  and  making  the 
State  a  party  in  the  profits  and  capital  of  the  institutions 
thus  created  and  renewed,  without  any  advance  of  means 
on  her  part.  This  was  done  in  the  following  manner:  each 
new  bank  was  at  the  outset  to  set  apart  one  share  in  twenty- 
five  for  the  State,  without  payment,  and  each  bank,  whose 
charter  was  renewed,  was  to  create,  for  the  State,  stock  in 
the  same  proportion  ;  each  bank,  new  and  old,  was  yearly  to 
set  apart  out  of  its  profits  a  sum  which  would  make,  at  the 
time  the  charter  expired,  a  sum  equal  to  one  twenty-fifth  of 
the  whole  stock,  which  was  to  belong  to  the  State ;  and  the 
dividends  coming  to  the  State  were  to  be  invested  and  rein- 
vested until  one-sixth  of  the  stock  was  State  property : — the 
last  provision  was  subject  to  change  by  future  legislatures. 

This  interest  of  the  State  in  her  banks  continued  until 
1825,  when  the  law  was  so  amended  as  to  change  her  stock 
into  a  tax  of  two  per  cent,  upon  all  dividends  made  up  to 
that  time,  and  four  per  cent,  upon  all  made  thereafter.  But 
before  the  law  of  1816,  in  February  1815,  Ohio  had  begun  to 
raise  a  revenue  from  her  banking  institutions,  levying  upon 
their  dividends  a  tax  of  four  per  cent.  This  law,  however, 
was  made  null  with  regard  to  such  banks  as  accepted  the 
terms  of  the  law  of  1816.  After  1825,  no  change  was  made 
until  March,  1831,  when  the  tax  was  increased  to  five  per 
cent. 

Two  important  acts  have  been  more  lately  passed  by  the 
legislature,  to  which  we  can  do  nothing  more  than  refer.  In 
1839,  a  law  was  enacted,  appointing  bank  commissioners, 
who  were  to  examine  the  various  institutions  and  report  up- 
on their  condition.  This  inquisition  was  resisted  by  some  of 
the  banks,  and  much  controversy  followed,  both  in  and  out  of 
the  General  Assembly.  In  1845  a  new  system  of  banking 


1818.  Slate  of  Illinois.  655 

was  adopted,  embracing  both  a  State  Bank  with  branches, 
and  independent  banks.* 

On  the  18th  of  April,  1818,  Congress  authorized  the  people 
of  Illinois  to  form  a  State  Constitution;  this  was  done  during 
the  ensuing  summer,  and  adopted  August  26th.  The  north- 
ern boundary  of  the  State  as  fixed  by  Congress,  was  latitude 
42  deg.  30  min. 

All  the  territory  north  of  the  new  State  of  Illinois  was  at- 
tached to  Michigan-! 

Great  emigration  took  plape  to  Michigan  in  consequence  of 
the  sale  of  large  quantities  of  public  lands.J 

The  Walk-in-the-Waler,  the  first  steam-boat  in  the  upper 
lakes,  (Erie,  Huron,  and  Michigan,)  began  her  trips,  going 
once  as  far  as  Mackinac.§  The  following  sketch  of  the  lake 
trade  since  that  time  we  take  from  the  National  Intelligen- 
cer: 

In  1826  the  first  steamboat  was  seen  on  the  waters  of  lake 
Michigan,  a  pleasure  trip  having  been  made  that  year  to 
Green  Bay  ;  and,  although  during  the  following  years  similar 
trips  were  made  to  that  place,  it  was  not  until  1832  that  a 
boat  visited  Chicago.  In  1833,  the  trade  upon  the  upper  lakes 
was  carried  on  by  eleven  steamboats,  costing  about  $360, 000, 
and  two  trips  were  made  to  Chicago  and  one  to  Green  Bay. 
In  1824,  there  were  eighteen  boats,  costing  $600,000,  and 
three  trips  were  made  to  Chicago  and  one  to  Green  Bay. 
The  commerce  west  of  Detroit,  at  that  time,  and  for  many 
years  afterwards,  being  almost  entirely  confined  to  the  Indian 
trade  and  to  supplying  the  United  States'  military  posts,  some 
small  schooners  were  also  employed.  The  trade  rapidly  in- 
creased with  the  population,  until,  in  1840,  there  were  upon 
the  upper  lakes,  forty-eight  steamers  of  from  150  to  750  tons 
burden,  and  costing  $2,000,000,  the  business  west  of  Detroit 
producing  to  the  owner's  about  $201,000.  In  1841,  the  trade 
had  so  augmented  as  to  employ  six  of  the  largest  boats  in 
running  from  Buffalo  to  Chicago,  and  one  to  Green  Bay,  and 
during  that  year  the  sailing  vessels  had  increased  to  about  250, 
of  from  30  to  350  tons,  costing  about  $1,250,000.  In  1845 
there  were  upon  the  upper  lakes,  69  vessels,  including  propel- 
lers, moved  by  steam,  measuring  23,090  tons,  and  320  sailing 
vessels,  costing  $4,600,000,  some  of  them  measuring  1,200 
tons.  The  increase  in  that  year  was  47  vessels,  carrying  9,700 

*  Burnet's  Letters,  149. — Chase'i  Statutes,  ii.  913  to  924;  especially  sections  from  34  to 
40;— ii.  1463;— iii.  pp.  1320,  2022,  225.— Journals  of  the  House  for  1807-8,  pp.  103,  106, 
110,  111,  121,  122,  125,  134.  Report  of  Bank  Commissioners,  1839.— Laws  of  1845.  p. 
24  to  54. 

fLanman,  225.  JLanman,  221.  JLanman,  222. 


656  Trade  of  the  Lakes.  1819. 

tons,  and  costing  $650,000 ;  and  since  the  last  fall  16  steam- 
ers and  14  sailing  vessels  of  the  largest  class  have  been  put 
under  construction.  In  1845,  there  were  upon  lake  Ontario, 
fifteen  steamboats  and  propellers,  and  about  100  sailing  ves- 
sels, having  a  burden  of  18,000  tons,  and  costing  $1,500,000, 
many  of  which,  by  using  the  Welland  canal  carry  on  business 
with  Chicago  and  other  places  on  the  western  lakes.  Since 
the  close  of  the  last  season  many  additional  vessels  have  been 
built  on  this  lake. 

The  commerce  of  the  port  of  Buffalo  alone,  during  the  year 
1845,  amounted  to  $33,000,000  in  value;  and  that  of  all  the 
other  places  on  the  lakes  exceeding  that  amount,  would  make 
an  aggregate  of  full  $70.000,000,  while  even  this  would  be 
greatly  augmented  if  we  could  add  the  value  of  the  com- 
merce of  the  upper  lakes,  which,  by  the  way  of  the  Welland 
canal,  goes  direct  to  the  Canadian  ports.  The  steamboats 
alone  leaving  Buffalo  for  the  West  in  the  year  1845,  carried 
from  that  place  97,736  passengers,  of  whom  20,636  were  lan- 
ded at  Detroit,  1,670  atMackinac,  12,775  at  Milwaukie,  2,790 
at  Southport,  2,750  at  Racine,  and  20,244  at  Chicago.  If  to 
this  aggregate  we  were  to  add  the  numbers  arriving  at  Buffalo 
from  the  west,  and  the  numbers  leaving  there  in  sailing  vessels, 
the  multitudes  going  between  other  places  on  those  lakes,  and 
some  50,000  who  were  passengers  in  the  vessels  on  lake  On- 
tario, we  would  have  a  grand  total  of  at  least  250,000  passen- 
gers on  the  lakes  during  the  last  year,  whose  lives  were  sub- 
jected to  all  the  risks  attending  the,navigation  of  those  waters, 
exclusive  of  the  officers  and  crews  of  all  the  vessels  engaged 
in  that  navigation.  During  the  last  five  years,  upwards  of 
four  hundred  lives  and  property  worth  more  than  a  million 
of  dollars  have  been  lost  on  the  lakes. 

On  the  24th  of  September,  Lewis  Cass  concluded  at  Sagi- 
naw,  a  treaty  with  the  Chippewas,  by  which  another  large 
part  of  Michigan  was  ceded  to  the  United  States. 

On  the  20th  of  August,  Benjamin  Parke,  for  the  United 
States,  bought  at  Fort  Harrison,  of  the  Kickapoos  of  Vermil- 
lion  river,  all  their  lands  upon  the  Wabash;  while  on  the  30th 
of  July,  at  Edwardsville,  Illinois,  Auguste  Chouteau  and  Ben- 
jamin Stephenson,  bought  of  the  main  body  of  the  same  tribe 
the  claims  upon  the  same  waters,  together  with  other  lands 
reaching  west  to  the  mouth  of  the  Illinois  river.* 

In  this  year  the  United  States  appropriated  $10,000  annual- 
ly towards  the  civilization  of  the  Indians,  but  no  part  was  at 
first  expended,  as  the  best  modes  of  effecting  the  object  were 
not  apparent,  f 

*  American  State  Papers,  vi.  194  to  200. 

fBee  Calhoun  in  American  S'ate  Papers,  vi.  200,  201. 


1819.  Contest  of  Ohio  with  United  States  Bank.  657 

During  1819  also,  a  report  was  made  to  Congress  upon  the 
Missouri  fur  trade,  exhibiting  its  condition  at  that  time  and 
tracing  its  history:  it  may  be  found  in  the  6th  volume  of  the 
American  State  Papers,  p.  201. 

The  second  United  States  bank  was  chartered  in  1816.  On 
the  28th  of  January,  1817,  this  bank  opened  a  branch  at  Cin- 
cinnati ;  and  on  the  13th  of  October  following,  another  branch 
at  Chillicothe,  which  did  not  commence  banking,  however, 
until  the  next  spring.  These  branches  Ohio  claimed  the  right 
to  tax,  and  passed  a  law  by  which,  should  they  continue  to 
transact  business  after  the  15th  of  September,  1819,  they 
were  to  be  taxed  fifty  thousand  dollars  each,  and  the  State 
Auditor  was  authorized  to  issue  his  warrant  for  the  collection 
of  such  tax.  This  law  was  passed  with  great  deliberation 
apparently,  and  by  a  full  vote.  The  branches  not  ceasing 
their  business,  the  authorities  of  the  State  prepared  to  collect 
their  dues  ;  this,  however,  the  bank  intended  to  prevent,  and 
for  the  purpose  of  prevention,  filed  a  bill  in  Chancery  in  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court,  asking  an  injunction  upon  Ralph 
Osborn,  Auditor  of  State,  to  prevent  his  proceeding  in  the  act 
of  collection.  Osborn,  by  legal  advice,  refused  to  appear  up- 
on the  4th  of  September,  the  day  named  in  the  writ,  and  in 
his  absence  the  court  allowed  the  injunction,  though  it  requir- 
ed bonds  of  the  bank,  at  the  same  time,  to  the  extent  of  $100,- 
000  ; — which  bonds  were  given.  On  Tuesday,  the  14th  of 
September,  as  the  day  for  collection  drew  nigh,  the  bank  sent 
an  agent  to  Columbus,  who  served  upon  the  Auditor  a  copy 
of  the  petition  for  injunction,  and  a  subpoena  to  appear  be- 
fore the  court  upon  the  first  Monday  in  the.  following  January, 
but  who  had  no  copy  of  the  writ  of  injunction  which  had  been 
allowed.  The  petition  and  subpO3na  Osborn  enclosed  to  the 
Secretary  of  State,  who  was  then  at  Chillicothe,  together  with 
his  warrant  for  levying  the  tax  ;  requesting  the  Secretary  to 
take  legal  advice,  and  if  the  papers  did  not  amount  to  an  in- 
junction, to  have  the  warrant  executed  ;  but  if  they  did,  to  re- 
tain it.  The  lawyers  advised  that  the  papers  were  not  equiva- 
lent to  an  injunction,  and  thereupon  the  State  writ  for  collec- 
tion was  given  to  John  L.  Harper,  with  directions  to  enter 
the  banking  house  and  demand  payment  of  the  tax  ;  and  upon 
refusal,  to  enter  the  vault  and  levy  the  amount  required :  he 
was  told  to  offer  no  violence,  and  if  opposed  by  force,  to  go  at 


658  Resolutions  of  Ohio  Legislature.  1821. 

once  before  a  proper  magistrate  and  depose  to  that  fact. 
Harper,  taking  with  him  T.  Orr  and  J.  McCollister,  on  Friday, 
September  17th,  went  to  the  bank,  and  first  securing  access  to 
the  vault,  demanded  the  tax ;  payment  was  refused,  and  no- 
tice given  of  the  injunction  which  had  been  granted  ;  but  the 
officer,  disregarding  this  notice,  entered  the  vault,  and  seized 
in  gold,  silver  and  notes,  $98,000,  which,  on  the  20th,  he  paid 
over  to  the  State  Treasurer,  H.  M.  Curry.  The  officers  con- 
cerned in  this  collection  were  arrested  and  imprisoned  by  the 
United  States  Circuit  Court  for  a  contempt  of  the  injunction 
granted,  and  the  money  taken  was  returned  to  the  bank. 
The  decision  of  the  Circuit  Court  was  in  February,  1824,  tried 
before  the  Supreme  Court,  and  its  decree  affirmed,  whereupon 
the  State  submitted.  Meantime,  however,  in  December  1820, 
and  January  1821,  the  Legislature  of  Ohio  had  passed  the 
following  resolutions : 

"Resolved  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Ohio,  That, 
in  respect  to  the  powers  of  the  Governments  of  the  several 
States  that  compose  the  American  Union,  and  the  powers  of 
the  Federal  Government,  this  General  Assembly  do  recognize 
and  approve  the  doctrines  asserted  by  the  Legislatures  of  Ken- 
tucky and  Virginia  in  their  resolutions  of  November  and  De- 
cember, 1798,  and  January,  1800,  and  do  consider  that  their 
principles  have  been  recognized  and  adopted  by  a  majority  of 
the  American  people. 

Resolved, further,  That  this  General  Assembly  do  assert,  and 
will  maintain,  by  all  legal  and  constitutional  means,  the  right 
of  the  State  to  tax  the  business  and  property  of  any  private 
corporation  of  trade,  incorporated  by  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  and  located  to  transact  its  corporate  business 
\vithin  any  State. 

Resolved,  further,  That  the  Bank  of  the  United  States  is  a 
private  corporation  of  trade,  the  capital  and  business  of  which 
may  be  legally  taxed  in  any  State  where  they  may  be  found. 

Resolved,  further,  That  this  General  Assembly  do  protest 
against  the  doctrine  that  the  political  rights  of  the  separate 
States  that  compose  the  American  Union,  and  their  powers  as 
sovereign  States,  may  be  settled  and  determined  in  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States,  so  as  to  conclude  and  bind 
them  in  cases  contrived  between  individuals,  and  where  they 
are,  no  one  of  them,  parties  direct." 


1822  Canals  talked  of  in  Ohio.  659 

In  accordance  with  these  resolves,  the  bank,  was,  for  a  time, 
deprived  of  the  aid  of  the  State  laws  in  the  collection  of  its 
debts,  and  the  protection  of  its  rights; — and  an  attempt  was 
made,  though  in  vain,  to  effect  a  change  in  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution which  would  take  the  case  out  of  the  United  States 
tribunals.* 

In  November  1819,  Gov.  Cass  had  written  to  the  War  De- 
partment, proposing  a  tour  along  the  southern  shore  of  lake 
Superior,  and  toward  the  heads  of  the  Mississippi ;  the  pur- 
poses being  to  ascertain  the  state  of  the  fur  trade,  to  examine 
the  copper  region,  and  especially  to  form,  acquaintance  and 
connections  with  the  various  Indian  tribes.  In  the  following 
January  the  Secretary  of  War  wrote  approving  the  plan,  and 
in  May  the  expedition  started.  [A  full  account  of  it  by  Mr. 
Schoolcraft  was  published  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  in  1821,  in  one 
volume.  The  expedition  was  attended  with  success.] 

During  this  year,  and  from  this  time  forward,  treaties  were 
made  with  the  western  and  north-western  tribes,  extinguish- 
ing by  degrees,  their  title  throughout  a  great  part  of  the  ori- 
ginal north-western  territory : — of  these  treaties  we  shall  not 
hereafter,  speak  particularly,  except  in  as  far  as  they  stand  con- 
nected with  the  Black  Hawk  war  of  1832.  The  documents  can 
be  found  in  the  sixth  volume  of  the  American  State  Papers;  up 
to  1826  in  the  Land  Laws,  p.  1056;  in  the  Executive  Papers 
published  since  1826; — and  up  to  1837  in  the  Collection  of 
Indian  Treaties  published  at  Washington  in  that  year.  [A 
list  of  the  Indian  lands  in  each  State  and  Territory  in  1825, 
may  be  found  in  the  American  State  Papers,  vi.  545.] 

Upon  the  31st  of  January  the  Ohio  Assembly  passed  a  law 
"authorizing  an  examination  into  the  practicability  of  con- 
necting lake  Erie  with  the  Ohio  river  by  a  canal."f 

This  act  grew  out  of  events,  a  sketch  of  which  we  think  it 
may  be  worth  while  to  present. 

One  of  the  earliest  modern  navigable  canals  was  made  in 
Lombardy  in  1271  ;  it  connected  Milan  with  the  Tesino. 
About  the  same  time,  or  perhaps  earlier,  similar  works  were 
commenced  in  Holland.  It  was  not,  however,  till  1755  that 

*  See  "state  of  the  case  for  appellants,  Ac.  (Cincinnati.  1823,)  pp.  3,  5,  7. — Report  of 
Ohio  Legislwture  in  American  State  Papers,  xxi,  646,  647,  653,  654.  Chase's  Sketohe?,  43, 
44.  Chase's  Statutes,  ii,  1072,  1185,  1193. 

f  See  Canal  Documents  published  by  Kilhourn,  p.  26. 


660  History  of  Canals  in  Ohio.  1822. 

any  enterprize  of  the  kind  was  undertaken  in  England ;  this 
was  followed,  three  years  later,  by  the  Duke  of  Bridgewater's 
first  canal  constructed  by  Brindley.  In  1765,  an  act  of  Parlia- 
ment authorized  the  great  work  by  which  Brindley  and  his 
patron  proposed  to  unite  Hull  and  Liverpool: — the  Trent  and 
the  Mersey.  This  great  undertaking  was  completed  in  1777. 
The  idea  thus  carried  into  effect  in  Great  Britain  was  soon 
borne  across  the  Atlantic.  The  great  New  York  canal  was 
suggested  by  Gouverneur  Morris,  in  1777 ;  but,  as  early  as 
1774,  Washington  tells  us  that  he  had  thought  of  a  sys- 
tem of  improvements  by  which  to  connect  the  Atlantic 
with  the  Ohio ;  which  system,  ten  years  later,  he  tried  most 
perseveringly  to  induce  Virginia  to  act  upon  with  energy.  In 
a  letter  to  Gov.  Harrison,  written  October  10th,  1784,  he  also 
suggests  that  an  examination  be  made  as  to  the  facilities  for 
opening  a  communication,  through  the  Cuyahogo,  and  Mus- 
kingum  or  Scioto,  between  lake  Erie  and  the  Ohio.  Such  a 
communication  had  been  previously  mentioned  by  Jefferson 
in  March,  1784;  he  even  proposed  a  canal  to  connect  the 
Cuyahoga  and  Big  Beaver.  Three  years  later,  Washington 
attempted  to  interest  the  federal  government  in  his  views, 
and  exerted  himself,  by  all  the  means  in  his  power,  to  learn 
the  exact  state  of  the  country  about  the  sources  of  the  Mus- 
kingum  and  Cuyahoga.  After  he  was  called  to  the  Presidency, 
his  mind  was  employed  on  other  subjects ;  but  the  whites  who 
had  meantime  began  to  people  the  West,  used  the  course 
which  he  had  suggested,  (as  the  Indians  had  done  before  them,) 
to  carry  goods  from  the  lakes  to  the  settlements  on  the  Ohio  ; 
so  that  it  was  soon  known  definitely,  that  upon  the  summit 
level  were  ponds,  through  which,  in  a  wet  season,  a  complete 
water  connection  was  formed  between  the  Cuyahoga  and 
Muskingum.* 

From  this  time  the  public  mind  underwent  various  changes; 
more  and  more  persons  becoming  convinced  that  a  canal  be- 
tween the  heads  of  two  rivers  was  far  less  desirable,  in  every 
point  of  view,  than  a  complete  canal  communication  from 
place  to  place,  following  the  valleys  of  the  rivers,  and  draw- 
ing water  from  them.  In  1815,  Dr.  Drake,  of  Cincinnati, 
proposed  a  canal  from  some  point  on  the  Great  Miami  to  the 

*  Penny  Cyclopaedia,  article  "Canal."    American  State  Papers,  xx.  832  to  834.    Sparks' 
Washington,  ix.  68. 


1822.  History  of  Canals  in  Ohio.  661 

city  in  which  he  resided;  and  in  January,  1818,  Mr.,  after- 
wards Governor  Brown,  writes  thus:  "Experience,  the  best 
guide,  has  tested  the  infinite  superiority  of  this  mode  of  com- 
mercial intercourse  over  the  best  roads,  or  any  navigation  of 
the  beds  of  small  rivers.  In  comparing  it  with  the  latter,  I 
believe  you  will  find  the  concurrent  testimony  of  the  most 
skilful  and  experienced  Engineers  of  France  and  England, 
against  the  river,  and  in  favor  of  the  canal,  for  very  numer- 
ous reasons." 

Meanwhile,  along  the  Atlantic,  various  experiments  had 
been  tried,  both  in  regard  to  improving  rivers  and  digging 
canals.  In  October,  1784,  Virginia,  acting  under  the  instiga- 
tion of  Washington,  passed  a  law  "for  clearing  arid  improv- 
ing the  navigation  of  James  river:"  in  March  1792,  New  York 
established  two  companies  for  "Inland  Lock  Navigation  ;"  the 
one  to  connect  the  Hudson  with  lake  Champlain,  the  other  to 
unite  it  with  lake  Ontario,  whence  another  canal  was  to  rise 
round  the  Great  Falls  to  Erie.  These  enterprises,  and  vari- 
ous others,  were  presented  to  Congress  by  Mr.  Gallatin,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury,  in  an  elaborate  report  made  April  4th, 
1808.  Subsequent  to  this  report,  in  April,  1811,  the  General 
Assembly  of  New  York  passed  a  law  for  the  Great  Erie  canal, 
and  at  the  head  of  the  Commissioners  was  Gouverneur  Mor- 
ris, who  had  proposed  the  plan  thirty-four  years  previous.  To 
aid  her  in  this  vast  work,  New  York  asked  the  power  of 
the  Federal  Government,  and  Ohio  passed  resolutions  in 
favor  of  the  aid  being  given.  No  great  help,  however, 
was  given;  and  New  York  with  the  strength  imparted 
by  the  energy  of  Clinton,  carried  through  her  vast  work ;  and 
when  Ohio  began  to  speak  of  similar  efforts,  through  the  same 
voice  that  had  encouraged  her  during  her  labors,  the  Empire 
State  spoke  encouragement  to  her  younger  sister.* 

When,  therefore,  Governor  Brown  in  his  inaugural  address 
of  December  14,  1818,  referred  to  the  necessity  of  providing 
cheaper  ways  to  market  for  the  farmers  of  Ohio,  he  spoke  to 
a  people  not  unprepared  to  respond  favorably.  In  accor- 
dance with  the  Governor's  suggestion,  Mr.  Sill,  on  the  7th  of 
January,  1819,  moved  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  re- 
port on  the  expediency  of  a  canal  from  the  lake  to  the  Ohip : 

*  Reptrt  of  Mr.  Galla'in  of  1803,  found  in  tlio  American  State  Papers,  xs  793  to  804  - 
also  see  3am 3,  pp.  781  to  739 ;  do.  763  to  730 ;  do.  724  to  921.    Vol.  xxi.  165,  166,  178. 


662  History  of  Schools  in  Ohio.  1822. 

this  was  followed  on  the  next  day  by  a  further  communication 
from  Governor  Brown,  and  the  subject  was  discussed  through 
the  winter.  In  the  following  December  the  Executive  again 
pressed  the  matter,  and  in  January,  1820,  made  a  full  state- 
ment of  facts  relating  to  routes,  so  far  as  they  could  be  ascerj 
tained.  Farther  information  was  communicated  in  Februa- 
ry, and  on  the  20th  of  that  month,  an  act  passed,  appointing 
Commissioners  to  determine  the  course  of  the  proposed  canal, 
provided  Congress  would  aid  in  its  construction,  and  seeking 
aid  from  Congress.  That  aid  not  having  been  given,  nothing 
was  done  during  1820  or  1821,  except  to  excite  and  extend 
an  interest  in  the  subject,  but  upon  the  3d  of  January,  1822, 
Micajah  Williams,  chairman  of  a  committee  to  consider  that 
part  of  the  Governor's  message  relating  to  Internal  Improve- 
ments, offered  an  elaborate  report  upon  the  subject;  and 
brought  in  the  bill  to  which  we  have  already  referred  as  hav- 
ing been  passed  upon  the  31st  of  the  last  mentioned  month.* 

The  examination  authorized  by  that  law  was  at  once  com- 
menced, Mr.  James  Geddes  being  the  engineer. 

Upon  the  same  day,  (December  6,  1821,)  on  which  Mr. 
Williams  moved  for  a  committee  on  canals,  Caleb  Atwa- 
ter  moved  for  one  upon  schools ;  and  on  the  same  day  that 
the  law  above  referred  to  was  passed,  one  was  also  passed 
authorizing  the  appointment  of  Commissioners  to  report  to 
the  next  Legislature  a  plan  for  establishing  a  complete  sys- 
tem of  Common  Schools.  To  the  history  of  that  subject  we 
next  ask  the  reader's  attention. 

The  Ordinance  of  1787  provided,  that  "religion,  morality, 
and  knowledge  being  necessary  to  good  government  and  the 
happiness  of  mankind,  schools  and  the  means  of  education 
shall  be  for  ever  encouraged."  In  the  previous  Ordinance  of 
1785,  regulating  the  sale  of  lands  in  the  west,  section  No.  16 
of  every  township  was  reserved  "for  the  maintenance  of  pub- 
lic schools  within  the  said  township."  And  the  Constitution 
of  Ohio,  using  the  words  of  the  Ordinance  of  1787,  says,  that 
"  schools  and  the  means  of  instruction  shall  for  ever  be  en- 
couraged by  legislative  provision."  In  accordance  with  the 
feelings  shown  in  these  several  clauses,  the  Governors  of  Ohio 

*  The  messages,  resolutions,  reports  and  laws,  are  all  in  the  "Public  Documents  con- 
cerning tho  Ohio  canals,"  compiled  and  published  by  John  Kilbourn,  Columbus,  1828  :  p. 
2  to  p.  31. 


1822  History  of  Schools  in  Ohio.  663 

always  mentioned  the  subject  of  education  with  great  respect 
in  their  messages ;  but  nothing  was  done  to  make  it  general.* 
It  was  supposed,  that  people  would  not  willingly  be  taxed 
to  educate  the  children  of  their  poor  neighbors;  not  so  much 
because  they  failed  to  perceive  the  necessity  that  exists  for  all 
to  be  educated,  in  order  that  the  commonwealth  may  be  safe 
and  prosperous ;  but  because  a  vast  number,  that  lived  in 
Ohio,  still  doubted  whether  Ohio  would  be  their  ultimate  abi- 
ding place.  They  came  to  the  west  to  make  money  rather 
than  to  find  a  home,  and  did  not  care  to  help  educate  those 
whose  want  of  education  they  might  never  feel. 

Such  was  the  state  of  things  until  about  the  year  1816,  at 
which  time  several  persons  in  Cincinnati,  who  knew  the  ben- 
efits of  a  free-school  system,  united,  and  commenced  a  cor- 
respondence with  different  portions  of  the  State.  Their  ideas 
being  warmly  responded  to,  by  the  dwellers  in  the  Ohio  Com- 
pany's purchase,  and  the  Western  Reserve  more  particular- 
ly, committees  of  correspondence  were  appointed  in  the  dif- 
ferent sections,  and  various  means  were  resorted  to,  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  public  to  the  subject ;  among  the  most 
efficient  of  which  was  the  publication  of  an  Education  Alma- 
nac at  Cincinnati.  This  work  was  edited  by  Nathan  Guil- 
ford,  a  lawyer  of  that  place,  who  had  from  the  first  taken  a 
deep  interest  in  the  matter.  For  several  years  this  gentleman 
and  his  associates  labored  silently  and  ceaselessly  to  diffuse 
their  sentiments,  one  attempt  only  being  made  to  bring  the 
subject  into  the  legislature:  this  was  in  December  1819,  when 
Ephraim  Cutler,  of  Washington  county,  brought  in  a  bill  for 
establishing  common  schools,  which  was  lost  in  the  Senate. f — 
At  length,  in  1821,  it  having  been  clearly  ascertained,  that  a 
strong  feeling  existed  in  favor  of  a  common  school  system 
through  the  eastern  and  north-eastern  parts  of  the  State,  and 
it  being  also  known  that  the  western  men,  who  were  then 
about  to  bring  forward  their  canal  schemes,  wished  to  secure 
the  assistance  of  their  less  immediately  benefited  fellow-citi- 
zens, it  was  thought  to  be  a  favorable  time  to  bring  the  free 

*3ee  especially  Governor  Worthington's  message,  and  that  of  1819  in  particular. 

t  At  water's  History,  254.  In  speaking  of  common  schools,  we  mean  always  free  schools 
established  upon  a  State  system.  In  J-muary,  1821,  a  law  was  parsed  in  Ohio,  authorizing 
T  rwnship  Common  Schools  in  which  the  tuition,  &c.,  was  to  be  paid  by  those  parents  who 
were  able  to  pay.  See  Chase,  ii.  1176. 


664  Canal  and  School  Laws  passed.  1825. 

school  proposition  forward ;  which,  as  we  have  stated  above, 
was  done  by  Mr.  Atwater. 

On  the  3d  of  January,  1823,  Mr.  Worthington,  on  behalf  of 
the  Canal  Commissioners,  presented  a  report  upon  the  best 
route  for  a  canal  through  the  State,  and  a  farther  examina- 
tion was  agreed  upon  ;*  which  was  made  during  the  year. 

The  friends  of  the  common  school  system  continued  their 
efforts,  and  although  they  did  not  succeed  in  procuring  an 
assembly  favorable  to  their  views,  they  diffused  information 
and  brought  out  inquiry.f 

Michigan  during  this  year  was  invested  with  a  new  form 
of  Territorial  Government ;  Congress  having  authorized  the 
appointment  of  a  Legislative  Council  of  nine  members,  to 
be  chosen  by  the  President  from  eighteen  candidates  elected 
by  the  people.J 

In  1824,  the  friends  of  canals,  and  those  of  free  common 
schools  in  Ohio,  finding  a  strong  opposition  still  existing  to 
the  great  plans  of  improvement  offered  to  the  people,  during 
this  year  strained  every  nerve  to  secure  an  Assembly  in  which, 
by  union,  both  measures  might  be  carried.  Information  was 
diffused  and  interest  excited  by  every  means  that  could  be 
suggested,  and  the  autumn  elections  were  in  consequence 
such  as  to  ensure  the  success  of  the  two  bills  which  were  to 
lay  the  foundation  of  so  much  physical  and  intellectual  good 
to  Ohio.|| 

The  subject  of  civilizing  the  Indians  was  taken  up  as  ear- 
ly as  July,  1789,  and  was  kept  constantly  in  view  by  the 
United  States  Government  from  that  time  forward  ;  in  1819, 
ten  thousand  dollars  annually  were  appropriated  by  Congress 
to  that  purpose,  and  great  pains  were  taken  to  see  that  they 
were  wisely  expended. §  In  March  of  this  year  a  report  was 
made  by  Mr.  McLean,  of  Ohio,  upon  the  proposition  to  stop 
the  appropriation  above  named ;  against  this  proposition  he 
reported  decidedly,  and  gave  a  favorable  view  of  what  had 
been  done,  and  what  might  be  hoped  for.^[ 

*  Ohio  Canal  Documents,  31  to  53. 
f  Atwater's  History,  262. 
JLanman's  Michigan,  22?. 

H  See  ihe  names  of  the  members  of  the  Ohio  Assembly   for  1S44-5,  and  their  vote?,  in 
Atwater,  363. 

\  Sea  American  State  Papers,  vols.  v.  and  vi.  indexes.      See  particularly  vi.  646  to  654. 
\  American  State  Papers,  vi.  457  to  459. 


1825.  Canal  and  School  Laws  passed.  665 

Upon  the  4th  of  February,  1825,  a  law  was  passed  by  Ohio, 
authorizing  the  making  of  two  canals,  one  from  the  Ohio 
to  Lake  Erie,  by  the  valleys  of  the  Scioto  and  Muskingum ; 
the  other  from  Cincinnati  to  Dayton ;  and  a  canal  fund  was 
created :  the  vote  in  the  House  in  favor  of  the  law  was  58 
to  13,  in  the  Senate  34  to  2*. 

Upon  the  day  following,  the  law  to  provide  for  a  system 
of  common  schools  was  also  passed  by  large  majorities.f 

These  two  laws  were  carried  by  the  union  of  the  friends 
of  each,  and  by  the  unremitting  efforts  of  a  few  public  spir- 
ited men. 

[The  first  edition  of  these  Annals,  compiled  by  the  late 
Mr.  Perkins,  contains  a  lapse  from  1825  to  1832.  The  re- 
mainder, four  pages,  560  to  564,  is  confined  almost  wholly 
to  events  in  Illinois  and  Missouri,  which  the  editor  is  ex- 
pected to  give  with  more  accuracy  and  in  detail.  We  there- 
fore close  the  body  of  the  work  here  and  proceed  to  the  Ap- 
pendix.] 

*  Ohio  Canal  Documents,  158  to  166.    Chose,  ii.  1472. 
t  Chase,  ii.  1466. 


APPENDIX. 


CHAPTER  I. 

* 

ANNALS  OP  UPPER  LOUISIANA. 

Explorations  and  Discoveries. — Historical  Sketch  of  the  Lead  Mines. — French  Settlement 
in  Illinois. — State  of  the  country  under  British  domination. 

A  number  of  facts  pertaining  to  Louisiana,  and  especially 
the  Upper  District,  have  been  reserved  for  the  APPENDIX,  that 
they  may  appear  in  consecutive  order,  and  be  convenient  for 
reference.  These  we  shall  group  under  particular  heads,  and 
subdivided  by  sections. 

SECTION  FIRST. 
Explorations  and  Discoveries. 

During  the  short  administration  of  D'Iberville,  (Annals,  pp. 
56,  58,)  more  than  sixty  persons  perished  with  disease  and 
famine,  so  that  at  the  close  of  the  year  1705,  the  colony  was 
reduced  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons. 

Feeble  as  was  the  colony,  attempts  were  made  to  explore 
new  and  distant  regions.  In  the  year  1700,  M.  de  St.  Den- 
nis, with  twelve  Canadians  and  several  Indians,  made  a  voy- 
age of  discovery  up  Red  River.  After  a  tiresome  expedition 
of  six  months,  the  party  returned  without  gaining  any  mate- 
rial information  concerning  the  Indian  tribes  on  the  Upper 
Red  River. 

The  same  year  Bienville,  with  a  party,  ascended  the  same 
river  to  Bayou  Pierre,  visited  the  villages  of  the  Yattersee 
Indians,  and  on  the  same  excursion  explored  the  Washita. — 
The  next  year  both  these  rivers  were  more  fully  explored  by 
St.  Dennis,  and  in  1703,  a  settlement  was  made  on  the  Wash- 
ita. About  the  same  period,  another  settlement,  with  a  mis- 
sion, was  made  on  the  Yazons. 

St.  Dennis,  with  ten  men,  made  another  and  more  exten- 
sive exploration  up  Red  River,  into  Texas,  for  several  hundred 


668  Appendix. 

miles,  meeting  with  no  settlements  until  he  reached  "  the  Pre- 
sidio, or  fortress  of  St.  John  the  Baptist,  on  the  Rio  del  Norte, 
in  New  Mexico."  During  this  excursion  St.  Dennis,  against 
the  remonstrance  of  Don  Diego  Raymond,  the  commandant 
at  the  Presidio,  pushed  on  to  Mexico,  and  proposed  a  project 
of  commercial  intercourse  between  the  French  colony  of  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Spanish  colony  in  Mexico.* 

St.  Dennis  spent  fourteen  years  in  various  explorations  in 
Louisiana,  Texas  and  Mexico.  In  1716,  he  penetrated  the 
interior  the  third  time,  with  mules,  horses  and  goods,  from 
Nachitoches  to  Guadaloupe,  in  Texas,  where  the  faithless 
Spaniards  met  him,  took  his  goods  and  conveyed  him  to  Mex- 
ico. Eventually  he  made  his  escape  and  came  back  by  the 
Presidio. f 

Amongst  the  early  explorers  of  Louisiana,  we  must  not 
omit  the  name  of  Bernard  de  la  Harpe.  Major  Stoddard  was 
so  fortunate  as  to  find  the  original  journal  of  this  gentleman, 
in  manuscript,  and  communicated  it  to  the  Department  of 
State. 

La  Harpe,  with  a  body  of  troops,  ascended  Red  River  to 
the  village  of  the  Cadoques,  in  1719,  and  built  a  fort  which 
he  called  St.  Louis  de  Carlorette.  A  correspondence  was 
opened  between  him  and  the  Spanish  commandant,  and  also 
the  Superior  of  the  Missions  in  Texas.  The  Spanish  officers 
expressed  a  desire  to  be  at  peace  with  the  French,  but  claimed 
that  the  post  La  Harpe  occupied,  was  within  the  Spanish  ter- 
ritory. La  Harpe  replied  that  the  Spaniards  well  knew  the 
post  on  Red  River  was  not  within  the  dominions  of  Spain ; 
that  the  province  they  called  Texas,  formed  a  part  of  Louisi- 
ana ;  that  La  Salle  had  discovered  and  taken  possession  of  it 
in  1685,  and  that  this  possession  had  been  renewed  at  various 
times  since  that  period;  that  the  Spanish  adventurer,  Don 
Antonio  du  Miroir,  who  discovered  the  northern  provinces  in 
1683,  never  penetrated  east  of  New  Mexico,  or  the  Rio  Bra- 
vo»  [Rio  del  Norte  ;]  that  the  French  were  the  first  to  make 
alliances  with  the  Indian  nations;  that  the  rivers  flowed  into 
the  Mississippi,  consequently  the  lands  between  them  belong- 
ed to  France;  and  that  if  he  would  do  him  the  pleasure  of  a 
visit,  he/would  find  that  he  occupied  a  post  which  he  knew 

*  Du  Pratz  Louisiana,  pp.  7, 12.    Stoddard's  Sketches,  p.  27. 
t  Du  Pratz,  12. 


Explorations  and  Discoveries.  669 

how  to  defend.  The  contest  ended  with  this  correspondence, 
and  the  post  established  by  La  Harpe,  was  maintained  by 
the  French  until  Louisiana  fell  into  the  hands  of  Spain  after 
the  treaty  of  1762. 

M.  de  la  Harpe,  in  1720,  with  half  a  dozen  soldiers,  a  few 
Indians,  and  eleven  horses,  loaded  with  goods  and* provisions, 
made  an  excursion  from  his  post  on  Red  river,  to  the  Washita 
and  Arkansas  rivers.  He  met  with  a  friendly  reception  from 
the  Indians,  took  possession  of  the  country,  and  hoisted  the 
flag  of  France.  He  sold  his  goods  profitably,  and  then  floated 
down  the  Arkansas  in  perogues  to  the  Mississippi,  and  reached 
Biloxi  through  Bayou  Manchac,  and  lakes  Maurepas  and 
Ponchartrain.  On  the  Arkansas,  La  Harpe  describes  an  In- 
dian village  of  three  miles  in  extent,  containing  upwards  of 
four  thousand  inhabitants.  He  describes  it  as  situated  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  south-west  of  the  Osages. 

Various  attempts  had  been  made  by  the  French  to  establish 
a  colony  on  the  bay  of  St.  Bernard,  without  success.  In  1721, 
La  Harpe,  under  royal  orders,  embarked  at  New  Orleans  with 
a  detachment  of  troops,  engineers  and  draftsmen,  to  take  a 
more  accurate  survey  of  the  bay  and  country  than  his  pre- 
decessors had  done.  He  found  eleven  and  a  half  feet  of 
water  on  the  bar  at  the  entrance,  and  surveyed  four  large 
rivers  that  entered  it.  He  described  the  soil  along  the  coast 
as  extremely  fertile,  and  the  country  beautifully  variegated 
with  woods,  prairies,  and  streams  of  pure  water.  This  bay  is 
now  known  as  Galveston. 

Another  explorer  was  named  M.  Dutisne.  He  was  sent  out 
to  explore  the  country  of  the  Missouris,  Osages,  and  Panoucas. 
He  ascended  the  Mississippi  to  the  mouth  of  Saline  river, 
about  twenty  miles  below  Ste.  Genevieve,  and  from  thence 
traveled  westward,  over  a  rocky,  broken  and  timbered  coun- 
try, as  he  reckoned,  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  to  the  prin- 
cipal village  of  the  Osages.  This  village  he  describes  as  sit- 
uated on  a  hill  five  miles  from  the  Osage  river,  and  contained 
about  one  hundred  cabins.  These  Indians  spent  but  a  small 
part  of  their  time  at  their  village,  being  engaged  in  hunting 
the  other  part.  ;  jfo, 

The  Panoucas  [Poncas  ?]  were  in  two  villages,  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  west  of  the  Osages,  in  a  prairie 
country,  abounding  with  buffaloes.  Near  them  were  three 


670  Appendix. 

hundred  horses,  which  the  Indians  prized  exceedingly.  The 
Paonis,  [Pawnees]  were  at  the  distance  of  four  hundred  and 
fifty  miles.  The  village  of  the  Missouris  was  situated  three 
hundred  and  fi  ty  yards  from  the  river  that  bears  their  name. 
M.  Dutisne  took  formal  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name 
of  the  king  of  France,  and  erected  posts  with  the  king's  arms 
as  a  testimony  of  their  claim.* 

Another  party  under  Lesueur,  ascended  the  Mississippi  to 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  which  D'Akau  and  Hennepin  had 
visited  in  1680.  [Annals,  p.  39.]  This  was  in  1702. 

The  party  under  Lesueur,  then  proceeded  up  the  St.  Pe- 
ter's river,  as  they  estimated,  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles, 
and  entered  a  stream  they  called  Green  river,  near  which  they 
found  a  mine  of  copper  and  ochre.  Here  a  fort  was  erected, 
and  named  L'Huiller,  said  by  the  party  to  be  in  north  lati- 
tude 44  deg.  13  minutes.  The  Indians  regarding  this  posi- 
tion as  an  encroachment  on  their  rights,  the  party  retired  in  the 
course  of  the  year  to  the  mouth  of  another  small  river,  about 
one  hundred  miles  above  the  Wisconsin,  where  they  built 
another  fort,  and  opened  mines  of  copper.  At  still  -  another 
place,  about  forty  miles  above  the  river  St.  Croix,  they  found 
considerable  quantities  of  copper,  and  one  piece  that  weighed 
sixty  pounds.  The  Indians  being  hostile,  they  found  it  pru- 
dent to  retreat,  and  abandon  that  remote  country.f 

The  explorers  next  turned  their  attention  up  the  Missouri, 
which  they  ascended  in  1705,  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Kan- 
zas  river,  and  met  with  a  friendly  reception  from  the  natives. 
Soon  after  they  were  engaged  in  a  profitable  trade  with  the 
Kanzas  and  Missouries. 

And  here,  probably,  is  the  place  to  record  an  invasion  of 
Missouri  from  the  Spanish  country. 

The  Spaniards  of  Mexico  had  been  successful  in  their  per- 
fidy with  St.  Dennis  in  Texas,  and  in  exciting  the  Assinais 
against  the  French  on  Red  River.  They  knew  the  importance 
of  the  Missouri  river,  and  were  anxious  to  obtain  a  strong  posi- 
tion on  its  border.  They  readily  conceived  that  such  a  measure, 
if  prosecuted  successfully,  would  confine  the  claims  of  the 
French  to  the  Illinois  side  of  the  Mississippi,  and  turn  the 
current  of  the  Indian  trade  up  the  Missouri.  Their  first  ob- 

*  Stoddard's  Sketches,  pp.  39  to  44. 

t  Stoddurd,  27.    Martin's  Louisiana,  i.  155. 


Explorations  and  Discoveries.  671 

ject  was  to  conquer  the  Missouri  nation,  who  lived  on  the 
bank  of  the  Missouri  river,  a  short  distance  above  the  mouth 
of  the  Kanzas,  and  plant  a  colony  at  that  place.  These  In- 
dians were  friendly  to  the  French,  and  at  that  time  were  at 
war  with  the  Pawnees,  whom  the  Spaniards  expected  to  en- 
list as  their  allies. 

A  numerous  caravan  to  form  a  considerable  colony,  started 
from  Santa  Fe,  in  1720,  and  marched  in  pursuit  of  the  Paw- 
nee villages ;  but  they  lost  their  way  and  made  the  unlucky 
blunder  to  get  among  the  Missouries,  whose  destruction  they 
meditated.  Ignorant  of  the  country  and  mistaking  the  Mis- 
souries for  Pawnees,  they  communicated  their  object  without 
reserve,  and  requested  their  co-operation.  The  Missouries 
manifested  no  surprise  at  this  unexpected  visit,  and  only  re- 
quested time  to  assemble  their  warriors. 

In  forty-eight  hours  two  thousand  appeared  in  arms.  They 
attacked  the  Spaniards  in  the  night,  and  killed  the  whole 
party,  except  the  priest,  who  succeeded  in  making  his  escape 
on  horse-back.  Some  writers  assert  it  was  the  Osages ;  but 
the  records  preserved  in  Santa  Fe,  authorize  the  statement 
here  given.* 

This  bold  measure  of  the  Spaniards,  in  penetrating  into  a 
country  with  which  they  had  no  acquaintance,  for  eight  hun- 
dred miles  from  their  own,  apprized  the  French  of  danger, 
and  prompted  them  to  provide  a  defence  in  that  quarter. — 
Accordingly,  M  de  Bourgmont,  was  dispatched  with  a  consid- 
erable force  to  take  possession  of  an  Island  in  the  Missou- 
ri river,  some  distance  above  the  mouth  of  the  Osage  river, 
on  which  he  built  Fort  Orleans. 

At  that  period  the  "  Padoucas,"  whose  country  was  north 
and  west  of  the  Missouries,  were  at  war  with  the  latter  and 
their  allies,  the  Kanzas,  Ottoes,  Osages,  "  Aia-ouez"  [loways] 
and  Pani-Mahas.  M.  de  Bourgmont,  in  1724,  made  an  ex- 
tensive exploration  from  Fort  Orleans,  to  the  north-west,  ac- 
companied by  a  few  French  soldiers  and  a  large  party  of 
friendly  Indians.  His  object  was  a  general  peace  amongst 
all  these  nations,  and  an  extensive  trade  with  them.  In  this 
enterprize  he  was  successful.  He  set  out  on  the  3rd  of  July, 
and  returned  to  the  fort  on  the  5th  of  November.! 

*  Abbe  Raynal's  East  and  West  Indies,  v.  p.  180.  Stoddard's  Sketches,  45,  46.  Wet- 
more's  Gazeteer,  199. 

f  Du  Pratz,  from  Bourgmont's  Journal,  pp.  63  to  74. 


672  Appendix. 

Soon  after  this  event,  probably  the  next  year,  Fort  Orleans 
was  attacked  and  entirely  destroyed  by  the  Indians,  the  French 
were  all  massacred,  but  it  was  never  known  by  whom  this 
bloody  work  was  performed.  From  this  time  troubles  of  a 
serious  nature  began  with  the  Indians,  which  lasted  sixteen 
years.* 

In  1723,  La  Harpe,with  an  exploring  party,  left  the  Yazoo 
river,  on  the  15th  February,  and  ascended  the  Mississippi,  and 
then  the  Arkansas,  until  he  reached  a  village  of  the  Arkansas 
Indians,  where  he  found  a  Frenchman  by  the  name  of  Du- 
boulay,  who  with  a  party,  was  stationed  here  to  protect  these 
Indians  and  the  French  traders.  La  Harpe  then  proceeded  to 
"  Law's  grant,"  which  lay  N.  N.  W.  from  the  village,  on  the 
right  side  of  the  river.  Here  was  a  settlement  of  about 
"  thirty  persons,  of  all  ages  and  sexes,"  who  had  a  small 
clearing  sown  with  wheat. f  Other  explorations  will  come  in, 
in  connection  with  the  lead  mines. 

SECTION  SECOND. 
Historical  Sketch  of  the,  Mines  of  Missouri. 

The  grant  of  the  fancied  gold  and  silver  mines  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, and  the  monstrous  banking  scheme  of  John  Law, 
have  already  been  sufficiently  noticed.  [Annals,  pp.  59,  60.] 

The  retrocession  of  this  privilege  by  Crozat  to  the  crown  of 
France,  was  immediately  followed  by  granting  letters  patent 
to  "  The  Company  of  the  West"  an  association  of  individuals 
at  Paris.  This  company  had  exclusive  privileges  to  the  com- 
merce of  Louisiana,  and  working  the  mines,  with  the  right 
of  disposal  of  the  lands.  The  project  of  an  exploration  for 
minerals  was  started  in  France.  Gold,  silver  and  diamonds, 
—  not  the  paltry  gatherings  of  lead,  copper  and  iron, — 
were  the  objects  sought.  The  most  liberal  inducements  to 
French  emigrants,  especially  miners  and  mechanics,  were 
held  out,  and  Phillip  Francis  Renault,  as  the  agent  and  man- 
ager of  "  the  Company  of  St.  Phillips"  came  out.  This  com- 
pany was  a  branch  of  the  Company  of  the  West,  for  prosecu- 
ting the  mining  business  in  Upper  Louisiana.  He  left  France 
in  1719,  with  200  mechanics,  miners  and  laborers,  and  pro- 
vided with  all  things  necessary  to  prosecute  the  objects  of  the 
company. 

*Stoddard,  4ft. 
t  Martin,  L  250. 


Sketch  of  the  Lead  Mines.  673 

At  St.  Domingo,  he  bought  five  hundred  slaves  for  working 
the  mines,  which  he  brought  to  Illinois,  where  he  arrived  in 
1720. 

Renault  established  himself  and  his  colony  a  few  miles 
above  Kaskaskia,  in  what  is  now  the  south-west  corner  of 
Monroe  county,  and  called  the  village  he  founded  St.  Phillips. 
Great  excitement  existed  in  France  at  the  prospective  suc- 
cess of  Renault,  and  large  expectations  were  entertained  in 
returns  of  gold  and  silver,  all  which  resulted  in  woful  dis- 
appointment. 

From  this  point  he  sent  out  his  mining  and  exploring  parties 
into  various  sections  of  Illinois  and  Upper  Louisiana,  as  Mis- 
souri was  then  called.  Excavations  for  minerals  were  made 
along  Drewry's  creek  in  Jackson  county,  about  the  St.  Mary  in 
Randolph  county,  in  Monroe  county,  along  Silver  creek  in  St. 
Clair  county,  and  many  other  places  in  Illinois,  the  remains 
of  which  are  still  visible.  Silver  creek  took  its  name  from 
the  explorers,  and  tradition  states  that  considerable  quanti- 
ties of  silver  ore  was  raised  and  sent  over  to  France.  It  is 
thought,  however,  that  no  successful  discoveries  were  made. 

In  Missouri,  the  exploring  and  mining  parties  were  headed 
by  M.  La  Motte,  an  agent  said  to  have  been  well  versed  in  the 
knowledge  of  mining.  In  one  of  his  earliest  excursions,  he 
discovered  the  lead  mines  on  the  St.  Francois,  which  bears  his 
name. 

Renault  made  various  discoveries  of  lead,  and  made  con- 
siderable excavations  at  the  mines  north  of  Potosi,  Mo.,  that 
still  bear  his  name ;  but  the  company  were  entirely  disap- 
pointed in  all  their  high  raised  expectations  of  finding  gold 
and  silver.  9 

Renault  finally  turned  his  whole  attention  to  the  smelting 
of  lead,  of  which  he  made  considerable  quantities.  It  was 
conveyed  from  the  interior  on  pack  horses  to  the  Mississippi 
river,  sent  to  New  Orleans  in  perogues,  and  from  thence  ship- 
ped to  France. 

The  operations  of  Renault  were  retarded  and  checked  from 
a  quarter  least  expected.  The  French  King  at  Paris,  in  May, 
1719,  issued  an  edict  by  which  the  "  Company  of  the  West" 
was  united  to  the  East  India  and  China  Company,  under  the 
title  of  the  Royal  Company  of  the  Indies;  (La  Compagnie 
Royale  des  Indies.)  And  in  1731,  the  whole  territory  was  re- 


674  Appendix. 

troceded  to  the  crown  of  France;  the  objects  of  the  company 
(including  the  monster  bank  of  John  Law,)  [Annals,  59,  60,] 
totally  failed,  and  Renault  was  left  to  prosecute  the  mining 
business  without  means. 

The  explorations  for  mineral  treasures  extended  to  the  banks 
of  the  Ohio  and  Kentucky  rivers,  and  to  the  Cumberland  Val- 
ley, in  Tennessee,  and  even  to  the  mountain  range  between 
the  eastern  waters  and  those  of  the  Mississippi  Valley. — 
"French  Lick,"  now  Nashville,  was  a  rallying  point  in  those 
early  days,  and  subsequently  became  a  trading  post  of  the 
French,  long  before  the  pioneers  from  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina  visited  that  range. 

The  exertions  of  Renault  on  behalf  of  the  "  Company  of 
the  West,"  and  his  claims  for  services,  were  not  passed  over 
by  the  government.  Four  grants  of  land,  already  noticed, 
were  made,  covering  large  tracts  of  country,  and  which  bear 
date  June  14th,  1723,  but  whether  legal,  has  not  been  decided. 

One  of  these  was  at  "  Old  Piora,"  on  the  Illinois  river,  said 
to  embrace  a  copper-mine,  the  discovery  of  which  was  the 
consideration.  Another  large  tract  included  Fort  Chartres, 
and  the  village  of  St.  Phillips,  (called  also  Little  Village,)  in 
the  south-west  corner  of  Monroe  county,  Illinois,  and  extends 
back  from  the  river  beyond  the  bluffs,  known  still  as  the  "Re- 
nault Grant." 

He  continued  in  the  Illinois  country  many  years  after  the 
explosion  of  the  "Mississippi  bubble."  After  disposing  of  his 
slaves,  (or  those  of  the  company,)  to  the  French  inhabitants 
in  Illinois,  he  returned  to  his  native  country,  in  1744.*  Thus 
ended  the  first  series  of  efforts  at  mining  in  Illinois  and  Mis- 
souri. 

Very  little  was  done  in  the  way  of  mining  under  the  Span- 
ish government.  As  settlements  increased,  after  a  lapse  of 
years,  some  new  discoveries  were  made  and  operations  for 
lead  resumed.  The  most  important  and  principal  discovery, 
made  under  Spanish  authority,  was  Mine  a  Burton,  which 
took  its  name  from  a  Frenchman  who,  while  hunting  in  that 
quarter,  found  the  ore  lying  on  the  surface  of  the  ground.  It 
is  impossible  now  to  fix  the  exact  date  of  this  discovery,  as 
Mr.  Burton,  when  living  in  1819,  could  not  then  recollect. 

*  Schoolcraft's  View  of  the  Mines,  New  York,  1819,  pp.  14  to  17.  American  State  Pa- 
pers, ii.  162. 


Sketch  of  M.  Burton.  675 

only  it  was  about  forty  years  previous.     This  would  make  the 
discovery  to  have  been  about  1780. 

It  is  here  pertinent  to  the  design  of  this  work,  to  introduce 
the  following  sketch  of  the  life  of  M.  Burton,  as  drawn  from 
personal  knowledge,  by  Col.  Thos.  H.  Benton,  of  St.  Louis, 
who  saw  Burton,  and  gathered  the  facts  from  him  and  his 
friends.  The  article  is  to  be  found  in  the  "  St.  Louis  Enquir- 
er," of  October  16th,  1818. 

"  He  is  a  Frenchman  from  the  north  of  France.  In  the 
forepart  of  the  last  century,  he  served  in  the  low  countries  un- 
der the  orders  of  Marshal  Saxe.  He  was  at  the  siege  of  Ber- 
gen op-zoom,  and  assisted  in  the  assault  of  that  place  when  it 
was  assailed  by  a  division  of  Marshal  "Saxe's  army,  under  the 
command  of  Count  Lowendahl.  He  has  also  seen  service 
upon  the  continent.  He  was  at  the  building  of  Fort  Chartres, 
on  the  American  bottom,  afterwards  went  to  Fort  Du  Quesne, 
(now  Pittsburgh)  and  was  present  at  Braddock's  defeat.  From 
the  life  of  a  soldier,  Burton  passed  to  that  of  a  hunter,  and  in 
that  character,  about  half  a  century  ago,  while  pursuing  a 
bear  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi,  he  discovered  the  rich 
lead  mines  which  have  borne  his  name  ever  since.  His  pre- 
sent age  cannot  be  ascertained.  He  was  certainly  an  old  sol- 
dier at  Fort  Chartres,  when  some  of  the  people  of  the  present 
day  were  little  children  at  that  place.  The  most  moderate 
computation  will  make  him  one  hundred  and  six.  He  now 
lives  in  the  family  of  Mr.  Micheaux,  at  the  Little  Rock  ferry, 
three  miles  above  Ste.  Genevieve,  and  walks  to  that  village 
almost  every  Sunday  to  attend  Mass.  He  is  what  we  call  a 
square  built  man,  of  five  feet  eight  inches  high,  full  chest  and 
forehead  ;  his  sense  of  seeing  and  hearing  somewhat  impair- 
ed, but  free  from  disease,  and  apparently  able  to  hold  out 
against  time  for  many  years  to  come." 

So  far  as  the  process  of  mining  was  pursued  under  the  Span- 
ish government,  it  appears  to  have  been  rude  and  imperfect, 
and  not  more  than  fifty  per  cent,  of  lead  obtained  from  the 
ore.  The  common  open  log  furnace  was  the  only  kind  em- 
ployed in  smelting,  and  the  lead-ashes  were  thrown  away  as 
useless. 

In  1797,  the  late  Moses  Austin,  Esq.,  a  native  of  Connecti- 
cut, and  who  had  been  engaged  in  mining  in  Wythe  county, 
Va.,  arrived  in  Upper  Louisiana,  visited  and  explored  the 
country  about  Mine  a  Burton,  and  obtained  a  grant  of  land  of 
one  league  square,  from  the  Spanish  authorities,  in  considera- 


676  Appendix. 

tion  of  erecting  a  reverberatory  furnace  and  other  works  for 
prosecuting  the  mining  business  at  those  mines.* 

Associated  with  Mr.  Austin,  was  his  son  Stephen  F.  Aus- 
tin, who,  in  1798,  commenced  operations,  erected  a  suitable 
furnace  for  smelting  the  "  ashes  of  lead,"  and  sunk  the  first 
regular  shaft  for  raising  ore.  These  improvements  revived  the 
mining  business,  and  drew  to  the  country  many  American 
families,  who  settled  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mines.  The 
next  year  a  shot-tower  was  built  on  the  pinnacle  of  the  cliff 
near  Herculaneum,  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Elias 
Bates,  and  patent  shot  were  made.  A  manufactory  of  sheet 
lead  was  completed  the  same  year,  and  the  Spanish  arsenals 
at  New  Orleans  and  Havana,  received  a  considerable  part  of 
their  supplies  for  the  Spanish  navy  from  these  mines. 

The  enterprizing  Americans  soo«  discovered  Mine  Robino, 
Mine  a  Martin,  and  several  others,  and  at  the  period  of  the 
annexation  of  the  territory  to  the  United  States,  the  mines 
were  extensively  and  advantageously  worked.  We  give  in 
connection,  the  names  and  localities  of  the  principal  mines 
worked  under  the  Spanish  government. 

Mines.  Locality. 

Mine  La  Motte,  -     -      Head  of  St.  Francis  river. 

Mine  a  Joe,        -----     On  Flat  river. 

Mine  a  Burton,  (now  Potosi,  on  a  branch  of  Mineral  Fork.) 

Old  Mines,     ------      On  Mineral  Fork. 

Renault's  Mines,  on  Fourche  a  Renault,  a  branch  of  Mineral 
Fork. 

In  a  few  years  after  the  cession,  Shibboleth,  New  Diggings, 
Labaume's,  Bryan's,  and  several  other  mines  were  discovered 
and  opened. 

These  mines  attracted  the  attention  of  the  American  gov- 
ernment at  the  earliest  period,  and  measures  were  taken  by 
General  Wilkinson  to  ascertain  the  situation  and  extent  of  the 
mines;  their  annual  product;  the  manner  of  working  them  ; 
and  such  other  information  as  was  necessary  to  the  action  of 
government. 

Copper  mines  were  discovered  on  the  Merrimac  river,  by 
the  mineralogical  explorers  under  Renault  and  La  Motte. 

*  Howe's  Virginia,  Wythe  county,  p.  515.     Schoolcraft's  Lead  Mines,  p.  19. 


Mines  of  the  Upper  Mississippi.  677 

Several  attempts  were  made  to  work  them,  but  from  some 
cause  they  were  not  successful  in  separating  the  metal  from 
the  slag. 

The  richest  mines,  both  of  lead  and  copper,  were  discovered 
on  the  Upper  Mississippi.  They  have  yielded  from  eighty  to 
ninety  per  cent,  of  pure  lead. 

In  1786,  Julien  Dubuque,  an  enterprising  Canadian,  visited 
this  region,  explored  its  mineral  wealth,  returned  two  years 
after,  and,  at  a  council  held  with  the  Indians  in  1788,  obtained 
from  them  a  grant  of  a  large  tract  of  land,  amounting  to 
140,000  acres,  beginning  on  the  West  side  of  the  Mississippi. 

Here  he  resided,  and  obtained  great  wealth  in  mining  and 
trading  with  the  Indians,  and  died  in  1810.  His  grave  is 
about  one  mile  below  the  city  of  Dubuque,  in  the  State  of 
Iowa. 

The  mines  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  are  between  Rock 
and  Wisconsin  rivers  on  the  east,  and  about  the  same  paral- 
lel on  the  west  side  of  that  river. 

For  many  years  the  Indians  and  some  of  the  French  cour- 
iers du  bois,  had  been  accustomed  to  dig  led  in  the  mineral 
region  about  Galena.  But  they  never  penetrated  much  be- 
low the  surface,  though  they  obtained  considerable  quantities 
of  mineral. 

In  1823,  the  late  Colonel  James  Johnson,  of  Kentucky,  ob- 
tained a  lease  from  the  United  States'  government,  to  prose- 
cute the  business  of  mining  and  smelting,  which  he  did  with  a 
strong  force  and  much  enterprize.  This  movement  attracted 
the  attention  of  enterprising  men  in  Illinois,  Missouri,  and 
other  States.  Some  went  on  in  1826,  more  following  in  1827, 
and  in  1827,  the  country  was  almost  literally  filled  with 
miners,  smelters,  merchants,  speculators,  gamblers,  and  every 
description  of  character.  Intelligence,  enterprise,  and  virtue, 
were  thrown  in  the  midst  of  dissipation,  gambling,  and  every 
species  of  vice.  Such  was  the  crowd  of  adventurers  in  1829, 
to  this  hitherto  almost  unknown  and  desolate  region,  that  the 
lead  business  was  greatly  overdone,  and  the  market  for  a 
while  nearly  destroyed.  Fortunes  were  made  almost  upon  a 
turn  of  a  spade,  and  lost  with  equal  facility.  The  business  is 
prosecuted  to  a  great  extent.  Exhaustless  quantities  of  mine- 
ral exist  here,  over  a  tract  of  country  two  hundred  miles  in 
extent. 

From  1821,  to  September,  1823,  the  amount  of  lead  made 
in  the  vicinity  of  Galena,  Illinois,  was  335,130  pounds.  Dur- 


678  Appendix. 

ing  the  next  succeeding  ten  years,  the  aggregate  was  about 
seventy  millions  of  pounds. 

The  average  number  of  miners  during  the  year  1825,  was 
100;  in  1826,  400;  and  in  1827,  1,600.  Many  citizens  ofll- 
linois,  from  the  counties  of  St.  Clair,  Madison,  &c.,  went  up 
the  river  with  supplies  of  provision  in  the  spring,  to  prosecute 
mining,  and  returned  downward  and  homeward  at  the  ap- 
proach of  winter.  From  this  trifling  incident,  a  mischievous 
wag  from  "  Yankeedom,"  ycleped  the  people  of  Illinois,  "Suck- 
ers," from  these  migratory  miners. 

Copper,  in  considerable  quantities,  is  now  raised  and 
smelted  on  the  Upper  Mississippi. 

SECTION  THIRD. 
French  Settlements  in  Illinois. 

The  exact  date  of  the  first  permanent  settlements  in  Illinois, 
cannot  now  be  ascertained,  unless  we  regard  the  trading  post 
of  Crevecceur,  near  the  present  site  of  Peoria,  as  the  first, 
and  there  is  no  evidence  that  this  remained  a  continuous,  and 
therefore  permanent  station.  [See  Annals,  p.  39.J 

Cahokia,  (called  in  early  times,  ''Notre  Dame  des  Kahokias") 
from  probable  evidence  appears  to  have  been  a  trading  post 
and  mission  station  earlier  than  Kaskaskia.  We  find  no  evi- 
dence to  sustain  the  statement  of  the  author,  whose  very  im- 
perfect and  incongruous  work  has  been  attributed  to  Tonti, 
that  La  Salle,  on  his  return  from  his  exploration  of  the  Lower 
Mississippi,  left  colonies  at  these  places.  It  is  inferred  from 
a  variety  of  circumstances,  that  both  Cahokia  and  Kaskaskia 
were  settled  by  traders  and  missionaries,  as"  early,  if  not  previ- 
ous to  1690. 

Father  Allouez,  a  Jesuit  missionary,  and  a  companion  of  La 
Salle,  appears  to  have  been  the  first  at  Kaskaskia.  It  is  pos- 
sible he,  in  company  with  some  traders,  laid  the  foundation  of 
Kaskaskia,  and,  if  so,  its  priority  to  Cahokia,  is  decided.  Fa- 
ther Gravier  succeeded  Allouez  about  1690,  and  the  station 
was  called  "The  Village  of  the  Immaculate  Conception  of  the 
Holy  Virgin." 

About  the  period  of  Father  Gravier,  two  missionaries,  Pinet 
and  Binniteu,  came  to  the  country.  It  is  stated  on  respectable 
authority,  that  Father  Pinet  founded  Cahokia,  and  was 
successful  in  converting  a  large  number  of  the  aborigines. 


French  Settlements  in  Illinois.  679 

His  chapel  could  accommodate  only  a  part  of  the  multitude 
that  resorted  to  mass.  The  Indians  were  of  the  Cahokia  and 
Tamaroas  tribes,  two  branches  of  the  confederacy  of  the  Illi- 
nois. 

Binniteu  followed  the  tribe  to  which  he  was  attached,  to 
their  hunting  grounds  in  the  interior,  where  he  died  with  a 
fever.  Pinet  soon  after  died,  and  Gabriel  Marest  joined  the 
Illinois  missions,  and  for  some  time  appears  to  have  had  the 
whole  under  his  charge. 

Whatever  may  be  thought  of  the  doctrines  they  taught,  or 
their  mode  of  converting  Indians,  by  Protestants,  (a  question 
not  necessary  to  be  discussed  in  this  work,)  they  were  a  heroic, 
devoted,  self-sacrificing  class  of  men.  Their  journals  as  found 
in  that  curious  and  instructive  work,  '•'•Letters  Edifiantes  et 
Curicuses"  (Curious  and  Edifying  Letters,)  give  abundant 
proof  of  this  fact,  as  they  do  of  the  general  topography  of  the 
country,  and  the  number,  position  and  characteristics  of  the 
Indian  tribes. 

Father  Marest,  in  his  correspondence  says:  "Our  life  is 
passed  in  rambling  through  thick  woods,  in  climbing  over  hills, 
in  paddling  the  canoes  across  lakes  and  rivers,  to  catch  a  poor 
savage  who  flies  from  us,  and  whom  we  can  neither  tame  by 
teachings  nor  caresses." 

Sebastian  Rasles,  (or  Rale,  as  given  in  his  life  in  Sparks' 
biography,)  came  to  Illinois  in  1692.  He  embarked  at  Que- 
bec the  13th  of  August,  1691,  spent  the  winter  at  Michilli- 
mackinac,  and  reached  Kaskaskia  the  following  spring.  A 
letter  before  us  gives  an  interesting  description  of  the  man- 
ners and  customs  of  the  Illinois  Indians.  He  gives  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  Indian  mode  of  torturing  their  prisoners,  and 
says:  "It  was  the  Iroquois  that  invented  this  frightful  mode 
of  putting  captives  to  death,  and  it  is  but  just  that  the  Illinois 
should  repay  them  in  the  same  way."  Rather  strange  morality 
for  a  religious  teacher. 

It  is  but  just,  however,  to  give  these  missionaries  in  Illinois 
the  credit  of  putting  an  end  to  the  torture  of  prisoners  among 
the  tribes  under  their  immediate  instruction. 

On  the  difficulties  of  christianizing  the  Indians  of  Illinois, 
we  give  the  following  extract  from  the  communication  of 
Father  Rasle,  as  translated  from  the  "  Lettres  Edifiantes,"  by 
John  Russell,  Esq. 


680  Appendix. 

"That  which  we  call  Christianity,  is  known  among  the  In- 
dians only  by  the  word  Prayer.  When  in  my  letters  I  say 
such  and  such  tribes  have  embraced  the  Prayer,  you  are  to 
understand  that  they  have  become  christianized.  There  would 
be  infinitely  less  difficulty  in  converting  the  Illinois,  if  religion 
and  polygamy  could  go  together.  The  Indians  are  ex- 
tremely pleased  with  having  me  convert  their  wives  and  chil- 
dren; but  when  I  talk  to  them  they  show  their  native  incon- 
stancy, and  say  they  cannot  think  of  being  compelled  to  have 
but  one  wife  and  to  keep  that  one  always. 

At  the  hour  of  Matins  and  Vespers  all  the  Indians,  young 
and  old,  attend  in  the  chapel.  All  the  children,  except  those 
of  the  Powows  [Jongleurs,]  are  baptized.  The  jongleurs  are 
the  greatest  enemies  to  religion.  It  is  in  the  baptism  of  the 
infants  that  the  great  fruits  of  our  labor  are  manifest,  for  all 
of  these  children  do  not  die  in  infancy,  and  those  who  grow 
up  to  adult  age,  are  zealous,  and  would  sooner  die  than  re- 
nounce their  religion.  It  is  a  happy  thing  for  the  Illinois  that 
they  are  so  far  from  Quebec,  for  now  brandy  cannot  be  so 
easily  brought  to  them  as  to  other  tribes  of  Canada.  This 
drink  is  the  grand  obstacle  to  christianizing  the  Indians,  and 
the  source  of  infinite  crimes. 

Father  Rasle  continued  in  Illinois  two  years,  when  he  was 
recalled  by  the  Superior  and  stationed  among  the  Aberna- 
quis  in  Maine,  where  himself  and  Indian  converts  were  bar- 
barously massacred  by  a  party  of  New  Englanders.* 

Charlevoix,  in  a  series  of  letters  addressed  to  the  Duchess 
Lesdiguieres,  entitled  "  Journal  of  a  Voyage  to  North  Ameri- 
ca,* writes  from  Kaskaskia,  October  20th,  1721,  as  follows 
about  Cahokia: — 

"  We  lay  last  night  in  a  village  of  the  Caoquias  and  the 
Tamarous,  two  Illinois  tribes  which  have  been  united,  and  to- 
gether compose  no  very  numerous  canton.  This  village  is 
situated  on  a  very  small  river  which  runs  from  the  east,  and 
has  no  water  but  in  the  spring  season,  so  that  we  were  obliged 
to  walk  half  a  league,  before  we  could  get  to  our  cabins.  I 
was  astonished  they  had  pitched  upon  so  inconvenient  a  situa- 
tion, especially  as  they  had  so  many  better  in  their  choice. — 
But  I  was  told  the  Mississippi  washed  the  foot  of  that  village 
when  it  was  built ;  that  in  three  years  it  had  lost  half  a  league 
of  it^  breadth,  and  that  they  were  thinking  of  seeking  out  for 
another  habitation,  which  is  no  great  affair  among  the  Indians. 

"I  passed  the  night  in  the  missionaries'  house,  who  are  two 
ecclesiastics  from  the  Seminary  of  Quebec,  formerly  my  dis- 
ciples, but  they  must  now  be  my  masters. 

*  See  liia  Life  in  Spark's  Biography,  second  series. 


French  Settlements  in  Illinois.  681 

M.  Taumur,  the  eldest  of  the  two,  was  absent ;  but  I  found 
the  youngest,  M.  le  Mercier.  such  as  he  had  been  represented 
to  me,  rigid  to  himself,  full  of  charity  to  others,  and  display- 
ing in  his  own  person,  an  amiable  pattern  of  virtue." 

Of  Kaskaskia  and  the  mission  there,  Father  Charlevoir 
says,  (p  221.) 

"  Yesterday  I  arrived  at  Kaskasquias  about  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  The  Jesuits  have  here  a  very  flourishing  mis- 
sion, which  has  lately  been  divided  into  two,  thinking  it  con- 
venient to  have  two  cantons  of  Indians  instead  of  one.  The 
most  numerous  is  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  of  which 
two  Jesuits  have  the  spiritual  direction  :  half  a  league  below 
stands  Fort  Chartres,  about  the  distance  of  a  musket  shot 
from  the  river.  M.  de  Boisbrilliard,  a  gentleman  of  Canada, 
commands  here  for  the  company,  to  whom  this  place  belongs; 
the  French  are  now  beginning  to  settle  the  country  between 
this  fort  and  the  first  mission.  Four  leagues  farther  and  about 
a  league  from  the  river,  is  a  large  village  inhabited  by  the 
French,  who  are  almost  all  Canadians  and  have  a  Jesuit  for 
their  curate.  The  second  village  of  the  Illinois  lies  farther 
up  the  country,  at  the  distance  of  two  leagues  from  this  last, 
and  is  under  the  charge  of  a  fourth  Jesuit. 
.  The  French  in  this  place  live  pretty  much  at  their  ease;  a 
Fleming,  who  was  a  domestic  of  the  Jesuits,  has  taught  them 
to  sow  wheat  which  succeeds  very  well.  They  have  black 
cattle  and  poultry.  The  Illinois  on  their  part  manure  the 
ground  after  their  fashion,  and  are  very  laborious.  They  like- 
wise bring  up  poultry,  which  they  sell  to  the  French.  Their 
women  are  very  neat-handed  and  industrious.  They  spin  the 
wool  of  the  buffalo,  which  they  make  as  fine  as  that  of  the 
English  sheep  ;  nay  sometimes  it  might  even  be  mistaken  for 
silk.  Of  this  they  manufacture  stuffs  which  are  dyed  black, 
yellow,  or  a  deep  red.  Of  these  stuffs  they  make  robes  which 
they  sew  with  thread  made  of  the  sinews  of  the  roe-buck. — 
The  manner  of  making  this  thread  is  very  simple.  After 
stripping  the  flesh  from  the  sinews  of  the  roe-buck,  they  ex- 
pose them  to  the  sun  for  the  space  of  two  days :  after  they 
are  dry  they  beat  them,  and  then  without  difficulty  draw  out 
a  thread  as  white  and  as  fine  as  that  of  Mechlin,  but  muck 
stronger." 

Besides  those  already  mentioned,  between  the  years  1680 
and  1700,  we  find  the  names  of  Gabriel  de  la  Ribourdie  and 
Zenobe  Mambre,  as  missionaries  in  Illinois.  A  congregation 
composed  of  a  few  Frenchmen,  and,  probably,  some  Indians, 
especially  females,  was  collected  near  Fort  St.  Louis,  on  the 
"  Great  Rock."  This  was  on  the  Illinois  river  a  few  miles  be~ 
43 


682  Appendix. 

low  the  present  site  of  Ottawa.  The  traders  generally  mar- 
ried Indian  wives  and  lived  in  amity  with  them.  The  success 
in  converting  Indians,  even  to  the  Catholic  faith,  was  not 
great,  for  Father  Gravier  mentions  only  seven  persons  as  bap- 
tized, in  his  register  of  baptisms  among  the  Indians,  from  the 
20th  of  March,  1695,  to  the  22nd  of  February,  1699.* 

In  the  year  1718,  the  Directors  of  the  Company  of  the  West, 
sent  M.  de  Boisbriant,  with  a  small  military  force,  to  establish 
a  post  near  Kaskaskia,  and  the  same  year  he  began  a  fortifi- 
cation called  Fort  Ghartres.  (This  is  probably  the  same  offi- 
cer Charlevoix  names  Boisbrilliard.)  What  rule  of  military 
engineering  was  his  guide  in  fixing  the  site  on  the  American 
bottom,  three  miles  from  the  quarry  of  rock,  "  a  musket  shot 
from  the  river,"  and  on  ground  subject  to  inundation,  we  cannot 
conjecture.  A  more  unfortunate  location  could  not  have  been 
selected.  Some  historians  have  stated  that  this  fort  was  con- 
structed for  a  defence,  against  Spanish  aggression.  But  at  the 
period  it  was  commenced,  no  Spanish  post  existed  nearer  than 
Santa  Fe,  and  no  one  dreamed  of  an  attack  from  that  quar- 
ter. The  object  was  protection  to  the  villages  and  the  min- 
ing companies  about  to  be  sent  forth,  from  any  hostile  demon- 
strations of  the  Indians. 

The  plan  of  the  structure  erected  by  M.  Boisbriant  is  un- 
known to  the  writer.  Another  structure  built  on  the  same  site 
in  1756,  will  be  noticed  in  the  next  section. 

During  the  years  of  1718  and  1719,  the  French  settlements 
of  Cahokia,  Kaskaskia  and  Fort  Chartres,  were  increased  by 
immigration  from  Canada,  and  from  France  by  the  way  of 
New  Orleans.  M.  Renault,  as  has  been  noticed  in  the  pre- 
ceding section,  brought  with  him  a  large  number  of  European 
adventurers,  and  500  slaves  from  the  West  Indies. 

On  the  2nd  of  September,  1721,  the  council  deputed  by  the 
King  of  France,  for  the  government  of  the  Royal  Company 
of  the  Indies,  enacted  a  series  of  articles,  regulating  trade, 
commerce,  and  even  prices.  This  ordinance  may  be  found  in 
Dillon's  Indiana,  volume  i.  pages  40,  44. 

The  trade  and  commerce  of  Louisiana  was  monopolized  by 
the  Company  of  the  Indies,  and  for  the  upper  district  the  fac- 
tory or  stone  house  was  established  at  Fort  Chartres.  The 
commandant  of  that  post,  M.  Pierre  Duque  Boisbriant,  the  re- 

*  Dillon's  Indiana,  i.  27. 


Grants  of  Land  in  Illinois.  683 

preservative  of  the  crown,  and  the  Commissary  of  Company, 
or  "Principal  Secretary,"  Marc  Antoine  de  la  Loire  De  Ur- 
sins,  jointly  acted  in  granting  lands. 

The  oldest  on  record  of  which  we  are  aware,  is  a  grant 
made  on  the  10th  of  May,  1722,*  to  Charles  Danie.  The  next 
is  on  the  22nd  of  June,  the  same  year,  at  which  time  Brois- 
briant  and  Des  Ursins  made  a  grant  to  the  missionaries  of  Ca- 
hokia  and  Tamarois,  "  a  tract  of  four  leagues  of  land  square," 
(as  expressed  in  the  grant,)  bounded  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Mississippi,  including  the  adjacent  islands,  beginning  a  "quar- 
ter of  a  league  above  the  little  river  of  Cahokia,"  and  ex- 
tending south  and  east  for  quantity.  This  grant  was  in  fee 
simple,  and  from  it  have  emanated  the  titles  to  the  village 
tract  and  common  fields  of  Cahokia.f 

In  the  Annals,  page  195,  we  mentioned  the  concealment  or 
destruction  of  papers  by  Madame  Rocheblave,  the  Governor's 
wife,  when  Kaskaskia  was  taken  by  General  Clark.  It  is 
supposed  that  many  of  the  grants  and  concessions  perished  at 
this  or  some  other  period. 

There  are  no  events  of  material  importance  in  the  records 
of  history,  from  the  dissolution  of  the  Company  of  the  Indies, 
until  the  war  between  England  and  France  of  1756;  the  year 
in  which  Fort  Chartres  was  rebuilt,  a  sketch  of  which  is  con- 
tained in  the  next  section.  The  male  population  of  the  country, 
inaddition  to  the  cultivation  of  their  farms,  were  the  voyageurs 
on  the  rivers,  and  the  courieurs  des  bois  in  the  trading  expedi- 
tions. 

The  leaders  in  all  the  French  colonies  on  the  Mississippi, 
were  gentlemen  of  education  and  energy  of  character,  while 
the  large  majority  were  illiterate  paysans,  who  possessed  little 
property  and  less  enterprize. 

But  they  were  a  contented  race,  patient  under  hardships, 
unambitious,  ignorant  of  the  prolific  resources,  and  destitute 
of  the  least  perception  of  its  future  destiny.  They  never  trou- 
bled themselves  with  the  affairs  of  government,  never  indul- 
ged in  schemes  of  aggrandizement,  nor  showed  the  least  in- 
clination for  political  domination.  They  were  a  frank, 
open-hearted,  unsuspicious,  joyous  people,  careless  of  the  ac- 
quisition of  property. 

*  American  State  Papers,  Public  Lands,  ii.  164. 
•f  American  State  Papers,  ii.  167. 


684  Appendix. 

The  following  truthful  and   graphic  sketch  we  copy  from 
"  Sketches  of  the  West,"  by  James  Hall,  Esq. 

They  made  no  attempt  to  acquire  land  from  the  Indians,  to 
organize  a  social  system,  to  introduce  municipal  regulations, 
or  to  establish  military  defences ;  but  cheerfully  obeyed  the 
priests  and  the  king's  officers,  and  enjoyed  the  present,  .with- 
out troubling  their  heads  about  the  future.  They  seem  to 
have  been  even  careless  as  to  the  acquisition  of  property,  and 
its  transmission  to  their  heirs.  Finding  themselves  in  a  fruit- 
ful country,  abounding  in  game,  where  the  necessaries  of  life 
could  be  procured  with  little  labor,  where  no  restraints 
were  imposed  by  government,  and  neither  tribute  nor  per- 
sonal service  was  exacted,  they  were  content  to  live  in 
unambitious  peace,  and  comfortable  poverty.  They  took 
possession  of  so  much  of  the  vacant  land  around  them,  as 
they  were  disposed  to  till,  and  no  more.  Their  agriculture 
was  rude;  and  even  to  this  day,  some  of  the  implements  of 
husbandry,  and  modes  of  cultivation,  brought  from  France  a 
century  ago,  remain  unchanged  by  the  march  of  mind,  or  the 
hand  of  innovation.  Their  houses  were  comfortable,  and 
they  reared  fruits  and  flowers;  evincing,  in  this  respect,  an 
attention  to  comfort  and  luxury,  which  has  not  been  practised 
among  the  English  or  American  first  settlers ;  but  in  the  ac- 
cumulation of  property,  and  in  all  the  essentials  of  industry, 
they  were  indolent  and  improvident,  rearing  only  the  bare 
necessaries  of  life,  and  living  from  generation  to  generation 
without  change  or  improvement. 

The  only  new  articles  which  the  French  adopted,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  change  of  residence,  were  those  connected 
with  the  fur  trade.  The  few  who  were  engaged  in  merchan- 
dise, turned  their  attention  almost  exclusively  to  the  traffic 
with  the  Indians,  while  a  large  number  became  hunters  and 
boatmen.  The  voyageurs,  engagecs,  and  couriers  des  bois,  as 
they  are  called,  form  a  peculiar  race  of  men.  They  were  ac- 
tive, sprightly,  and  remarkably  expert  in  their  vocation.  With 
all  the  vivacity  of  the  French  character,  they  have  little  of 
the  intemperance  and  brutal  coarseness  usually  found  among 
the  boatmen  and  mariners.  They  are  patient  under  fatigue, 
and  endure  an  astonishing  degree  of  toil  and  exposure  to 
weather.  Accustomed  to  live  in  the  open  air,  they  pass 
through  every  extreme,  and  all  the  sudden  vicissitudes  of  cli- 
mate, with  little  apparent  inconvenience.  Their  boats  are 
managed  with  expertness,  and  even  grace,  and  their  toil  en- 
livened by  the  song.  As  hunters,  they  have  roved  over  the 
whole  of  the  wide  plain  of  the  west,  to  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
sharing  the  hospitality  of  the  Indians,  abiding  for  long  peri- 
ods, and  even  permanently,  with  the  tribes,  and  sometimes 
seeking  their  alliance  by  marriage.  As  boatmen,  they  navi- 


Character  of  the  French  Population.  685 

gate  the  birch  canoe  to  the  sources  of  the  longest  rivers,  and 
pass  from  one  river  to  another,  by  laboriously  carrying  the 
packages  of  merchandise,  and  the  boat  itself,  across  moun- 
tains, or  through  swamps  or  woods,  so  that  no  obstacle  stops 
their  progress.  Like  the  Indian,  they  can  live  on  game, 
without  condiment  or  bread ;  like  him  they  sleep  in  the  open 
air,  or  plunge  into  the  water  at  any  season,  without  injury. 

The  French  had  also  a  fort  on  the  Ohio,  about  thirty-six 
miles  above  the  junction  of  that  river  with  the  Mississippi,  of 
which  the  Indians  obtained  possession  by  a  singular  strata- 
gem. A  number  of  them  appeared  in  the  day  time  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river,  each  covered  with  a  bear-skin, 
walking  on  all-fours,  and  imitating  the  motions  of  that  ani- 
mal. The  French  supposed  them  to  be  bears,  and  a  party 
crossed  the  river  in  pursuit  of  them.  The  remainder  of  the 
troops  left  their  quarters,  and  resorted  to  the  bank  of  the  river, 
in  front  of  the  garrison,  to  observe  the  sport.  In  the  mean- 
time, a  large  body  of  Indian  warriors,  who  were  concealed 
in  the  woods  near  by,  came  silently  up  behind  the  fort,  entered 
it  without  opposition,  and  very  few  of  the  French  escaped 
the  carnage.  They  afterwards  built  another  fort  on  the  same 
ground,  which  they  called  Massacre,  in  memory  of  this  dis- 
astrous event,  and  which  retained  the  name  of  Fort  Massac, 
after  it  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  American  government.* 

The  foregoing  statement  is  a  truthful  one  according  to  all 
the  traditionary  evidence  we  can  collect.  We  find  no  authority 
for  the  word  "Marsiac,"  as  given  by  Mr.  Nicolet.  f 

This  post  was  a  mission  station  as  early  as  1711,  when  the 
Ohio  was  called  the  "Ouabache,"  as  is  shown  in  the  corres- 
pondence in  the  Letters  Edifiantes  already  alluded  to.  Pro- 
bably it  continued  a  trading  post  and  mission  station,  until 
the  British  authorities  came  into  possession  of  Illinois. 

The  style  of  agriculture  in  all  the  French  settlements  was 
simple.  Both  the  Spanish  and  French  governments,  in  form- 
ing settlements  on  the  Mississippi,  had  special  regard  to  con- 
venience of  social  intercourse,  and  protection  from  the  Indians. 
All  their  settlements  were  required  to  be  in  the  form  of  villa- 
ges or  towns,  and  lots  of  a  convenient  size  for  a  door  yard, 
garden  and  stable  yard,  were  provided  for  each  family.  To 
each  village  were  granted  two  tracts  of  land  at  convenient 
distances,  for  "common  fields"  and  "commons" 

A  common  field  is  a  tract  of  land  of  several  hundred  acres, 

*  Sketches  of  the  West,  L 180  to  182. 
t  Report,  p.  79. 


686  Appendix. 

enclosed  in  common  by  the  villagers,  each  person  furnishing 
his  proportion  of  labor,  and  each  family  possessing  individual 
interest  in  a  portion  of  the  field,  marked  off  and  bounded 
from  the  rest.  Ordinances  were  rrade  to  regulate  the  repairs 
of  fences,  the  time  of  excluding  cattle  in  the  spring,  and  the 
time  of  gathering  the  crop  and  opening  the  field  for  the  range 
of  cattle  in  the  fall.  Each  plat  of  ground  in  the  common 
field  was  owned  in  fee  simple  by  the  person  to  whom  granted, 
subject  to  sale  and  conveyance,  the  same  as  any  landed  pro- 
perty. 

A  common  is  a  tract  of  land  granted  to  the  town  for  wood 
and  pasturage,  in  which  each  owner  of  a  village  lot  has  a 
common,  but  not  an  individual  right.  In  some  cases  this  tract 
embraced  several  thousand  acres. 

By  this  arrangement,  something  like  a  community  system 
existed  in  their  intercourse.  If  the  head  of  a  family  was 
sick,  met  with  any  casualty,  or  was  absent  as  an  engagee,  his 
family  sustained  little  inconvenience.  His  plat  in  the  com- 
mon field  was  cultivated  by  his  neighbors  and  the  crop 
gathered.  A  pleasant  custom  existed  in  these  French  villages 
not  thirty  years  since,  and  which  had  come  down  from  the 
remotest  period. 

The  husbandman  on  his  return  at  evening  from  his  daily 
toil,  was  always  met  by  his  affectionate  femme  with  the 
friendly  kiss,  and  very  commonly  with  one,  perhaps  two  of  the 
youngest  children,  to  receive  the  same  salutation  fromlepere. 
This  daily  interview  was  at  the  gate  of  the  door  yard,  and  in 
view  of  all  the  villagers.  The  simple-hearted  people  were  a 
happy  and  contented  race.  A  few  traits  of  these  ancient 
characteristics  remain,  but  most  of  the  descendents  of  the 
French  are  fully  Americanised. 

SECTION  FOURTH. 

State  of  the  Country  under  British  Domination. 

Amongst  the  sources  of  information  concerning  the  Illinois 
country  during  the  period  of  British  rule,  is  a  quarto  volume 
entitled,  "  The  present  state  of  the  European  Settlements  on  the 
Mississippi,"  by  Captain  Phillip  Pitman.  It  was  published  in 
London,  1770,  contains  108  pages,  and  is  illustrated  by  maps 
and  charts. 

Captain  Pitman  was  military  Engineer  in  the  British  army, 


Sketches  of  Illinois  from  Pitman.  687 

and  in  that  capacity  was  sent  to  survey  the  forts,  munitions 
of  war  and  towns  in  Florida,  in  1763,  when  the  British  took 
possession  of  that  country.  Having  surveyed  the  fortifica- 
tions of  Pensacola  and  Mobile,  near  the  Gulph,  he  proceeded 
to  the  posts  and  settlements  on  the  Mississippi,  and  after  sur- 
veying New  Orleans  and  the  other  posts  in  Louisiana  proper, 
he  reached  Illinois  about  1766.  He  describes  "the  country  of 
Illinois,  as  bounded  by  the  Mississippi  on  the  West,  by  the 
river  Illinois  on  the  north,  the  rivers  Ouabache  and  Miamies 
on  the  East,  and  the  Ohio  on  the  South."  Of  this  tract  of 
country  he  says  : — 

"The  air  in  general,  is  pure,  and  the  sky  serene,  except  in 
the  month  of  March  and  the  latter  end  of  September,  when 
there  are  heavy  rains  and  hard  gales  of  wind.  The  months  of 
May,  June,  July  and  August,  are  excessively  hot,  and  subject 
to  sudden  and  violent  storms.  January  and  February  are  ex- 
tremely cold,  the  other  months  in  the  year  are  moderate." 

Very  probably  during  the  seasons  Captain  Pitman  was  in 
Illinois,  "heavy  rains"  occurred  in  the  latter  end  of  September, 
but  in  the  proportion  of  five  years  out  of  six,  the  autumnal 
months  are  dry  ;  the  pastures  decay;  and  farmers  find  incon- 
venience in  sowing  wheat,  from  the  drouth.  During  the 
periodical  rise  of  the  rivers  in  the  spring,  and  especially  the 
annual  rise  of  the  Missouri  in  June,  rain  falls  to  a  greater  or 
less  extent.  Captain  Pitman,  whose  accuracy,  in  general, 
cannot  be  questioned,  probably  drew  his  comparison  of  the 
climate  and  seasons  in  Illinois  with  England,  to  which  he  had 
been  accustomed.  He  continues  : — 

"The  principal  Indian  nations  in  this  country  are,  the  Cas- 
casquias,  Kahoquias,  Mitchigamias,  and  Peoryas ;  these  four 
tribes  are  generally  called  the  Illinois  Indians.  Except  in  the 
hunting  seasons,  they  reside  near  the  English  settlements  in 
this  country.  They  are  a  poor,  debauched,  and  detestable 
people.  They  count  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  warriors. 
The  Pianquichas,  Mascoutins,  Miamies,  Kickapous,  and  Pya- 
tonons,  though  not  very  numerous,  are  a  brave  and  war-like 
people. 

"The  soil  of  this  country  in  general,  is  very  rich  and  luxu- 
riant; it  produces  all  sorts  of  European  grains,  hops,  hemp, 
flax,  cotton,  and  tobacco,  and  European  fruits  come  to  great 
perfection. 

"The  inhabitants  make  wine  of  the  wild  grapes,  which  is 
very  inebriating,  arid  is,  in  color  and  taste,  very  like  the  red 
wine  of  Provence.  *  *  *  *  * 


688  Appendix. 

"In  the  late  wars,  New  Orleans  and  the  lower  parts  of 
Louisiana  were  supplied  with  flour,  beef,  wines,  hams,  and 
other  provisions  from  this  country.  At  present  its  commerce 
is  mostly  confined  to  the  peltry  and  furs,  which  are  got  in 
traffic  from  the  Indians;  for  which  are  received  in  return,  such 
European  commodities  as  are  necessary  to  carry  on  that  com- 
merce and  the  support  of  the  inhabitants." 

Of  Fort  Chartres,  which  was  rebuilt  in  1756,  under  the  au- 
thority of  the  French  government,  in  view  of  the  hostilities 
then  existing  between  England  and  France  for  the  possession 
of  the  country  on  the  Ohio,  Captain  Pitman  gives  the  follow- 
ing description : — 

"Fort  Chartres,  when  it  belonged  to  France,  was  the  seat  of 
government  of  the  Illinois.  The  head  quarters  of  the  English 
commanding  officer  is  now  here,  who,  in  fact,  is  the  arbitrary 
governor  of  this  country.  The  fort  is  an  irregular  quadrangle; 
the  sides  of  the  exterior  polygon  are  490  feet.  It  is  built  of 
stone,  and  plastered  over,  and  is  only  designed  as  a  defence 
against  the  Indians.  The  walls  are  two  feet  two  inches  thick, 
and  are  pierced  with  loop-holes  at  regular  distances,  and  with 
two  port-holes  for  cannon  in  the  faces,  and  two  in  the  flanks 
of  each  bastion.  The  ditch  has  never  been  finished.  The 
entrance  to  the  fort  is  through  a  very  handsome  rustic  gate. 
Within  the  walls  is  a  banquette  raised  three  feet,  for  the  men 
to  stand  on  when  they  fire  through  the  loop-holes.  The  build- 
ings within  the  fort  are,  a  commandant's  and  commissary's 
house,  the  magazine  of  stores,  corps  de  garde,  and  two  bar- 
racks; these  occupy  the  square.  Within  the  gorges  of  the 
bastion  are  a  powder  magazine,  a  bake-house,  and  a  prison, 
in  the  lower  floor  of  which  are  four  dungeons,  and  in  the  up- 
per, two  rooms,  and  an  out-house  belonging  to  commandant. 
The  commandant's  house  is  thirty-two  yards  long  and  ten 
broad,  and  contains  a  kitchen,  a  dining-room,  a  bed-chamber, 
one  small  room,  five  closets  for  servants,  and  a  cellar.  The 
commissary's  house,  (now  occupied  by  officers.)  is  built  on  the 
same  line  as  this,  and  its  proportion  and  the  distribution  of  its 
apartments  are  the  same.  Opposite  these  are  the  store-house 
and  the  guard-house ;  they  are  each  thirty  yards  long  and 
eight  broad.  The  former  consists  of  two  large  store-rooms, 
(under  which  is  a  large  vaulted  cellar,)  a  large  room,  a  bed- 
chamber, and  a  closet  for  the  store-keeper ;  the  latter  of  a 
soldiers'  and  officers'  guard  room,  a  chapel,  a  bed-chamber,  a 
closet  for  the  chaplain,  and  an  artillery  store-room.  The  lines 
of  barracks  have  never  been  finished  ;  they  at  present  consist 
of  two  rooms,  each  for  officers,  and  three  for  soldiers :  they 
are  each  twenty  feet  square,  and  have  betwixt  them  a  small 
passage.  There  are  fine  spacious  lofts  over  each  building 


Description  of  Fort  Chartres  in  1820.  689 

which  reach  from  end  to  end  ;  these  are  made  use  of  to  lodge 
regimental  stores,  working  and  entrenching  tools,  &c.  It  is 
generally  believed  that  this  is  the  most  convenient  and  best 
built  fort  in  North  America." 

In  1756,  the  fort  stood  half  a  mile  from  the  bank  of  the 
river;  in  1766,  it  was  80  yards.  In  two  years  after,  Captain 
Pitman  states : — 

The  bank  of  the  Mississippi,  next  the  fort,  is  continually 
falling  in,  being  worn  away  by  the  current,  which  has  been 
turned  from  its  course  by  a  sand-bank,  now  increased  to  a 
considerable  island,  covered  with  willows.  Many  experiments 
have  been  tried  to  stop  this  growing  evil,  but  to  no  purpose. 
Eight  years  ago  the  river  was  fordable  to  the  Island ;  the 
channel  is  now  forty  feet  deep. 

In  the  year  1764,  there  were  about  forty  families  in  the  vil- 
lage near  the  fort,  and  a  parish  church,  served  by  a  Francis- 
can friar,  dedicated  to  Ste.  Anne.  In  the  following  year, 
when  the  English  took  possession  of  the  country,  they  aban- 
doned their  houses,  except  three  or  four  poor  families,  and  set- 
tled in  the  villages  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mississippi,  choos- 
ing to  continue  under  the  French  government." 

About  the  year  1770,  the  river  made  further  encroachments, 
and  in  1772,  it  inundated  portions  of  the  American  bottom, 
and  formed  a  channel  so  near  this  fort,  that  the  wall  and  two 
bastions  on  the  west  side,  next  the  river,  were  undermined  and 
fell  into  the  river.  The  British  garrison  abandoned  it,  and  it 
has  never  since  been  occupied.  Those  portions  of  the  wall 
which  escaped  the  flood,  have  been  removed  by  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Kaskaskia  and  adjacent  settlements  for  building  pur- 
poses. 

In  1820,  Dr.  Lewis  C.  Beck,  of  New  York,  while  collecting 
materials  for  his  Gazetteer  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  visited 
these  ruins,  and  aided  by  Mr.  Hanson  of  Illinois,  made  a  com- 
plete and  accurate  survey,  with  an  engraved  plan  of  the  fort 
as  it  then  appeared.  The  line  of  the  exterior  wall  was  one 
thousand  four  hundred  and  forty-seven  feet.  The  two  houses, 
formerly  occupied  by  the  commandant  and  commissary,  were 
each  ninety-six  feet  in  length  and  thirty  feet  in  breadth. 

The  following  description,  as  it  then  appeared,  is  from 
Beck's  Gazetteer,  pp.  108,  109. 

"  In  front,  all  that  remains,  is  a  small  stone  cellar,  which 
has  no  doubt  been  a  magazine  :  some  distance  above,  or  north 


690  Appendix. 

of  this,  is  an  excavation  in  the  earth,  which  has  the  appear- 
ance of  having  been  burned ;  it  may  have  been  a  furnace  for 
heating  shot,  as  one  of  the  cannon  must  have  been  in  this 
vicinity.  Not  a  vestige  of  the  wall  is  to  be  seen  on  this  side, 
except  a  few  stones,  which  still  remain  in  the  ravine  below. 
At  the  south-east  angle  there  is  a  gate,  and  the  wall  is  per- 
fect. It  is  about  fifteen  feet  high  and  three  feet  thick,  and  is 
built  of  coarse  lime-stone,  quarried  in  the  hills  about  two  miles 
distant,  and  is  well  cemented.  The  south  side  is,  with  few 
exceptions,  perfect;  as  is  also  the  south-east  bastion.  The 
north-east  is  generally  in  ruins.  On  the  east  face  are  two 
port  holes  for  cannon,  which  are  still  perfect ;  they  are  about 
three  feet  square,  formed  by  solid  rocks  or  clefts  worked 
smooth,  and  into  proper  shape ;  here  is  also  a  large  gate,  18 
feet  wide,  the  sides  of  which  still  remain  in  a  state  of  tolera- 
ble preservation  ;  the  cornices  and  casements,  however,  which 
formerly  ornamented  it,  have  all  been  taken  a\vay.  A  consi- 
derable portion  of  the  north  side  of  the  fort,  has  also  been  de- 
stroyed. 

The  houses,  which  make  up  the  square  in  the  inside,  are 
generally  in  ruins.  Sufficient,  however,  remains  to  enable  the 
visitor  to  ascertain  exactly  their  dimensions  and  relative  situ- 
ations. The  well,  which  is  little  injured  by  time,  is  about  24 
feet  north  of  the  north-east  house,  which,  according  to  Pit- 
man, was  the  commandant's  house.  The  banquette  is  entire- 
ly destroyed.  The  magazine  is  in  a  perfect  state,  and  is  an 
uncommon  specimen  of  solidity.  Its  walls  are  four  feet  thick, 
and  it  is  arched  in  the  inside. 

Over  the  whole  fort,  there  is  a  considerable  growth  of  trees, 
and  in  the  hall  of  one  of  the  houses,  there  is  an  oak  about  18 
inches  in  diameter. 

There  is  now  (1850)  a  large  Island  in  the  river  where  a 
sand-bar  "  covered  with  Mallows,"  had  commenced  at  the  pe- 
riod of  Captain  Pitman's  survey.  A  "slough"  is  next  the 
ruins.  Trees  more  than  three  feet  in  diameter,  are  within  the 
walls.  It  is  a  ruin  in  the  midst  of  a  dense  forest,  and  did  we 
not  know  its  origin  and  history,  it  might  furnish  a  fruitful 
theme  of  antiquarian  speculation. 

Captain  Pitman  gives  the  following  description  of  Kaskas- 
kia,  or  according  to  the  French  orthography  of  the  period, 
which  he  follows,  Cascasquias. 

"  The  village  of  Notre  Dame  de  Cascasquias  is  by  far  the 
most  considerable  settlement  in  the  country  of  the  Illinois,  as 
well  from  its  number  of  inhabitants,  as  from  its  advantageous 
situation.  ***** 

"  Mons.  Paget  was  the  first  who  introduced  water-mills  in 
this  country,  and  he  constructed  a  very  fine  one  on  the  river 


Description  of  Kaskaskia  by  Pitfnan.  691 

Cascasquias,  which  was  both  for  grinding  corn  and  sawing 
boards.  It  lies  about  one  mile  from  the  village.  The  mill 
proved  fatal  to  him,  being  killed  as  he  was  working  it,  with 
two  negroes,  by  a  party  of  the  Cherokees,  in  the  year  1764. 

"  The  principal  buildings  are,  the  church  and  Jesuits'  house, 
which  has  a  small  chapel  adjoining  it;  these,  as  well  as  some 
other  houses  in  the  village,  are  built  of  stone,  and,  consider- 
ing this  part  of  the  world,  make  a  very  good  appearance. — 
The  Jesuits'  plantation  consisted  of  two  hundred  and  forty 
arpents  of  cultivated  land,*  a  very  good  stock  of  cattle,  and 
a  brewery ;  which  was  sold  by  the  French  commandant,  after 
the  country  was  ceded  to  the  English,  for  the  crown,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  suppression  of  the  order. 

"  Mons.  Beauvais  was  the  purchaser,  who  is  the  richest  of 
the  English  subjects  in  this  country  ;  he  keeps  eighty  slaves; 
he  furnishes  eighty-six  thousand  weight  of  flour  to  the  King's 
magazine,  which  was  only  a  part  of  the  harvest  he  reaped  in 
one  year. 

"  Sixty-five  families  reside  in  this  village,  besides  mer- 
chants, other  casual  people,  and  slaves.  The  fort,  which 
was  burnt  down  in  October,  1766,  stood  on  the  summit  of  a 
high  rock  opposite  the  village,  and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
[Kaskaskia]  river.  It  was  an  oblongular  quadrangle,  of 
which  the  exterior  polygon  measured  two  hundred  and  nine- 
ty, by  two  hundred  and  fifty-one  feet.  It  was  built  of  very 
thick  squared  timber,  and  dove-tailed  at  the  angles.  An  offi- 
cer and  twenty  soldiers  are  quartered  in  the  village.  The  offi- 
cer governs  the  inhabitants,  under  the  direction  of  the  com- 
mandant at  Chartres.  Here  are  also  two  companies  of  mili- 
tia." 

Prairie  du  Rocher,  or  "  La  Prairie  de  Roches,"  as  Captain 
Pitman  has  it,  is  next  described  — 

"  As  about  seventeen  [fourteen]  miles  from  Cascasquias. — 
It  is  a  small  village,  consisting  of  twelve  dwelling-houses,  all 
of  which  are  inhabited  by  as  many  families.  Here  is  a  Kttle 
chapel,  formerly  a  chapel  of  ease  to  the  church  at  Fort  Char- 
tres. The  inhabitants  here  are  very  industrious,  and  raise  a 
great  deal  of  corn  and  every  kind  of  stock.  The  village  is 
two  miles  from  Fort  Chartres.  [This  means  Little  Village, 
which  was  a  mile,  or  move,  nearer  than  the  fort.]  It  takes  its 
name  from  its  situation,  being  built  under  a  rock  that  runs 
parallel  with  the  river  Mississippi  at  a  league  distance,  for  forty 
miles  up.  Here  is  a  company  of  militia,  the  Captain  of  which 
regulates  the  police  of  the  village." 

Saint  Phillippe  is  a  small  village  about  five  miles  from  Fort 
Chartres,  on  the  road  to  Kaoquias.  There  are  about  sixteen 

*  An  arpent  is  85-lOOths  of  an  English  acre. — EDITOR. 


692  Appendix. 

houses  and  a  small  church  standing;  all  of  the  inhabitants, 
except  the  Captain  of  the  militia,  deserted  it  1765,  and  went 
to  the  French  side,  [Missouri.]  The  Captain  of  the  militia 
has  about  twenty  slaves,  a  good  stock  of  cattle,  and  a  water- 
mill  for  corn  and  planks.  This  village  stands  in  a  very  tine 
meadow,  about  one  mile  from  the  Mississippi." 

Next  follows  a  description  of  Cahokia,  or,  in  the  orthogra- 
phy of  the  time,  "  Kaoquias,"  which  we  give  entire.  It  will 
be  kept  in  mind  that  Captain  Pitman  was  officially  employed 
in  surveying  all  the  forts,  villages  and  improvements  to  be 
found  in  the  English  territories  on  the  Mississippi  and  Gulph 
of  Mexico ;  that  he  was  engaged  several  years  in  this  work 
by  personal  observation,  and  that  the  work  from  which  these 
extracts  are  made  is  an  official  document  of  great  value 
as  filling  up  a  chasm  in  the  history  of  Illinois,  for  which  no 
other  correct  sources  of  information  are  to  be  found. 

"  The  village  of  Saint  Famille  de  Kaoquias,"  (so  Pitman 
writes,)  "is  generally  reckoned  fifteen  leagues  from  Fort  Char- 
tres,  and  six  leagues  below  the  mouth  of  the  Missoury.  It 
stands  near  the  side  of  the  Mississippi,  and  is  marked  from 
the  river  by  an  Island  of  two  leagues  long.  [See  Annals,  p. 
122.]  The  village  is  opposite  the  centre  of  this  Island  ;  it  is 
long  and  straggling,  being  three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  one 
end  to  the  other.  It  contains  forty-five  dwelling-houses,  and 
a  church  near  its  centre.  The  situation  is  not  well  chosen  ; 
as  in  the  floods  it  is  generally  overflowed  two  or  three  feet. — 
This  was  the  first  settlement  on  the  Mississippi.  The  land 
was  purchased  of  the  savages  by  a  few  Canadians,  some  of 
whom  married  women  of  the  Kaoquias  nation,  and  others 
brought  wives  from  Canada,  and  then  resided  there,  leaving 
their  children  to  succeed  them. 

"  The  inhabitants  of  this  place  depend  more  on  hunting, 
and  their  Indian  trade,  than  on  agriculture,  as  they  scarcely 
raise  corn  enough  for  their  own  consumption ;  they  have  a 
great  plenty  of  poultry  and  good  stocks  of  horned  cattle. 

"  The  mission  of  St.  Sulpice  had  a  very  fine  plantation 
here,  and  an  excellent  house  built  on  it.  They  sold  this  es- 
tate and  a  very  good  mill  for  corn  and  planks,  to  a  French- 
man who  chose  to  remain  under  the  English  government. — 
They  also  disposed  of  thirty  negroes  and  a  good  stock  of  cat- 
tle to  different  people  in  the  country,  and  returned  to  France 
in  1764.  What  is  called  the  fort,  is  a  small  house  standing 
in  the  centre  of  the  village.  It  differs  nothing  from  the  other 
houses,  except  in  being  one  of  the  poorest.  It  was  formerly 
enclosed  with  high  pallisades,  but  these  were  torn  down  and 
burnt.  Indeed,  a  fort  at  this  place  could  be  of  but  little  use. 


British  Authority  in   Illinois.  693 

In  the  language  of  Captain  Pitman,  we  have  given  a  full 
and  accurate  description  of  the  settlements  in  Illinois,  at  the 
period  it  passed  from  the  dominion  of  France  to  that  of  Great 
Britain.  The  population  of  all  classes,  other  than  the  abori>- 
gines,  could  not  have  exceeded  three  thousand  persons.  About 
one-third  of  this  number  left  the  country.  The  missionaries, 
with  their  attendants,  returned  to  France.  Many  families  di- 
rected their  course  to  the  vicinity  of  New  Orleans.  A  still 
larger  number  crossed  the  river  to  Ste.  Genevieve,  St.  Louis 
and  St.  Charles.  Not  more  than  two  thousand  French,  Eng- 
lish and  negroes  remained.  The  increase  during  British  rule 
did  not  exceed  the  number  who  retreated.  The  cession  took 
place  in  1763,  but  it  remained  in  the  possession  of  the  French 
until  the  year  1765.  M.  St.  Ange  de  Belle  Rive  was  com- 
mandant at  Fort  Chartres,  and  Lieutenant  Governor  of  the 
district  of  Illinois.  He  made  some  wise  and  salutary  regula- 
tions about  titles  to  lands,  and  on  the  arrival  of  Captain  Stir- 
ling, of  the  Royal  Highlanders,  to  assume,  in  the  name  of  His 
Britannic  Majesty,  the  government  of  the  country,  St.  Ange 
retired  to  St.  Louis,  and  there  exercised  the  functions  of  com- 
mandant, much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  people,  until  Novem- 
ber, 1770,  when  his  authority  was  superceded  by  Piernas,  com- 
mandant under  the  Spanish  government. 

At  the  period  of  the  change  of  government  in  Illinois,  Gen- 
eral Gage  was  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  King's  troops  in 
North  America.  Captain  Stirling  brought  to  the  country  the 
following  proclamation  of  Governor  Gage  : — 

"Whereas,  by  the  peace  concluded  at  Paris,  the  10th  day  of 
February,  1763,  the  country  of  Illinois  has  been  ceded  to  his 
Britannic  Majesty,  and  the  taking  possession  of  the  said  coun- 
try of  the  Illinois,  by  the  troops  of  his  majesty,  though  delayed, 
has  been  determined  upon;  we  have  found  it  good  to  make 
known  to  the  inhabitants — 

That  his  majesty  grants  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  Illinois, 
the  liberty  of  the  catholic  religion,  as  has  already  been  granted 
to  his  subjects  in  Canada.  He  has  consequently  given  the 
most  precise  and  effective  orders,  to  the  end,  that  his  new 
Roman  Cathdlic  subjects  of  the  Illinois  may  exercise  the  wor- 
ship of  their  religion,  according  to  the  rites  of  the  Romish 
church,  in  the  same  manner  as  in  Canada. 

"That  his  majesty,  moreover,  agrees  that  the  French  inhabi- 
tants or  others,  who  have  been  subjects  of  the  most  Christian 
king,  (the  king  of  France,)  may  retire  in  full  safety  and  free- 


694  Appendix. 

dom  wherever  they  please,  even  to  New  Orleans,  or  any 
part  of  Louisiana  ;  although  it  should  happen  that  the  Span- 
iards take  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  his  Catholic  majesty, 
(the  king  of  Spain,)  and  they  may  sell  their  estates,  provided 
it  be  to  subjects  of  his  majesty,  and  transport  their  effects  as 
well  as  their  persons,  without  restraint  upon  their  emigration, 
under  any  pretence  whatever,  except  in  consequence  of  debts, 
or  of  criminal  processes. 

"That  those  who  choose  to  retain  their  lands  and  become 
subjects  of  his  majesty,  shall  enjoy  the  same  rights  and  privi- 
leges, the  same  security  for  their  persons  and  effects,  and  the 
liberty  of  trade,  as  the  old  subjects  of  the  king. 

"That  they  are  commanded  by  these  presents,  to  take  the 
oath  of  fidelity  and  obedience  to  his  majesty,  in  presence  of 
Sieur  Stirling,  captain  of  the  Highland  regiment,  the  bearer 
hereof,  and  furnished  with  our  full  powers  for  this  purpose. 

"That  we  recommend  forcibly  to  the  inhabitants,  to  conduct 
themselves  like  good  and  faithful  subjects,  avoiding,  by  a  wise 
and  prudent  demeanor,  all  causes  of  complaint  against  them. 

"That  they  act  in  concert  with  his  majesty's  officers,  so  that 
his  troops  may  take  possession  of  all  the  forts,  and  order  be 
kept  in  the  country.  By  this  means  alone  they  will  spare  his 
majesty  the  necessity  of  recurring  to  force  of  arms,  and  will 
find  themselves  saved  from  the  scourge  of  a  bloody  war,  and 
of  all  the  evils  which  the  march  of  an  army  into  their  country 
would  draw  after  it. 

"We  direct  that  those  presents  be  read,  published,  and 
posted  up  in  the  usual  places. 

"Done  and  given  at  head-quarters,  New  York — signed  with 
our  hands — sealed  with  our  seal  at  arms,  and  counter- 
signed by  our  Secretary,  this  30th  of  December,  1764. 

"THOMAS  GAGE.* 

"By  his  Excellency,  G.  MARTURIN." 

Captain  Stirling  remained  but  a  short  time  in  Illinois.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Major  Farmer,  of  whose  administration  lit- 
tle is  known.  Next  in  office  was  Colonel  Reed,  who  made 
himself  conspicuous  by  a  series  of  military  oppressions,  of 
which  complaints  were  made  without  redress.  He  became 
odiously  unpopular  and  left  the  colony. 

The  next  in  command  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  Wilkins, 
who  arrived  at  Kaskaskia  on  the  6th  of  September,  1768.  On 
the  21st  of  November  following,  he  issued  a  proclamation, 
stating  that  he  had  received  orders  from  Gen.  Gage  to  estab- 
lish a  court  of  justice  in  Illinois,  for  settling  all  disputes  and 

*  Brown's  Illinois,  pp.  212,  213. 


British  Authority  in  Illinois.  695 

controversies  between  man  and  man,  and  all  claims  in  relation 
to  property,  both  real  and  personal. 

As  military  commandant,  Colonel  Wilkins  appointed  seven 
judges,  who  met  and  held  their  first  court  at  Fort  Chartres, 
December  6th,  1768.  Courts  were  then  held  once  in  each 
month. 

Even  this  system,  though  greatly  preferable  to  a  military 
tribunal,  was  far  from  satisfying  the  claims  of  the  people. 
They  insisted  on  a  trial  by  a  jury,  which  being  denied  them, 
the  court  became  unpopular. 

In  1772,  after  the  flood  already  noticed,  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment was  removed  to  Kaskaskia. 

We  know  not  at  what  period  Colonel  Wilkins  left  the 
country,  nor  whether  any  other  British  officer  succeeded  him. 
When  taken  possession  of  by  Colonel  Clark,  in  1778,  M. 
Rochblave,  a  Frenchman,  was  commandant.  [See  Annals, 
p.  195.] 


CHAPTER  II. 
SKETCHES  OF  ILLINOIS  HISTORY. 

Sketches  of  Indian  History  in   Illinois — Progress  of  Illinois  from  1800  to  1812 — Inci- 
dents of  the  War  in  Illinois. 

SECTION  FIRST. 
Events  from   1777   to  1800. 

A  communication  from  Hon.  John  Reynolds,  of  Belleville, 
Illinois,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  several  items  of  the 
history  of  that  State,  gives  the  following  statement,  dated 
April  7th,  1850. 

"Dear  Sir: — Mr.  N.  Boismenue,  a  native  of  Cahokia,  gave 
me  the  following  facts,  which  he  received  from  his  father  and 
other  citizens  of  Cahokia.  They  are  connected  with  the,  revo- 
lution, and  date  one  or  two  years  before  Colonel  Clark  con- 
quered the  country.  You  may  rest  assured  as  to  the  truth  of 
the  same." 

As  we  have  personal  knowledge  of  Mr.  Boismenue,  and  his 
character  for  veracity  and  a  retentive  memory,  and  having 
before  heard  of  such  an  enterprize,  we  have  no  hesitation  in 
giving  it  a  place,  as  an  incident  connected  with  Illinois. 


696  Appendix. 

Evidence  has  already  been  given,  that  the  French  popula- 
lation  disliked  the  British  government,  and  only  wanted  a 
favorable  opportunity  to  throw  off  the  yoke. 

Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  of  the  quiet,  peaceful,  unambitious  character  of  the 
many,  there  was  restlessness  and  a  daring  spirit  among  the 
few.  Of  this  class  was  the  party  described  by  Mr.  Boismenue. 
Whether  their  motives  were  purely  patriotic  or  of  a  mixed 
character,  cannot  now  be  known. 

We  give  the  facts  substantially  as  communicated  by  our 
correspondent. 

There  was  at  Cahokia,  a  restless,  adventurous,  daring 
man  by  the  name  of  Thomas  Brady,  or  as  he  was  familiarly 
called,  "Tom  Brady;"  a  native  of  Pennsylvania,  who,  by  hunt- 
ing, or  in  some  other  pursuit,  found  himself  a  resident  of  Ca- 
hokia. He  raised  a  company  of  sixteen  resolute  persons,  all 
of  (Jahokia  and  the  adjacent  village  of  Prairie  du  Pont,  of 
which  the  father  of  Mr.  Boismenue,  the  informant,  was  one. 
After  becoming  organized  for  an  expedition,  the  party  moved 
through  the  prairies  to  a  place  called  the  "Cow  Pens,"  on  the 
river  St.  Joseph,  in  the  south-western  part  of  Michigan.  Here 
was  a  trading-post  and  fort  originally  established  by  [the 
French,  but  since  the  transfer  of  the  country,  had  been  occu- 
pied by  the  British  by  a  small  force,  as  a  protection  of  their 
traders  from  the  Indians.  In  1777,  it  consisted  of  twenty-one 
men. 

Brady,  with  his  little  band  of  volunteers,  left  Cahokia  about 
the  1st  of  October,  1777,  and  made  their  way  to  the  fort, 
which  they  captured  in  the  night,  without  loss  on  either  side, 
except  a  negro.  This  person  was  a  slave  from  some  of  the 
colonies  on  the  Mississippi,  who,  in  attempting  to  escape,  was 
shot.  One  object  of  this  expedition,  probably,  was  the  Bri- 
tish goods  in  the  fort. 

The  company  started  back  as  far  as  the  Calumet,  a  stream 
on  the  border  of  Indiana,  south-east  of  Chicago,  when  they 
were  overtaken  by  a  party  of  British,  Canadians  and  Indians, 
about  three  hundred  in  number,  who  attacked  the  Cahokians 
and  forced  them  to  surrender.  Two  of  Brady's  party  were 
killed,  two  wounded,  one  escaped,  and  twelve  were  made 
prisoners.  These  remained  prisoners  in  Canada  two  years, 
except  Brady,  who  made  his  escape,  and  returned  to  Illinois 


Sketches  of  Illinois  History.  697 

by  way  of  Pennsylvania.     M.  Boismenue,  senior,  was  one  of 
the  wounded  men. 

The  next  spring  a  Frenchman,  by  the  name  of  Paulette 
Maize,  a  daring  fellow,  raised  about  300  volunteers  from  Ca- 
hokia,  St.  Louis,  and  other  French  villages,  to  re-capture  the 
fort  on  the  river  St.  Joseph.  This  campaign  was  by  land, 
across  the  prairies  in  the  spring  of  1778.  It  was  successful ; 
the  fort  was  re-taken,  and  the  peltries  and  goods  became  the 
spoil  of  the  victors.  The  wounded  men  returned  home  with 
Maize.  One  gave  out;  they  had  no  horses;  and  he  was  dis- 
patched by  the  leader,  to  prevent  the  company  being  detained 
on  their  retreat,  lest  the  same  disaster  should  befal  them  as 
happened  to  Brady,  and  his  company.  Some  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  most  ancient  and  respectable  families  in  Cahokia, 
were  in  this  expedition. 

Thomas  Brady  became  the  Sheriff  of  the  county  of  St. 
Clair,  after  its  organization  by  the  Governor  of  the  North- 
Western  territory  in  1790.  He  was  regarded  as  a  trust- worthy 
citizen  and  died  at  Cahokia  many  years  since.  After  the  con- 
quest of  Illinois,  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  the  new  county 
formed  by  Virginia,  [Annals,  p.  200,]  took  the  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  that  State. 

In  the  spring  of  1779,  Colonel  John  Todd,  bearing  the  com- 
mission of  County  Lieutenant  for  the  county  of  Illinois,  visi- 
ted Post  Vincennes  and  Kaskaskia,  for  the  purpose  of  organ- 
izing a  temporary  government,  according  to  the  provisions  of 
the  act  of  the  General  Assembly  of  Virginia,  of  October 
1778.  On  the  15th  of  June,  Mr.  Todd  issued  the  following 
proclamation.* 

"  Illinois  [county,~\  to-wit: — Whereas,  from  the  fertility  and 
beautiful  situation  of  the  lands  bordering  upon  the  Mississip- 
pi, Ohio,  Illinois,  and  Wabash  rivers,  the  taking  up  the  usual 
quantity  of  land  heretofore  allowed  for  a  settlement  by  the 
government  of  Virginia,  would  injure  both  the  strength  and 
commerce  of  this  country — I  do,  therefore,  issue  this  procla- 
mation, strictly  enjoining  all  persons  whatsoever  from  making 
any  new  settlements  upon  the  flat  lands  of  the  said  rivers,  or 
within  one  league  of  said  lands,  unless  in  manner  and  form  of 
settlements  as  heretofore  made  by  the  French  inhabitants, 
until  further  orders  herein  given.  And  in  order  that  all  the 
claims  to  lands  in  said  county  may  be  fully  known,  and  some 

*  Dillon's  Indiana,  i.  186. 

44 


698  Appendix. 

method  provided  for  perpetuating  by  record  the  just  claims, 
every  inhabitant  is  required,  as  soon  as  conveniently  may  be, 
to  lay  before  the  person  in  each  district  appointed  for  that  pur- 
pose, a  memorandum  of  his  or  her  land,  with  copies  of  all 
their  vouchers ;  and  where  vouchers  have  never  been  given, 
or  are  lost,  such  depositions  or  certificates  as  will  tend  to  sup- 
port their  claims; — the  memorandum  to  mention  the  quantity 
of  land,  to  whom  originally  granted,  and  when — deducing  the 
title  through  the  various  occupants  to  the  present  possessor. 

The  number  of  adventurers  who  will  shortly  overrun  this 
country  renders  the  above  method  necessary  as  well  to  ascer- 
tain the  vacant  lands  as  to  guard  against  trespasses  which  will 
probably  be  committed  on  lands  not  of  record. 

Given  under  my  hand  and  seal  at  Kaskaskia,  the  16th  of 
June,  in  the  3d  year  of  the  Commonwealth,  1779. 

JOHN  TODD,Jr." 

For  the  preservation  of  peace  and  the  administration  of 
justice,  a  court  of  civil  and  criminal  jurisdiction  was,  institu- 
ted at  Post  Vincennes,  in  June,  1779.  The  court  was  com- 
posed of  several  magistrates.  Colonel  J.  M.  P.  Legras,  hav- 
ing been  appointed  commandant  of  the  town,  acted  as  presi- 
dent of  the  court,  and  in  some  cases  exercised  a  controlling 
influence  over  its  proceedings.  Adopting  in  some  measure 
the  usages  and  customs  of  the  early  French  commandants,  the 
magistrates  of  the  Court  of  Post  Vincennes  began  to  grant  or 
concede  tracts  of  land  to  the  French  and  American  inhabit- 
ants of  the  town,  and  to  different  civil  and  military  officers  of 
the  country.  Indeed  it  appears  that  the  court  assumed  the 
power  of  granting  lands  to  every  applicant.  Before  the  year 
1783,  about  twenty-six  thousand  acres  of  land  were  granted 
to  different  individuals.  From  1783  to  1787,  when  the  prac- 
tice was  stopped  by  General  Harmar,  the  grants  amounted 
to  twenty-two  thousand  acres.*  They  were  given  in  tracts 
varying  in  quantities  from  four  hundred  acres  to  the  size  of  a 
house  lot.  Besides  these  small  concessions  there  were  some 
grants  of  tracts  several  leagues  square.  The  commandant 
and  magistrates,  after  having  exercised  this  power  for  some 
time,  began  to  believe  that  they  had  the  right  to  dispose  of 
all  that  large  tract  of  land  which,  in  1742,  had  been  granted 
by  the  Piankeshaw  Indians,  for  the  use  of  the  French  inhabi- 
tants of  Post  Vincennes.  "  Accordingly  an  arrangement  was 
made,  by  which  the  whole  country  to  which  the  Indian  title 
was  supposed  to  be  extinguished,  was  divided  between  the 
members  of  the  court,  and  orders  to  that  effect  entered  on 
their  journal :  each  member  absenting  himself  from  the  court 
on  the  day  that  the  order  was  to  be  made  in  his  favor,  so  that 
it  might  appear  to  be  the  act  of  his  fellows  only  .J 

Colonel  Todd  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Blue  Licks,  [An- 

\  Letter  written  in  1790,  from  Winthrop  Sargent  to  George  Washington. 


Incidents  of  Illinois,  1785—1800.  699 

nals,  p.  272,]  where  he  commanded  the  Kentuckians.  He  had 
been  to  Virginia  on  business  pertaining  to  Illinois,  returning 
through  Kentucky,  and  not  having  resigned  his  command  in 
the  militia  of  that  district,  he  led  the  troops  to  the  battle  field. 
Had  he  lived  he  would  have  become  a  resident  of  Illinois. — 
His  administration  in  the  new  territory  was  patriotic  and 
popular. 

The  successor  of  Colonel  Todd  was  a  French  gentleman 
by  the  name  of  Timothy  de  Monbrun,  whose  official  signa- 
ture is  found  to  land  grants  and  other  documents  in  the  ar- 
chives of  Randolph  county.  His  name  appears  at  the  head  of 
a  trading  company  at  the  French  Licks,  (Nashville,  Tenn.)  be- 
fore the  revolutionary  war.  How  long  he  administered  the 
affairs  of  the  country  we  know  not,  and  whether  any  other 
person  was  his  successor  is  equally  doubtful.  The  reader  will 
recollect  that  in  1784,  Virginia  ceded  the  North-Western  ter- 
ritory to  the  Continental  Congress,  and  that  the  territory  of 
Illinois  remained  without  an  organized  government  until  1790 
[Annals,  p.  576.] 

The  next  series  of  events  demanding  attention,  are  the 
first  American  settlements  in  Illinois,  and  their  difficulties 
with  the  Indians. 

The  military  expedition  of  General  George  Rogers  Clark, 
in  1788,  and  the  subjection  of  the  forts  of  St.  Vincent,  Kas- 
kaskia,  and  Cahokia,  was  the  occasion  of  making  known 
the  fertile  plains  of  Illinois  to  the  people  of  the  Atlantic 
States,  and  exciting  a  spirit  of  emigration  to  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi.  Some  who  accompanied  him  in  that  expedition, 
shortly  after  returned  and  took  possession  of  the  conquered 
country. 

At  the  period  of  which  we  speak,  with  the  exception  of  the 
old  French  villages  of  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  Prairie  du  Rocher, 
Fort  Chartres,  Village  a  Cote,  Prairie  du  Pont,  and  a  few 
families  scattered  along  the  Wabash  and  Illinois  rivers,  Illi- 
nois was  the  abode  of  the  untamed  savage. 

Tradition  tells  us  of  many  a  hard-fought  battle  between  the 
original  owners  of  the  country  and  these  intruders.  Battle- 
ground creek  is  well  known,  on  the  road  from  Kaskaskia  to 
Shawneetown,  twenty-five  miles  from  the  former  place,  where 
the  Kaskaskias  and  their  allies  were  dreadfully  slaughtered  by 
the  united  forces  of  the  Kickapoos  and  Pottawatomies. 


700  Appendix 

Of  the  Indians,  the  Kickapoos  were  the  most  formidable  and 
most  dangerous  neighbors  to  the  whites,  and  for  a  number  of 
years  kept  the  American  settlements  in  continual  alarm.  At 
first,  they  appeared  friendly;  but  from  1786  to  1796,  a  period 
of  ten  years, the  settlements  were  in  a  continual  state  of  alarm 
from  these  and  other  Indians. 

The  first  settlement  formed  by  emigrants  from  the  United 
States,  was  made  near  Bellefontaine,  Monroe  county,  in  1781, 
by  James  Moore,  whose  numerous  descendants  now  reside  in 
the  same  settlement.  Mr.  Moore  was  a  native  of  Maryland, 
but  came  to  Illinois  from  Western  Virginia,  with  his  family,  in 
company  with  James  Garrison,  Robert  Kidd,  Shadrach  Bond, 
sen.,  and  Larkin  Rutherford.  They  passed  through  the  wilder- 
ness of  the  Ohio  river,  where  they  took  water,  came  down 
the  river,  and  up  the  Mississippi  to  Kaskaskia.  Mr.  Moore, 
and  a  portion  of  his  party,  planted  themselves  on  the  hills  near 
Bellefontaine,  and  Garrison,  Bond,  and  the  rest,  settled  in  the 
American  bottom,  near  Harrisonville.  This  station  became 
afterwards  known  by  the  name  of  the  block-house  fort. 

Nothing  deserving  special  notice  occurred  amongst  this  lit- 
tle band  of  pioneers,  till  1785,  when  they  were  joined  by  Jos. 
Ogle,  Jos.  Worley,  and  James  Andrews,  with  large  families, 
from  Virginia.  In  1786,  the  settlements  were  strengthened  by 
the  arrival  of  James  Lemen,  George  Atcherson,  and  David 
Waddell,  with  their  families,  and  several  others.  The  same 
year,  the  Kickapoo  Indians  commenced  their  course  of  preda- 
tory warfare.  A  single  murder,  that  of  James  Flannery,  had 
been  committed  in  1783,  while  on  a  hunting  excursion,  but  it 
was  not  regarded  as  an  act  of  war. 

But  in  1786,  they  attacked  the  settlement,  killed  James  An- 
drews, his  wife  and  daughter,  James  White  and  Samuel  Mc- 
Clure,  and  took  two  girls,  daughters  of  Andrews,  prisoners. 
One  of  these  died  with  the  Indians,  the  other  was  ransomed 
by  the  French  traders.  She  is  now  alive,  the  mother  of  a 
large  family,  and  resides  in  St.  Clair  county.  The  Indians 
had  previously  threatened  the  settlement,  and  the  people  had 
built  and  entered  a  block-house  ;  but  this  family  was  out  and 
defenceless. 

1787.  Early  in  this  year,  five  families  near  Bellefontaine, 
united  and  built  a  block-house,  surrounded  it  with  palisades, 
in  which  their  families  resided.  While  laboring  in  the  corn- 


Incidents  of  Illinois,  1785—1800  701 

field,  they  were  obliged  to  carry  their  rifles,  and  often  at  night 
had  to  keep  guard.  Under  these  embarrassments,  and  in  daily 
alarm,  they  cultivated  their  corn-fields. 

1788.  This  year  the  war  assumed  a  more  threatening  as- 
pect.    Early  in  the  spring,  William  Biggs  was  taken  prisoner. 
While  himself,  John  Vallis,  and  Joseph  and  Benjamin  Ogle, 
were  passing  from  the  station  on  the  hills  to  the  Block-house 
fort  in  the  bottom,  they  were  attacked  by  the  Indians.     Biggs 
and  Vallis  were  a  few  rods  in  advance  of  the  party.    Vallis 
was  killed  and  Biggs  taken  prisoner.     The  others  escaped  un- 
hurt.    Biggs  was  taken  through  the  prairies  to  the  Kickapoo 
towns  on  the  Wabash,  from  whence  he  was  finally  liberated 
by  means  of  the  French  traders.     The  Indians  treated  him 
well,  offered  him  the  daughter  of  a  brave  for  a  wife,  and  pro- 
posed to  adopt  him  into  their  tribe.     He  afterwards  became 
a  resident  of  St.   Clair  county,  was  a  member  of  the  territo- 
rial legislature,  judge  of  the  county  court,  and  wrote  and 
published  a  narrative  of  his  captivity  among  the  Indians. 

On  the  10th  day  of  December,  in  the  same  year,  James 
Garrison  and  Benjamin  Ogle,  while  hauling  hay  from  the  bot- 
tom, were  attacked  by  two  Indians ;  Ogle  was  shot  in  the 
shoulder,  where  the  ball  remained  ;  Garrison  sprang  from  the 
load  and  escaped  into  the  woods.  The  horses  taking  fright, 
carried  Ogle  safe  to  the  settlements.  In  stacking  the  same 
hay,  Samuel  Garrison  and  a  Mr.  Riddick  w,ere  killed  and 
scalped. 

1789.  This  was  a  period  of  considerable  mischief.     Three 
boys   were   attacked   by   six   Indians,  a  few  yards  from  the 
block-house,  one  of  which,  David  Waddel,  was  struck  with  a 
tomahawk  in  three  places,   scalped,  and  yet  recovered  ;  the 
others  escaped  unhurt.     A  short  time  previous,  James  Turner, 
a  young  man,  was  killed  on  the  American  bottom.     Two  men 
were  afterwards  killed  and  scalped  while  on  their  way  to  St. 
Louis.    In  another  instance,  two  men  were  attacked  on  a  load 
of  hay;  one  was  killed  outright,  the  other  was  scalped,  but 
recovered.     The  same  year  John  Ferrel  was  killed,  and  John 
Dempsey  was  scalped  and  made  his  escape.     The  Indians 
frequently  stole  the  horses  and  killed  the  cattle  of  the  settlers. 

1790.  The  embarrassments  of  these  frontier  people  greatly 
increased,  and  they  lived  in  continual  alarm.     In  the  winter, 
a  party  of  Osage  Indians,  who  had  not  molested  them  hitherto, 


702  Appendix. 

came  across  the  Mississippi,  stole  a  number  of  horses,  and  at- 
tempted to  recross  the  river.     The   Americans  followed  and 
fired  upon  them.    James  Worley,  an  old  settler,  having  got  in 
advance  of  his  party,  was  shot,  scalped,  and  his  head  cut  off 
and  left  on  the  sand-bar.     The  same  year,  James  Smith,  a 
Baptist  preacher  from  Kentucky,  while  on  a  visit  to  these 
frontiers,  was  taken  prisoner  by  a  party  of  Kickapoos.     On 
the  19th  May,  in  company  with  Mrs.  Huff  and  a  Frenchman, 
he  was  proceeding  from  the  block-house  to  a  settlement  then 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Little  Village.     The  Kickapoos 
fired  upon  them  from  an  ambuscade  near  Bellefontaine,  killed 
the   Frenchman's  horse,  sprang   upon  the  woman  and  her 
child,  whom  they   despatched  with  a  tomahawk,  and  took 
Smith.     His  horse  being  shot,  he  attempted  to  flee  on  foot; 
and  having  some  valuable  papers  in  his  saddle-bags,  he  threw 
them  into  a  thicket,  where  they  were  found  next  day  by  his 
friends.     Having  retreated  a  few  yards  down  the  hill,  he  fell 
on  his  knees  in  prayer  for  the  poor  woman  they  were  butcher- 
ing, and  who  had  been  seriously  impressed,  for  some  days, 
about  religion.     The   Frenchman    escaped   on   foot   in   the 
thickets.     The  Indians  soon  had  possession  of  Smith,  loaded 
him  with  packs  of  plunder  which  they  had  collected,  and  took 
up  their  line  of  march  through  the  prairies.     Smith  was  a 
large,  heavy  man,  and  soon  became  tired  under  his  heavy  load, 
and  with  the  hot  sun.     Several  consultations  were  held  by  the 
Indians,  how  to  dispose  of  their  prisoner.     Some  were  for 
despatching  him  outright,  being  fearful  the  whites  would  fol- 
low them  from  the  settlement,  and  frequently  pointing  their 
guns  at  his  breast.     Knowing  well  the  Indian  character,  he 
would  bare  his  breast  as  if  in  defiance,  and  point  upwards  to 
signify  the  Great  Spirit  was  his  protector.     Seeing  him  in  the 
attitude  of  prayer,  and  hearing  him  sing  hymns  on  his  march, 
which  he  did  to  relieve  his  own  mind  from  despondency,  they 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was  a  'great  medicine,'  holding 
daily  intercourse  with  the  Good  Spirit,  and  must  not  be  put  to 
death.     After  this,  they  took  off  his  burdens  and  treated  him 
kindly.     They  took  him  to  the  Kickapoo  towns  on  the  Wabash, 
from  whence,  in  a  few  months,  he  obtained  his  deliverance, 
the  inhabitants  of  New    Design   paying   one  hundred   and 
seventy  dollars  for  his  ransom. 

1791.     In  the  spring  of  this  year,  the  Indians  again  com- 


Incidents  of  Illinois,  1785—1800.  703 

menced  their  depredations  by  stealing  horses.  In  May,  John 
Dempsey  was  attacked,  but  made  his  escape.  A  party  of 
eight  men  followed.  The  Indians  were  just  double  their  num- 
ber. A  severe  running  fight  was  kept  up  for  several  hours, 
and  conducted  with  great  prudence  and  bravery  on  the  part 
of  the  whites.  Each  party  kept  the  trees  for  shelter ;  the  In- 
dians retreating,  and  the  Americans  pursuing,  from  tree  to 
tree  until  night  put  an  end  to  the  conflict.  Five  Indians  were 
killed  without  the  loss  of  a  man  or  of  a  drop  of  blood  on  the 
other  side.  This  party  consisted  of  Capt.  N.  Hull,  who  com- 
manded, Joseph  Ogle,  sen.,  Benjamin  Ogle,  James  Lemen, 
sen.,  J.  Ryan,  William  Bryson,  John  Porter,  andD.  Draper. 

1792.  This  was  a  season   of  comparative  quietness.     No 
Indian  fighting ;  and  the  only  depredations  committed,  were 
in  stealing  a  few  horses. 

1793.  This  was  a  period  of  contention  and  alarm.     The 
little  settlements  were  strengthened  this  year  by  the  addition 
of  a  band  of  emigrants  from  Kentucky;  amongst  which  was 
the  family  of  Whiteside. 

In  February,  an  Indian  in  ambuscade,  wounded  Joel  White- 
side,  and  was  followed  by  John  Moore,  Andrew  Kinney,  Thos. 
Todd,  and  others,  killed  and  scalped.  Soon  after,  a  party  of 
Kickapoos,  supposed  to  have  been  headed  by  the  celebrated 
war-chief,  Old  Pecan,  made  a  predatory  excursion  into  the 
American  bottom, near  the  present  residence  of  S.  W.  Miles, 
in  Monroe  county,  and  stole  nine  horses  from  the  citizens.  A 
number  of  citizens  rallied  and  commenced  pursuit;  but  many 
having  started  without  preparing  for  long  absence,  and  being 
apprehensive  that  an  expedition  into  the  Indian  country 
would  be  attended  with  much  danger,  all  returned  but  eight 
men.  This  little  band  consisted  of  Samuel  Judy,  John  White- 
side,  William  L.  Whiteside,  Uel  Whiteside,  William  Harring- 
ton, John  Dempsey,  and  John  Porter,  with  William  Whiteside, 
a  man  of  great  prudence  and  unquestionable  bravery  in  In- 
dian warfare,  whom  they  chose  commander. 

They  passed  on  the  trail  near  the  present  site  of  Belleville? 
towards  the  Indian  camps  on  Shoal  creek,  where  they  found 
three  of  the  stolen  horses  grazing,  which  they  secured.  The 
party  then,  small  as  it  was,  divided  into  two  parts  of  four  men 
each,  and  approached  the  Indian  camps  from  opposite  sides. 
The  signal  for  attack  was  the  discharge  of  the  captain's  gun. 


704  Appendix. 

One  Indian,  a  son  of  Old  Pecan,  was  killed,  another  mor- 
tally, and  others  slightly  wounded,  as  the  Indians  fled,  leaving 
their  guns.  Such  a  display  of  courage  by  the  whites,  and  be- 
ing attacked  on  two  sides  at  once,  made  the  Indians  believe 
there  was  a  large  force,  and  the  old  chief  approached  the  party 
and  begged  for  quarter.  But  when  he  discovered  his  foes  to 
be  an  insignificant  number,  and  his  own  party  numerous,  he 
called  aloud  to  his  braves  to  return  and  retrieve  their  honor. 
His  own  gun  he  surrendered  to  the  whites,  but  now  he  seized 
the  gun  of  the  captain,  and  exerted  all  his  force  to  wrest  it 
from  him.  Captain  Whiteside  was  a  powerful  man,  and  a 
stranger  to  fear ;  but  he  compelled  the  Indian  to  retire,  deem- 
ing it  dishonorable  to  destroy  an  unarmed  man,  who  had  pre- 
viously surrendered. 

This  intrepid  band  was  now  in  the  heart  of  the  Indian 
country,  where  hundreds  of  warriors  could  be  raised  in  a  few 
hours'  time.  In  this  critical  situation,  Captain  Whiteside,  not 
less  distinguished  for  prudence  than  bravery,  did  not  long 
hesitate.  With  the  horses  they  had  recovered,  they  imme- 
diately started  for  home,  without  loss  of  time  in  hunting  the 
remainder.  They  travelled  night  and  day,  without  eating  or 
sleeping,  till  they  reached  in  safety  Whiteside's  station,  in 
Monroe  county.  On  the  same  night,  Old  Pecan,  with  seventy 
warriors,  arrived  in  the  vicinity  of  Cahokia.  From  that  time  the 
very  name  of  Whiteside  struck  terror  amongst  the  Kickapoos. 

Hazardous  and  daring  as  this  expedition  was,  it  met  with 
great  disapprobation  from  many  of  the  settlers.  Some  alleged 
that  Old  Pecan  was  decidedly  friendly  to  the  whites ;  that 
another  party  had  stolen  the  horses ;  that  the  attack  upon  his 
camp  was  clandestine  and  wanton  ;  and  that  it  was  the  cause 
of  much  subsequent  mischief.  These  nice  points  of  casuistry 
are  difficult  to  be  settled  at  this  period.  It  has  long  been 
known,  that  one  portion  of  a  nation  or  tribe  will  be  on  the 
war-path,  while  another  party  will  pretend  to  be  peaceable. 
Hence  it  has  been  found  necessary  to  hold  the  tribe  responsible 
for  the  conduct  of  its  party. 

1794.  The  Indians,  in  revenge  of  the  attack  just  narrated, 
shot  Thomas  Whiteside,  a  young  man,  near  the  'station,' 
tomahawked  a  son  of  William  Whiteside,  so  that  he  died,  all 
in  revenge  for  the  death  of  Old  Pecan's  son.  In  February  of 
the  same  year,  the  Indians  killed  Mr.  Huff,  one  of  the  early 
settlers,  while  on  his  way  to  Kaskaskia. 


Incidents  of  Illinois,  1785—1800.  705 

1795.  Two  men  at  one  time,  and  some  French  negroes  at 
another  time,  were  killed  on  the  American  bottom,  and  some 
prisoners  taken.  The  same  year,  the  family  of  Mr.  McMahan 
was  killed  and  himself  and  daughters  taken  prisoners.  This 
man  lived  in  the  outskirts  of  the  settlement.  Four  Indians 
attacked  his  house  in  day-light,  killed  his  wife  and  four  chil- 
dren before  his  eyes,  laid  their  bodies  in  a  row  on  the  floor  of 
the  cabin,  took  him  and  his  daughters,  and  marched  for  their 
towns.  On  the  second  night,  Mr.  McMahan,  finding  the  In- 
dians asleep,  put  on  their  moccasins  and  made  his  escape.  He 
arrived  in  the  settlement  just  after  his  neighbors  had  buried 
his  family.  They  had  enclosed  their  bodies  in  rude  coffins, 
and  covered  them  with  earth  as  he  came  in  sight.  He  looked 
upon  the  newly  formed  hillock,  and  raising  his  eyes  to  heaven 
in  pious  resignation,  said,  'they  were  lovely  and  pleasant  in 
their  lives,  and  in  their  death  they  were  not  divided."  His 
daughter,  now  Mrs.  Gaskill,of  Ridge  Prairie,  was  afterwards 
ransomed  by  the  charitable  contributions  of  the  people. 

Not  far  from  this  period,  the  Whitesides,  and  others,  to  the 
number  of  fourteen  persons,  made  an  attack  upon  an  en- 
campment of  Indians,  of  superior  force,  at  the  foot  of  the 
bluffs  west  of  Belleville.  Only  one  Indian  ever  returned  to 
his  nation  to  tell  the  story  of  their  defeat.  The  graves  of  the 
rest  were  to  be  seen,  a  few  years  since,  in  the  border  of  the 
thicket,  near  the  battle  ground.  In  this  skirmish,  Capt.  Wm. 
Whiteside  was  wounded,  as  he  thought,  mortally,  having  re- 
ceived a  shot  in  his  side.  As  he  fell,  he  exhorted  his  sons  to 
fight  valiantly,  not  to  yield  an  inch  of  ground,  nor  let  the  In- 
dians touch  his  body.  Uel  Whiteside,  who  was  shot  in  the 
arm,  and  disabled  from  using  the  rifle,  examined  the  wound, 
and  found  the  ball  had  glanced  along  the  ribs  and  lodged 
against  the  spine.  With  that  presence  of  mind,  which  is 
sometimes  characteristic  of  our  backwoods  hunters,  he  whip- 
ped out  his  knife,  gashed  the  skin,  extracted  the  ball,  and 
holding  it  up,  exultingly  exclaimed,  "  Father,  you  are  not 
dead!"  The  old  man  instantly  jumped  on  his  feet,  and  re- 
newed the  fight,  exclaiming,  come  on,  boys,  I  can  fight  them 
yet!  Such  instances  of  desperate  intrepidity  and  martial  en- 
ergy of  character,  distinguished  the  men  who  defended  the 
frontiers  of  Illinois  in  those  da}^s  of  peril. 

The  subjugation  of  the  Indians  in  the   Miami  country,  by 


706  Appendix. 

General  Wayne,  in  1794,  and  the  treaty  that  grew  out  of  it 
the  following  year,  brought  peace  to  the  borders  of  Illinois, 
and  the  settlers  remained  unmolested  from  these  daily  alarms. 
A  few  horses  were  stolen  from  time  to  time,  and  in  1802,  Jo- 
seph Vanmeter  and  Alexander  Dennis  were  killed  on  the 
American  bottom,  but  no  attack  was  made  upon  the  settle- 
ments. Families  again  took  up  their  abodes  in  the  borders 
of  the  prairies ;  emigrants  from  the  States  clustered  around 
them,  and  the  cultivation  of  the  soil  was  pursued  without  fear 
or  interruption. 

During  most  of  the  period  we  have  gone  over,  these  people 
lived  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  North- Western  territory. 
The  administration  of  civil  government  was  conducted  in  its 
most  simple  form;  the  morals  of  the  people  were  pure,  and 
much  of  rural  simplicity  and  hospitality  was  enjoyed. 

There  was  something  peculiarly  interesting  in  this  primi- 
tive society.  The  grosser  vices  were  unknown.  There  was 
but  very  little  use  for  the  administration  of  either  civil  or  crim- 
inal laws.  Ardent  spirit,  that  outrage  upon  morals,  social 
order,  and  religion,  had  been  introduced  but  in  small  quanti- 
ties ;  thefts  and  other  crimes  were  extremely  rare,  and  fraud 
and  dishonesty  in  dealings,  but  seldom  practised.  The  Moores, 
Ogles,  Lemens,  and  other  families,  were  of  unblemished  mor- 
als, and  were  impelled  by  a  love  of  freedom  to  leave  the  banks 
of  the  Potomac,  in  Virginia,  for  a  residence  on  the  prairies  of 
Illinois.  They  were  opposed  to  slavery,  and  took  up  their 
long  line  of  inarch  for  these  wild  regions,  that  they  and  their 
posterity  might  enjoy,  uninterrupted,  the  advantages  of  a 
country  unembarrassed  with  slavery. 

For  the  first  eight  or  ten  years  of  the  period  I  have  glanced 
over,  the  only  professor  of  religion  in  the  colony  was  a  female, 
who  had  been  a  member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  ;  yet  the 
sabbath  was  observed  with  religious  consecration.  The  peo- 
ple were  accustomed  to  assemble,  sing  hymns,  and  read  a  por- 
tion of  scripture  or  a  sermon.  No  one  ventured  to  offer  a 
prayer. 

In  1778,  James  Smith,  a  Baptist  preacher  from  Kentucky, 
whose  captivity  with  the  Indians  has  been  narrated,  visited 
the  settlement  and  preached  to  the  people.  The  influence  of 
the  divine  spirit  descended,  and  some  were  converted.  This 
was  the  first  protestant  preaching,  and  these  were  the  first 


Incidents  of  Illinois,  1785—1800.  707 

converts,  and  this  the  first  revival  of  religion,  ever  known  on 
the  banks  of  the  "father  of  waters." 

In  1790,  Smith  made  his  first  visit  to  the  country,  preached 
several  times,  and  other  persons  became  anxious  about  their 
souls,  amongst  whom  was  the  woman  who  was  murdered, 
when  he  was  captured.  Owing  to  the  unsettled  state  of  the 
country,  it  was  not  deemed  expedient  to  organize  a  church. — 
Amongst  the  converts  made  under  the  preaching  of  Smith, 
were  Joseph  Ogle  and  some  of  his  children,  James  Lemen, 
sen.,  their  wives  and  others. 

In  1793,  Joseph  Lillard,  a  Methodist  preacher,  made  a  visit 
to  the  country,  and  attended  several  meetings.  Some  of  the 
families  embraced  Methodist  principles.  The  succeeding  year, 
Josiah  Dodge,  a  regular  Baptist  preacher,  originally  from  Con- 
necticut, but  then  from  Kentucky,  visited  Illinois,  and  preach- 
ed the  gospel  with  some  success.  The  next  year  he  returned 
and  baptized  James  Lemen,  sen.,  and  wife,  John  Gibbons  and 
Isaac  Enocks.  This  was  the  first  instance  of  the  ordinance  of 
baptism  being  administered  by  a  protestant  in  these  ends  of 
the  earth.  During  the  same  year,  1796,  elder  David  Badgley 
from  Virginia,  visited  Illinois,  and  organized  the  Baptist 
church  at  New  Design,  which  was  the  first  regularly  organ- 
ized protestant  community. 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  that  the  descendants  of  those  early 
settlers  whose  attention  was  turned  to  religion,  and  for  whom 
the  Lord  spread  a  table  in  the  wilderness,  are  now  worthy 
and  respectable  members  of  Christian  churches.  A  large  ma- 
jority of  the  Moores,  Lemens  and  Ogles,  are  of  this  descrip- 
tion. 

In  a  few  years,  preachers  of  the  gospel  were  raised  up  in 
the  country,  many  of  whom  are  now  alive ;  and  notwithstand- 
ing the  difficulties  they  had  to  surmount,  and  the  privations 
to  endure,  they  have  been  instrumental  in  doing  much  good. 
In  those  days,  that  minister's  library  was  thought  to  be  well 
supplied,  that  contained  a  complete  copy  of  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, a  copy  of  Watts'  Psalms  and  Hymns,  and  Russell's  sev- 
en Sermons.  There  were  preachers  then,  who  taught  the  peo- 
ple in  the  best  manner  they  were  able,  without  possessing, 
and  without  the  power  of  obtaining  a  whole  copy  of  the  Word 
of  God. 

The  opportunity  of  these  pioneers  to  educate  their  children 


708  Appendix. 

was  extremely  small.  If  the  mother  could  read,  while  the 
father  was  in  the  cornfield,  or  with  his  rifle  upon  the  range, 
she  would  barricade  the  door  to  keep  off  the  Indians,  gather 
her  little  ones  around  her,  and  by  the  light  that  came  in  from 
the  crevices  in  the  roof  and  sides  of  the  cabin,  she  would  teach 
them  the  rudiments  of  spelling  from  the  fragments  of  some 
old  book.  After  schools  were  taught,  the  price  of  a  rough 
and  antiquated  copy  of  Dilworth's  spelling  book  was  one  dol- 
lar, and  that  dollar  equal  in  value  tojive  now. 

The  first  school  ever  taught  for  the  American  settlers,  was 
by  Samuel  Seely,  in  1783.  Francis  Clark,  an  intemperate 
man,  came  next.  This  was  near  Bellefontaine,  in  1786. — 
After  this,  an  inoffensive  Irishman  of  small  attainments,  by 
the  name  of  Halfpenny,  was  employed  by  the  people  for  sev- 
eral quarters.  Spelling,  reading,  writing,  and  the  elements 
of  arithmetic,  were  all  the  branches  attempted  to  be  taught, 
and  these  in  a  very  imperfect  manner. 

Following  him,  the  late  pious  and  eccentric  John  Clark,  a 
preacher  of  the  gospel,  taught  the  youth  of  these  settlements 
gratuitously.  He  was  a  good  scholar,  of  Scotch  descent  and 
education,  and  initiated  the  young  men  of  that  day,  not  only  in 
the  rudiments  of  an  English  education,  but  in  several  instan- 
ces, in  mathematics,  natural  philosophy,  and  the  latin  lan- 
guage. 

The  year  1797  was  distinguished  for  a  mortal  sickness  that 
prevailed  in  the  settlement  of  New  Design.  A  colony  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty-six  persons,  left  the  south  branch  of  the 
Potomac,  in  Virginia,  early  in  the  spring,  descended  the  Ohio 
by  water,  landed  at  Fort  Massac,  bringing  their  horses  and 
wagons,  with  which  they  crossed  the  wilderness  to  New  De- 
sign. The  season  proved  uncommonly  rainy ;  the  mud  was 
excessively  deep,  and  frequently  for  miles  in  extent,  they  were 
obliged  to  wade  through  sheets  of  water.  They  were  twenty- 
one  days  in  traversing  this  wilderness,  which  is  mostly  a  tim- 
bered region.  The  old  settlers  had  been  so  long  harrassed 
with  Indian  warfare,  that  agriculture  had  been  neglected,  their 
cattle  were  few  in  number,  and  their  stock  of  provisions  very 
scanty.  Their  cabins  usually  consisted  of  a  single  room,  for 
all  domestic  purposes  ;  and  though  hospitality  to  strangers  is 
a  universal  trait  in  frontier  character,  it  was  utterly  beyond 
the  power  of  the  inhabitants  to  provide  accommodations  in 


Incidents  of  Illinois,  1785—1800.  709 

provisions  or  shelter  to  these  new  comers,  who  arrived  in  a 
famishing,  deplorable,  and  sickly  condition.  They  did  the 
best  they  could ;  a  single  cabin  frequently  contained  three  or 
four  families.  Their  rifles  could  procure  venison  from  the 
prairies ;  but  the  extreme  rains  were  followed  with  unusual 
heat;  they  had  no  salt,  and  their  meat  was  often  in  "spoiling 
order,"  before  they  could  pack  it  from  the  hunting  grounds  to 
the  settlement.  Medical  aid  was  procured  with  the  greatest 
difficulty,  and  that  but  seldom.  Under  such  circumstances, 
need  it  surprise  the  reader,  that  of  the  one  hundred  and 
twenty-six  emigrants  who  left  Virginia  in  the  spring,  only 
sixty-three  remained  at  the  close  of  summer.  A  little  bluff 
had  been  entirely  covered  with  newly-formed  graves  !  They 
were  swept  off  by  a  putrid  fever,  uncommonly  malignant,  and 
which  sometimes  did  its  work  in  a  few  hours.  The  old  inhabi- 
tants were  healthy  as  usual. 

The  settlers  state,  that  no  disease  like  it  ever  appeared  in 
the  country  before  or  since.  Intelligence  of  this  fatal  sickness 
reached  the  Atlantic  states,  found  its  way  into  the  periodical 
journals,  and,  more  than  all  other  events,  has  produced  an  im- 
pression abroad,  that  all  Illinois  is  a  sickly  country  ;  an  im- 
pression wholly  incorrect.  Illinois,  unquestionably,  is  as 
healthy  a  region  as  any  western  state. 

SECTION  II. 
Sketches  of  Indian  History  in  Illinois. 

The  territory  of  Illinois,  south  of  a  line  from  about  Quincy 
to  Ottowa,  was  originally  claimed  by  a  confederacy  of  tribes 
under  the  general  name  of  Illinois,  or  as  called  by  Hennepin 
(of  doubtful  authority,)  lllini.  We  have  searched  every  au- 
thority within  our  reach,  for  the  etymology  and  meaning  of 
this  name.  The  most  elaborate  work  in  our  library  on  Indian 
names  and  the  structure  of  numerous  languages  and  dialects 
of  the  aborigines  of  our  country,  is  the  second  volume  of  the 
"  Archceologia  Americana"  or  Transactions  and  Collections  of 
the  American  Antiquarian  Society.  This  work  contains  422 
large  octavo  pages,  from  the  pen  of  the  late  Albert  Gallatin, 
Esq.,  whose  researches  in  this  department  of  literature  are 
the  most  extensive  to  be  found.  "  The  works  of  Eliot,  Colton, 
Roger  Williams,  and  Edwards  of  New  England ;  the  diction- 
ary of  Father  Rasle,  illustrated  by  the  learned  and  discrimina- 


710  Appendix. 

ting  Pickering  ;  and  the  researches  of  Heckewelder  and  Zeis- 
berger,  on  whose  data  have  been  reared  the  philosophical  hy- 
potheses of  Du  Ponceau;"  are  investigations  in  the  languages 
and  dialects  of  the  Indian  nations,  most  profound  and  search- 
ing. Mr.  Gallatin  has  brought  together  in  one  view,  the  lan- 
guages and  dialects  of  all  the  Indian  nations  of  North  Ameri- 
ca, so  far  as  authentic  specimens  could  be  procured.  We  are 
thus  particular  to  remove  any  impressions  that  our  suggestion 
of  the  origin  and  meaning  of  the  term  Illinois  is  fanciful. 

The  aborigines  of  this  continent  are  not  of  one  stock.  In 
language,  religion,  manners,  customs,  figure,  mental  power, 
and  other  characteristics,  the  native  inhabitants  of  North 
America  were  divided  into  several  distinct  classes  ;  and  these 
again,  were  subdivided  into  numerous  confederacies  and  tribes, 
differing  from  each  other  in  dialect,  and  slight  modifications  of 
character.  The  first  division,  and  the  only  one  that  demands 
attention  in  this  work,  has  been  denominated  by  the  French 
the  Algonquin  race ;  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  the  Algic  race. 

This  was  the  most  numerous  class  when  the  continent  was 
first  visited  by  Europeans,  and,  embraced  all  the  Indians  of  Can- 
ada, New  England  and  New  York,  except  the  Iroquois  or  "Six 
Nations,"  who  are  a  different  and  a  superior  stock.  The  Len- 
no-lcnape,  or  Delawares,  of  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania ;  the 
Powhattan  confederacy  of  Virginia,  the  Chouannons,  or 
Shawanoes,  from  James'  River  to  Florida ;  the  M eaumies  [Mi- 
amies]  of  Ohio  and  Indiana  ;  the  O'jibways,  Ottawas,  Potta- 
watomies,  Musquakies,  [Fox  Indians]  Saukies,  Kickapoos,  and 
many  others,  including  the  Illinois  confederacy,  are  of  the  Al- 
gonquin or  Algic  stock.  They  are  called  in  the  work  before 
us,  the  Algonquin- Lenape  nations. 

The  name  Illinois  is  derived  from  Lenno,  "  man."  The  Del- 
aware Indians  (according  to  Heckewelder  and  Zeisberger)  call 
themselves  Lenno -Lenape,  which  means  "  original,  or  unmix- 
ed men."  The  term  manly  men,  to  distinguish  themselves  from 
mean,  trifling  men,  would  convey  the  exact  idea.  "  Nape" 
means  "  male,"  and  "  Lenape"  a  real  man. 

The  tribes  along  the  Illinois  gave  the  French  explorers  to 
understand,  they  were  real  men.  They  said  "  lenno,"  or  "len- 
ni."  All  uncouth,  strange  and  barbarous  sounds  are  liable  to 
be  misunderstood,  and  mis-spelt,  unless  long  acquaintance  and 

*  Transactions,  ii.  21. 


Incidents  of  Illinois,  1785—1800.  711 

a  careful  analysis  produce  accuracy.  The  word  lenno  expres- 
sed the  nation  to  which  they  belonged  as  a  generic  term. — 
There  was  no  particular  tribe  called  ttlini.  The  word  Illinois 
is  partly  Indian,  and  partly  French.  Every  scholar  knows 
that  the  termination  is  French.  The  river  took  its  name  from 
the  Indians  that  occupied  its  banks. 

The  confederacy  under  the  generic  name  Illinois,  consisted 
of  five  tribes ;  the  Kaskaskias,  Cahokias,  Tamarouas,  Peorias, 
and  Mitchigamias.  This  last  (if  Charlevoix  is  correct)  was  a 
foreign  tribe  admitted  into  their  confederacy,  and  which  origi- 
nally came  from  the  other  side  of  the  Mississippi.  This,  we 
doubt,  for  originally  they  were  about  Lake  Michigan,  where 
they  left  their  name.  This  confederacy  are  said  to  have  been 
numerous,  and  before  the  visit  of  Marquette  and  Joliet,  to  con- 
sist of  ten  or  twelve  thousand  souls. 

The  Iroquois,  or  five  nations,  were  at  war  with  them  when 
La  Salle  visited  Illinois.  They  claimed  to  have  conquered 
the  country,  and  exercised  their  right  to  dispose  of  it  to  their 
ally,  Great  Britain.  The  Chickasaws  made  war  on  them  from 
the  south  :  the  Sauks,  Foxes,  Kickapoos,  Ottawas,  Pottawato- 
mies,  and  other  bands  from  the  north,  and  though  once  numer- 
ous, they  were  greatly  reduced  by  their  enemies. 

Starved  Rock,  near  the  foot  of  the  rapids  of  the  Illinois,  is  a 
perpendicular  mass  of  lime  and  sand  stone  washed  by  the  cur- 
rent at  its  base,  and  elevated  150  feet.  The  diameter  of  its 
surface  is  about  100  feet,  with  a  slope  extending  to  the  adjoin- 
ing bluff  from  which  alone  it  is  accessible. 

Tradition  says  that  after  the  Illinois  Indians  had  killed 
Pontiac,  the  great  Indian  Chief  of  the  northern  Indians 
made  war  upon  them.  A  band  of  the  Illinois,  in  attempting 
to  escape,  took  shelter  on  this  rock,  which  they  soon  made  in- 
accessible to  their  enemies,  and  where  they  were  closely  be- 
sieged. They  had  secured  provisions,  but  their  only  resource 
for  water  was  by  letting  down  vessels  with  bark  ropes  to  the 
river.  The  wily  besiegers  contrived  to  come  in  canoes  under 
the  rock  and  cut  off  their  buckets,  by  which  means  the  unfor- 
tunate Illinois  were  starved  to  death.  Many  years  after,  their 
bones  were  whitening  on  this  summit. 

Iroquois  river  and  county,  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  State, 
reminds  us  of  one  victory,  at  least,  the  Illinois  Indians  gained 
over  their  ancient  enemies.  The  latter  were  driven  from  the 
field  with  considerable  loss. 


712  Appendix. 

The  Tamarouas  tribe  were  nearly  exterminated  by  the 
Shawanese,  in  a  fight  in  the  eastern  part  of  Randolph  county, 
where  their  bones  could  be  seen  about  the  period  of  the  con- 
quest of  Illinois  by  Clark.  From  that  period  their  name  was 
lost. 

We  are  at  some  loss  to  arrange  the  Mascoutin  tribe,  or  as 
given  by  Father  Allouez,  Mascontens.* 

Charlevoix  says,  and  he  is  confirmed  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  that 
Mascontenck  means  a  "  country  without  woods,  a  prairie. "f — 
There  certainly  was  a  tribe  called  by  this  name,  in  friendly  re- 
lations with  the  Illinois  confederacy.  They  were  a  distinct 
band  when  Colonel  Clark  negotiated  with  the  Indians  of  Illi- 
nois, in  1778.  [Annals,  205.]  They  certainly  were  not  Sauks, 
Foxes,  Kickapoos,  nor  Shawanese.  Probably  they,  too,  be- 
longed to  the  Illinois  confederacy,  and  constituted  the  sixth 
branch. 

The  Piankeshaws  possessed  the  eastern  part  of  the  State 
adjacent  to  the  Wabash  river.  Formerly  they  claimed  the 
country  on  both  sides  of  the  Wabash,  but  about  the  middle 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  they  gave  the  Shawanoes  (who  origi- 
nated from  the  country  on  the  Atlantic,  between  James'  river 
and  Florida)  liberty  to  occupy  the  country  on  the  Ohio  and 
eastern  side  of  the  Wabash.  In  1768,  they  granted  a  tract 
of  country  east  of  the  Wabash  to  the  Delaware  Indians.J — 
They  claimed  the  country  from  the  Wabash  west  to  the  divi- 
ding ridge,  which  separates  the  waters  emptying  into  the  Sa- 
line creek  and  the  Kaskaskia  river,  from  the  streams  that  flow 
into  the  Wabash.  They  were  a  branch  of  the  Miami  confed- 
eracy. 

There  is  a  tradition  that  the  Kickapoos  originally  came 
from  beyond  the  Mississippi  river,  and  yet  their  language, 
manners  and  customs  are  similar  to  those  of  the  Sauks  and 
Foxes.  They  claimed  the  country  on  the  Sangamon,  Macki- 
naw and  Ver million  rivers  in  Illinois,  and  had  villages  on  the 
Wabash  in  Indiana.  Indian  titles  and  boundaries  are  extreme- 
ly vague  and  indeterminate.  They  have  ever  been  a  nomadic 
people,  wandering  from  place  to  place.  "  Attachment  to  the 
graves  of  their  fathers"  is  poetry. 

*  Relations  of  New  France,  1666. 

t  Transactions  Antiquarian  Society,  ii.  61. 

J  Transactions,  ii.  63. 


Incidents  of  Illinois,  1785—1800.  713 

The  Sauks  originated  from  the  region  of  Quebec  and  Mon- 
treal. Probably  they  were  expelled  by  the  Iroquois  who  con- 
quered that  country.  We  can  next  identify  them  on  the  north- 
ern side  of  Michigan,  along  Saganau  bay,  as  the  name  im- 
ports. Saganau  is  from  Sau-ke-nuk,  (Saukietown.) 

Next  they  are  at "  Sauk  river,"  in  Wisconsin,  Jbelow  Green 
Bay,  where  they  formed  an  alliance  with  the  "  Ottagamies," 
as  called  by  the  English  and  many  Indians ;  the  "  Les  Ren- 
ards"  by  the  French.  Their  true  name  is  Mus-quau-kee,  sin- 
gular, or  Mus-quau-ki-uk,  plural.  The  meaning  is  red  clay, 
as  Saukie  means  white  clay.  The  Foxes  possessed  the  coun- 
try about  Green  Bay,  and  along  the  river  that  bears  their 
name. 

It  was  not  until  some  years  after  the  French  settled  in  Illi- 
nois, they  wandered  to  the  Mississippi,  and  took  possession  of 
the  peninsula  of  Rock  River,  where  they  dispossessed  the 
Sauteaux,  with  whom  the  French  had  traded.  These  people 
were  a  branch  of  the  Chippeway,  or  Ojibbeway  nation. — 
Their  principal  village  was  where  Rock  Island  city  now  ex- 
ists, but  they  had  several  other  village  sites,  one  of  which  was 
where  Quincy  now  is.  They  took  possession  of  the  country 
of  the  lovvays,  [Aiouez]  whom  they  partly  subjugated.  The 
Foxes  had  their  principal  village  on  the  west  side  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, at  Davenport.  A  small  Sauk  village  was  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Mississippi  river,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Des- 
moines. 

The  Pottawatomies,  Ottowas  and  Chippeways,  have  an 
affinity  in  language,  and  have  sustained  a  friendly  relation- 
ship. They  possessed  the  country  in  the  north-eastern  part  of 
Illinois  and  around  Lake  Michigan. 

The  Menominees,  (or  Melominees  of  some  writers)  had  their 
country  north-west  of  Green  Bay,  among  the  rice-lakes.  Their 
name  signifies  "  Rice-eaters,"  and  hence  the  French  call  them 
"  Folls-avoine,"  a  term  that  signifies  wild  rice,  or  "oats." — 
This  tribe  is  mentioned  by  the  missionaries  as  early  as  1669. 
Another  small  tribe  about  Green  Bay  and  Sturgeon  Bay,  is  the 
"  Puants,"  so  called  from  their  extreme  filthy  habits. 


45 


714  Appendix. 

SECTION  THIRD. 
Progress  of  lllinoit  from  1800  to  1812. 

During  this  period,  no  important  events  of  a  thrilling  char- 
acter occurred  to  interrupt  the  quiet  routine  of  peaceful  life 
in  this  remote  territory.  The  termination  of  the  Indian  hos- 
tilities invited  immigration  from  the  States.  The  settlements  in 
what  is  now  Monroe  county,  became  the  temporary  resort  of 
many  families  from  the  two  Carolinas,  Virginia,  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee,  who,  in  a  year  or  two,  passed  over  to  Upper  Louis- 
iana. The  population  of  Illinois  in  1790,  did  not  much  ex- 
ceed 2000  white  persons,  and  in  1800,  about  3000.  (The  es- 
timate in  the  preceding  section  included  Indiana.)  We  have  a 
list  of  the  names  of  heads  of  American  families,  who  came  to 
Illinois  previous  to  1788,  and  thereby  became  entitled  to  do- 
nations of  land,  called  "  head-rights."  Their  number  is  80. 
Of  these  the  names  of  John  Edgar,  George  Atcheson,  Wm. 
Arundel,  William  Biggs,  John  Boyd,  John  Cook,  John  Dodge, 
James  Garrison,  Thomas  Hughes,  Jacob  Judy,  Peter  Smith, 
James  Lemen,  sen.,  James  Moore,  Henry  O'Harra,  Joseph 
Ogle,  James  Piggott,  Larkin  Rutherford,  John  K.  Simpson,  Jo- 
seph Worley,  James  McRoberts,  Thomas  Brady,  John  Demp- 
sey,  Thomas  Flannery,  and  many  others,  will  be  recollected 
by  the  old  settlers. 

A  letter  from  Governor  Reynolds,  dated  Belleville,  Illinois, 
February  29th,  1848,  gives  the  following  facts  : — 

"  The  whole  country  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi,  was  call- 
ed Illinois  in  ancient  times.  When  my  father  started  from 
Knox  county,  in  East  Tennessee,  for  the  "  Spanish  country," 
as  he  intended,  it  was  called  there  Illinois.  He  left  Tennessee 
in  the  spring  of  1800,  crossed  the  Ohio  river  at  "  Lusk's  ferry," 
as  it  was  called,  and  landed  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Ohio, 
where  Golconda  is  now  situated.  There  was  no  house  on  the 
road  to  Kaskaskia,  until  we  reached  General  Edgar's  ferry, 
one  mile  above  the  town.  In  1801,  there  were  six  families 
east  of  the  Kaskaskia  river  in  a  settlement.  The  names  were 
Stacey  McDonough,  James  Hughes  and  Messrs.  Pettit,  Dunks, 
and  Anderson.  My  father,  Robert  Reynolds,  settled  near  the 
river  and  town  of  Kaskaskia.  Pettit,  Anderson  and  Dunks, 
resided  on  Nine  Mile  creek,  a  few  miles  north  of  the  first 
named  persons,  but  it  was  called  one  settlement,  although  se- 
veral miles  in  extent.  No  one  at  that  period  lived  east  near- 
er than  Vincennes. 


American  Settlements  in  Illinois.  715 

In  very  early  times  a  town  by  the  name  of  Washington  was 
laid  off  in  Horse  Prairie,  and  a  few  families  resided  there  in 
1800.  Mr.  Leonis  had  a  saw  mill  on  Horse  Creek,  and  Gener- 
al Edgar  had  a  fine  flouring  mill  on  a  small  stream  east  of  the 
Kaskaskia  river.  At  a  still  earlier  period,  a  town  was  estab- 
lished at  or  near  Bellefontaine,  in  Monroe  county,  where  both 
Americans  and  French  resided,  and  I  have  seen  the  vestiges 
of  it. 

"  Before  1790,  General  Edgar  made  salt  at  the  foot  of  the 
bluffs  near  the  residence  of  Judge  Bond,  and  near  the  termi- 
nus of  the  bluffs  at  the  south  part  of  Monroe  county.  The 
water  was  not  very  strong,  and  yet  considerable  salt  was  made 
at  this  lick.  At  the  Salines,  below  Ste.  Genevieve,  considera- 
ble salt  was  manufactured,  during  many  years,  within  sight 
of  the  Illinois  shore.  And  in  still  more  ancient  times,  the 
French  from  Vincennes  made  salt  at  the  Salines  in  Gallatin 
county." 

General  John  Edgar  was  an  officer  in  the  British  navy,  in 
Canada,  and  on  the  lakes.  He  came  to  Kaskaskia  during  the 
war  of  the  revolution.  He  was  a  trader  and  accumulated  a 
large  amount  of  lands. 

Of  the  Americans  who  resided  in  the  town  of  Kaskaskia  in 
1800,  we  give  the  names  of  John  Edgar,  James  Edgar,  Will- 
liam  Morrison,  Robert  Morrison,  John  Rice  Jones,  William 
Arundel,  and  probably  some  others.  Colonel  William  Morri- 
son was  engaged  in  the  Indian  trade.  He  kept  the  principal 
wholesale  and  retail  store  in  the  place  for  many  years.  He 
was  a  man  of  talents,  enterprize,  and  indomitable  energy,  and 
died  some  years  since  at  an  advanced  age. 

The  old  Kaskaskia  tribe  of  Indians  at  that  period,  were 
numerous,  and  resided  between  the  town  and  ruins  of  Fort 
Chartres.  They  counted  150  warriors,  which  makes  their 
population  about  700  or  800.  Their  chief,  old  Du  Coigne,  was 
a  man  of  strong  mind  and  always  friendly  to  the  white  peo- 
ple. The  Kickapoos  were  frequently  at  war  with  the  Kaskas- 
kia Indians,  and  cut  off  many,  but  intoxicating  drink  killed 
many  more. 

Two  American  settlements  were  commenced  in  the  present 
boundaries  of  St.  Clair  county  previous  to  1800.  Turky  Hill, 
a  few  miles  east  of  Belleville,  was  first  settled  in  1798,  by 
William  Scott,  John  and  Franklin  Jarvis,  Hosea  Riggs,  Saml. 
Shook,  George  Stout,  and  their  families.  From  five  to  seven 
miles  south-east  of  Belleville,  another  settlement  was  com- 


716  Appendix. 

menced  about  1797,  by  Abraham  Eyman,  John  Teter,  William 
Miller  and  Mr.  Randelman. 

In  1802,  several  families  commenced  settlements  in  St.  Clair 
county,  north  of  Belleville.  Amongst  these  was  Captain  Jos. 
Ogle  and  his  sons,  J.  J.  Whileside,  and  W.  L.  Whiteside. 
About  the  same  time  Goshen  settlement  was  commenced,  neav 
the  bluffs,  in  the  present  boundary  of  Madison  county,  south- 
west of  Edwardsville  ;  and  the  settlements  on  Wood  river  and 
Rattan's  prairie,  a  few  miles  east  of  the  present  site  of  Alton. 

From  this  period  until  the  organization  of  the  territory  of 
Illinois,  new  settlements  were  formed  in  Gallatin,  Johnson, 
Union  and  Jackson  counties;  and  in  White  county,  on  the 
Wabash.  In  1810,  so  great  had  berien  the  increase  that  the 
census  gives  the  population  of  the  territory  at  12,284  inhabi- 
tants. At  the  same  time  Indiana  territory  reported  24,520. 

In  July,  1790,  there  were  one  hundred  and  forty-three  heads 
of  families  in  Vincennes,  who  were  residents  of  that  place  at 
or  before  1783 ;  and  eighty  Americans  who  claimed  rights  to 
lands  in  Knox  county. 

The  act  of  Congress  for  the  organization  of  the  Illinois  ter- 
ritory in  1809,  has  already  been  mentioned.  [Annals,  576,  577.] 
The  territorial  government  was  begun  in  due  form  on  April 
25th,  1809,  on  which  day,  the  late  Nathaniel  Pope,  the  Secre- 
tary and  acting  Governor,  took  the  customary  oath. 

We  here  give  the  commission  of  the  Secretary  from  the 
President,  and  the  oath  of  office  administered  by  judge  Shra- 
der,  one  of  the  United  States'  Judges  for  the  territory  of 
Louisiana. 

"James  Madison,  President  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
to  all  who  shall  see  these  presents,  Greeting: — 

KNOW  YE,  that  reposing  special  trust  and  confidence  in  the 
integrity,  diligence,  and  abilities  of  Nathaniel  Pope,  of  the 
Louisiana  territory,  I  have  nominated,  and  by  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate,  do  appoint  him  Secretary  to  and  for  the 
Illinois  territory;  and  do  authorize  and  empower  him  to  exe- 
cute and  fulfil  the  duties  of  that  office,  with  all  the  powers,  pri- 
vileges and  emoluments  to  the  same  of  right  appertaining,  for 
the  term  of  four  years  from  the  date  hereof,  unless  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  for  the  time  being,  should  be  pleased 
sooner  to  revoke  and  determine  this  commission. 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  caused  these  letters  to  be  made 
patent,  and  the  seal  of  the  United  States  to  be  hereunto  af- 
fixed. 


American  Settlements  in  Illinois 

Given  under  my  hand  at  the  city  of  Washington,  the  seventh 
day  of  March,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  nine,  and  of  the  Independence  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  the  thirty- third. 

JAMES  MADISON. 
By  the  President, 

R.  SMITH,  Secretary  of  State." 

The  following  was  the  oath  of  office : 

Territory  of  Louisiana. 

Be  it  remembered,  That  on  the  25th  day  of  April,  1809,  per- 
sonally appeared  before  me,  Otho  Shrader,  one  of  the  Judges 
in  and  over  the  Territory  of  Louisiana,  Nathaniel  Pope,  Esq., 
appointed  Secretary  in  and  for  the  Illinois  territory,  by  com- 
mission of  the  President  of  the  United  States,  bearing  date 
the  7th  day  of  March  last  past,  and  took  the  following  oath, 
to  wit :  That  he  will  support  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States,  and  that  he  will  perform  the  duties  of  his  said  office 
with  fidelity,  to  the  best  of  his  knowledge  and  judgment. 

NAT.  POPE. 

Sworn  to  and  subscribed  before  me  at  the  town  of  Ste. 
Genevieve,  the  day  and  year  aforesaid. 

OTHO  SHRADER. 

We  give  these  forms  as  a  specimen,  for  the  information  of 
our  young  readers,  and  others  who  may  desire  to  know  how 
such  government  matters  are  conducted.  In  substance,  the 
commission  and  form  of  oath  is  the  same  for  United  States 
officers  in  all  territorial  organizations. 

On  the  28th  of  April,  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  Sec- 
retary as  acting  governor,  making  the  counties  of  St.  Clair 
and  Randolph,  counties  of  the  Illinois  territory.  The  next 
day,  (29th,)  application  having  been  made  to  the  acting  gov- 
ernor, by  affidavit  before  a  justice  of  the  peace,  charging  Jas. 
Dunlap  with  the  murder  of  Rice  Jones,  and  requesting  the 
governor  of  the  Orleans  territory  to  deliver  up  said  Dunlap. 
This  murder  was  the  result  of  an  affray  between  the  parties, 
the  particulars  of  which  are  not  distinct  in  the  mind  of  the 
writer. 

On  the  3d  of  May,  the  folio  wing  persons  were  commissioned 
by  the  acting  governor  as  justices  of  the  peace  : — 

Nicholas  Jarrot,  John  Hay,  Caldwell  Cairns,  Thomas  Todd, 
Jacob  A.  Boyer,  Jas.  Lemen,  sen.,  Enoch  Moore,  D.  Badgley, 
James  Bankston,  William  Biggs,  Robert  Elliot,  John  Finlay> 


718  Appendix. 

i 

David  White,  Samuel  S.  Kennedy,  Antoine  Deschamps,  Har- 
vey M.  Fisher,  and  Nicholas  Boilvin.  John  Hays  was  ap- 
pointed Sheriff,  Enoch  Moore  Coroner,  and  Elias  Rector,  At- 
torney General. 

On  the  1 1  th  of  June,  Ninian  Edwards,  Governor,  arrived 
from  Kentucky,  and  entered  on  the  duties  of  his  office.  He 
had  taken  the  oath  before  the  Hon.  Thomas  Todd,  Judge  of 
the  Supreme  Court  of  Kentucky.  On  the  16th  of  the  same 
month  the  Governor  and  two  Judges,  constituting  the  legisla- 
tive authority  in  the  first  stage  of  the  territorial  government, 
re-enacted  the  laws  of  the  territory  of  Indiana,  that  were  ap- 
plicable to  Illinois.  John  Hay,  (not  the  sheriff  mentioned 
above,)  was  appointed  clerk  of  the  county  of  St.  Clair,  which 
office  he  held  by  successive  re-appointments  until  his  decease 
in  1845. 

Benjamin  H.  Doyle,  who  had  been  appointed  Attorney  Gen- 
eral in  place  of  Elias  Rector,  having  resigned,  on  the  30th 
of  December,  1809,  John  Jourdon  Crittenden  was  appointed 
Attorney  General.  On  the  9th  of  April,  1801,  the  office  be- 
coming again  vacant,  Thomas  T.  Crittenden  was  appointed. 

For  eight  years  Illinois  formed  a  part  of  Indiana,  and  the 
principal  statutes  of  that  territory  were  re-enacted  by  the 
Governor  and  Judges,  and  became  the  basis  of  statute  law  in 
Illinois,  much  of  which,  without  change  of  phraseology,  re- 
mains in  the  revised  code  of  that  State,  as  the  same  laws,  in 
substance,  originated  in  the  legislation  of  the  Governor  and 
Judges  of  the  North- Western  territory ;  and  by  the  Governor 
and  Judges  of  Indiana,  were  enacted  in  the  territory  of  Lou- 
isiana during  the  period  of  their  temporary  jurisdiction  west 
of  the  Mississippi,  we  give  a  synopsis  of  several  of  these 
ancient  statutes.  Since  the  penitentiary  system  of  discipline 
and  punishment  has  been  introduced  into  all  these  States,  the 
penalty  of  whipping  and  other  inhuman  modes  of  punishment 
have  been  changed  to  imprisonment  with  labor. 

We  extract  from  the  laws  published  in  1807,  by  Stout  and 
Smoot,  Vincennes,  la.  The  volume  comprises  those  acts  for- 
merly in  force  and  as  revised  by  Messrs.  John  Rice  Jones  and 
John  Johnson,  territorial  Judges,  and  passed  (after  some 
amendments  by  the  territorial  legislature ;)  with  the  original 
acts  passed  at  the  first  session  of  the  second  General  Assem- 
bly of  the  territory. 


Synopsis  of  the  Territorial  Code.  719 

At  that  period  the  counties  in  the  whole  territory,  including 
Illinois,  were  Dearborn,  Clark  and  Knox,  (which  probably  in- 
cluded the  eastern  side  of  Illinois)  in  Indiana ;  and  St.  Glair 
and  Randolph,  in  Illinois. 

Justices  of  the  Peace. — A  competent  number  for  each  coun- 
ty,— nominated  and  commissioned  by  the  Governor; — power 
to  take  all  manner  of  recognizances  and  obligations  as  any 
Justices  of  the  Peace  in  the  U.  States ; — all  to  be  certified  to 
the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  at  next  session, — but  those  for  a 
felony  belong  to  the  Court  of  Oyer  and  Terminer.  One 
or  more  Justices  of  the  Peace,  may  hear  and  determine,  by  due 
course  of  law,  any  petty  crimes  and  misdemeanors,  where  the 
punishment  shall  be  fine  only,  not  exceeding  three  dollars. — 
Justices  required  to  commit  the  offender  when  crime  was  per- 
petrated in  their  sight  without  further  testimony.  All  war- 
rants to  be  under  the  hand  and  seal  of  the  justice.  Justices  to 
have  power  to  punish  by  fine,  as  provided  in  the  statute,  all 
assaults  and  batteries  not  of  an  aggravated  nature  ;  and  cause 
to  be  arrested  all  affrayers,  rioters  and  disturbers  of  the 
peace,  and  bind  them  over  by  recognizance  to  appear  at  the 
next  General  Court,or  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  to  be  held  with- 
in the  county,  and  to  require  such  persons  to  give  security. 
Justices  of  the  Peace  to  examine  into  all  homicides,  murders, 
treasons,  and  felonies,  done  in  their  respective  counties,  and 
commit  to  prison  all  persons  suspected  to  be  guilty  of  man- 
slaughter, murder,  treason,  or  other  capital  offence,  and  hold 
to  bail  all  persons  suspected  to  be  guilty  of  lesser  offences ; 
and  require  sureties  for  the  good  behavior  of  idle,  vagrant, 
disorderly  characters;  swindlers  and  gamblers,  as  well  as 
every  description  of  disorderly  and  vagrant  persons. 

Courts. — Courts  of  Common  Pleas  were  organized  in  each 
county,  of  three  Judges,  any  two  of  whom  were  a  quorum. — 
They  were  appointed  and  commissioned  by  the  Governor  for 
and  during  good  behavior.  Said  Court  to  hear  and  determine, 
according  to  the  common  law,  all  crimes  and  misdemeanors, 
the  punishment  whereof  did  not  extend  to  life,  limb,  impris- 
onment for  one  year,  or  forfeiture  of  goods  and  chattels,  lands 
and  tenements.  This  Court  held  pleas  of  assize,  scire  facias, 
replevins,  and  was  empowered  to  hear  and  determine  all  man- 
ner of  pleas,  suits,  actions  and  crimes,  real,  personal,  and 
mixed,  according  to  law.  The  Court  held  annually  six  ses- 


720  Appendix. 

sions,  at  three  of  which  no  suits  for  criminal  causes  should  be 
tried.  [This  provision  was  made  for  speedy  justice  in  all  civil 
actions.] 

If  the  court  was  not  opened  on  the  day  appointed,  the  sheriff 
could  adjourn  from  day  to  day  for  two  days,  and  then  until 
the  next  term. 

Compensation  of  the  judges  of  this  court  was  two  dollars 
and  fifty  cents  per  day,  paid  from  the  county  levy. 

This  court  had  power  to  take  all  recognizances  and  obliga- 
tions, and  all  not  triable  in  said  court  to  be  certified  to  the 
next  court  of  oyer  and  terrniner.  All  fines  to  be  duly  and 
truly  assessed  according  to  the  quality  of  the  offence,  without 
affection  or  partiality. 

Criminals  who  had  absconded  from  the  counties  to  be 
brought  back  by  warrant.  Any  person  aggrieved  may  appeal 
to  the  General  Court.  All  writs  issued  to  be  in  the  name  of  the 
United  States.  Judges  had  power  to  grant  under  seal,  replev- 
ins, writs  of  partition,  writs  of  view,  and  all  other  writs  and 
process,  under  said  pleas  and  actions,  cognizable  in  said  court, 
as  occasion  may  require. 

The  court  may  issue  subpoenas,  under  seal,  and  signed  by 
any  clerk,  into  any  county  in  the  territory,  summoning  any 
witness.  The  clerk  of  said  court  was  appointed  by  the  gov- 
ernor during  good  behavior. 

Supreme  Court. — Styled  General  Court — held  twice  a  year 
at  Vincennes,  first  Tuesdays  in  April  and  September; — had 
authority  to  issue  writs  of  habeas  corpus,  certiorari,  anji  writs 
of  error.  The  members  of  the  court  were  constituted  circuit 
judges,  and  required  to  hold  a  circuit  court  once  in  each  year 
in  the  counties  of  Dearborn,  Clark,  Randolph  and  St.  Clair. 
This  court  was  empowered  to  hear  and  determine  all  cases, 
matters  and  things,  cognizable  in  said  court; — to  examine  and 
correct  errors  of  inferior  courts,  and  punish ; — to  punish  the 
"contempts,  omissions,  neglects,  favors,  corruptions  and  de- 
faults of  all  justices  of  peace,  sheriffs,  coroners,  clerks,  and  all 
other  officers ; — award  process  to  collect  all  fines,  forfeitures 
and  amercements ;" — to  hold  courts  of  oyer  and  terrniner,  and 
general  jail  delivery.  The  governor  was  empowered  to  call 
a  special  term  for  capital  offences. 

Jurymen  were  required  to  attend,  and  fined  for  non-attend- 


Synopsis  of  the  Territorial  Code.  721 

ance,  not  exceeding  eight  dollars  in  the  General  Court,  and 
five  dollars  in  the  court  of  common  pleas. 

Sheriffs  were  appointed  by  the  governor,  and  bonds  of  four 
thousand  dollars  required.  Their  duty  was  to  keep  the  peace, 
cause  all  offenders  to  give  recognizances,  quell  and  suppress  all 
affrays,  routs,  riots  and  insurrections,  and  call  to  their  aid  all 
the  power  of  the  county ;  pursue,  apprehend  and  commit  to 
jail  all  criminals,  felons,  traitors  and  fugitives  from  justice  ; 
execute  all  processes,  attend  all  courts  of  record  ;  have  custody 
of  the  jail  of  the  county,  and  do  all  other  duties  enjoined  by 
law. 

Oaths  of  office. — Every  person  appointed  to  a  civil  office 
must  make  oath,  or  affirmation.  The  form  used  was  as  fol- 
lows:— 

"I,  A.  B.  being  appointed  to  the  office  of ,  do  solemnly 

swear  I  will  execute  the  duties  of  my  said  office,  according  to 
the  best  of  my  skill  and  understanding,  without  favor,  or  par- 
tiality, so  help  me  God." 

Any  officer  or  other  person  scrupulously  conscientious  of  tak- 
ing an  oath,  may  Affirm  according  to  the  following  form  : — 

"I,  A.  B.,  being  appointed  to  the  office  of ,  do  solemnly, 

sincerely,  and  truly  declare  and  affirm,  that  I  will  well  and  truly 
execute  the  duties  of  my  said  office,  according  to  the  best  of 
my  skill  and  understanding,  without  fraud  or  partiality,  and  1 
declare  and  affirm  under  the  pains  and  penalties  of  perjury." 

Oaths  and  affirmations  to  be  taken  before  the  governor,  or 
such  other  persons  as  he  may  appoint  and  commission ;  and 
in  absence  of  the  governor,  by  the  judges. 

Crimes  and  Punishments. — Capital  crimes  are  treason,  mur- 
der, arson,  rape,  and  horse  stealing,  on  second  conviction.  Petit 
treason  defined  and  punished  as  murder.  Capital  punish- 
ment to  be  inflicted  by  hanging. 

Manslaughter  punished  as  the  common  law  heretofore  point- 
ed out.  Burglary  by  whipping,  not  more  than  thirty-nine 
lashes,  and  to  find  sureties  for  good  behavior  for  three  years  ; 
and  on  default  of  sureties,  to  be  committed  to  jail  for  the 
term  of  three  years. 

If  goods  were  actually  stolen,  the  culprit  to  be  fined  treble 
the  value  of  the  goods  stolen.  If  personal  violence  or  injury 
were  done,  the  penalty  was  forfeiture  of  all  the  estate  of  the 


722  Appendix. 

convict,  out  of  which  the  party  injured  was  to  be  remunera- 
ted. If  death  was  caused,  it  was  deemed  murder. 

Robbery  of  goods  by  force  on  the  highway  or  field,  the  same 
as  burglary.  If  any  person  was  killed,  the  act  was-  murder. 
All  abettors  were  regarded  principals. 

Riots  and  unlawful  Assemblies. — Three  or  more  persons  as- 
sembling for  mischief,  or  intention  of  any  unlawful  violence 
against  the  person  or  property  of  another,  were  fined  each 
the  sum  of  sixteen  dollars  and  costs,  and  had  to  find  securities 
for  good  behavior  six  months.  In  case  of  riots,  all  ministerial 
and  judicial  officers  present,  were  required  to  make  proclama- 
tion. If  the  rioters  did  not  disperse,  then  they  were  required 
to  call  on  all  persons  near,  to  suppress  it; — if  they  cannot, 
then  call  on  the  military.  If  any  citizen  or  soldier  refuses  to 
act,  he  was  fined  ten  dollars.  If  any  rioters  were  killed  by 
the  citizens  or  authorities  when  called  on,  the  act  was  not 
criminal. 

For  obstructing  lawful  authority,  the  fine  was  not  to  exceed 
three  hundred  dollars ;  to  be  whipped  not  exceeding  thirty- 
nine  lashes,  and  find  security  for  good  behavior  one  year.  On 
second  conviction,  the  penalty  was  fine,  whipping,  and  surety 
for  three  years. 

Perjury. — Fine  not  exceeding  sixty  dollars,  or  be  whipped 
not  exceeding  thirty-nine  lashes ;  sit  in  the  pillory  not  exceed- 
ing two  hours,  and  be  incapacitated  for  giving  testimony,  or 
being  a  juror,  or  sustaining  any  civil  or  military  office.  Pro- 
curing perjury,  the  same  as  if  committed  by  the  individual. 

Larceny. — -First  offence,  the  penalty  was  to  restore  the  value 
two-fold  ;  or  be  whipped  not  over  thirty-one  stripes ; — second 
offence,  restitution,  a  fine  not  exceeding  four-fold,  and  whip- 
ped not  exceeding  thirty-nine  stripes.  If  the  culprit  had  no 
property  to  pay  the  fine,  the  sheriff  was  to  bind  him  out  to 
servitude,  under  direction  of  the  court,  seven  years.  Receivers 
of  stolen  goods  to  be  deemed  principals,  and  punished  ac- 
cordingly. Any  person  compounding  for  stolen  goods,  upon 
conviction,  shall  forfeit  twice  the  value,  but  no  person  was  de- 
barred from  taking  his  own  property  if  he  prosecuted  the  thief. 
No  parent  was  obliged  to  prosecute  his  own  child. 

Forgery. — Penalty,  double  the  sum  defrauded  by  the  forgery, 
imposed  as  a  fine, — one  half  to  the  party  injured — the  culprit 
rendered  incapable  of  giving  testimony,  serving  on  a  jury,  or 


Synopsis  of  the  Territorial  Code.  723 

sustaining  any  office  of  trust ; — and  to  set  in  the  pillory  not 
less  than  three  hours.  All  persons  aiding  to  be  deemed 
principals. 

Usurpation  of  Office. — On  conviction,  to  be  fined  not  exceed- 
ing one  hundred  dollars. 

Assault  and  Battery. — Fine  not  over  one  hundred  dollars, 
and  surety  for  good  behavior  one  year. 

Fraudulent  Deeds; — with  intent  to  deceive  and  defraud, 
were  null  and  void; — fine  not  over  three  hundred  dollars,  and 
damages  to  the  injured  party. 

Disobedience  of  Children  or  Servants.  On  complaint  to  justice 
of  the  peace,  he  may  send  to  jail,  or  the  house  of  correction, 
to  remain  there  until  sufficiently  humbled.  For  striking  the 
parent  or  master,  on  conviction  before  two  justices,  the  party 
shall  be  whipped  not  exceeding  ten  stripes. 

Obtaining  Goods  under  Fraudulent  Pretences. — Penalty  same 
as  larceny. 

Arson. — For  setting  fire  to,  or  burning  any  building,  the  pen- 
alty was  death! 

Horse-stealing. — First  conviction  to  pay  the  value  and  costs, 
and  receive  not  less  than  fifty,  nor  more  than  two  hundred 
stripes  ;  and  stand  committed  to  jail  until  the  value  and  costs 
were  paid.  For  second  conviction,  death  ! 

Hog-stealing. — For  stealing,  marking,  or  altering  the  marks 
of  the  hog  kind;  penalty  not  less  than  fifty  nor  more  than 
two  hundred  dollars;  and  also  not  less  than  twenty-five,  nor 
over  thirty-nine  stripes.  Persons  may  mark  their  own  un- 
marked hogs  while  running  at  large. 

For  altering  or  defacing  any  marks  or  brands  of  cattle,  hor- 
ses, hogs,  etc.,  penalty,  five  dollars,  besides  the  value  of  the 
animal.  Prosecution  to  be  within  six  months  after  discovery  : 
and,  moreover,  to  receive  forty  stripes.  For  second  offence, 
to  pay  the  fine  aforesaid,  and  stand  in  the  pillory  two  hours, 
and  be  branded  on  the  left  hand  with  the  letter  T. 

For  mis-marking  or  branding,  etc.,  fine,  five  dollars. 

[In  all  frontier  settlements,  horses,  cattle,  hogs,  etc.,  run  at 
large  on  the  range.  Horses  are  commonly  branded,  and  cat- 
tle and  hogs  marked  in  the  ear :  each  settler  having  his  pe- 
culiar mark,  which  is  recorded  in  books  of  the  county.  Hence 
the  severe  penalties  for  marking,  etc.] 

Persons  who  know  of  this  offence   and  conceal  it,  and  not 


724  Appendix. 

discover  it  to  some  magistrate  within  ten  days,  shall  pay  a  fine 
of  ten  dollars.  Persons  killing  cattle  or  hogs  in  the  woods, 
shall  show  the  heads  to  some  magistrate,  or  to  two  substan- 
tial freeholders,  within  three  days,  on  penalty  of  ten  dollars. 
Every  man  shall  have  an  ear-mark,  and  record  it  in  the  clerk's 
office  of  the  county  where  he  resides. 

Maiming. — Penalty  for  unlawfully  cutting,  maiming,  biting, 
gouging  a  member  or  limb,  maliciously  and  in  fighting, 
fine  not  less  than  fifty,  nor  more  than  one  thousand  dollars;  to 
be  confined  in  jail  not  less  than  one,  nor  more  than  six  months; 
one-fourth  of  the  fine  to  the  territory,  and  three-fourths  to  the 
party  injured.  For  want  of  means  to  pay  the  fine,  the  party 
to  be  sold  for  a  term  not  exceeding  five  years. 

Sodomy,  is  defined  the  crime  "  against  nature,"  and  with 
beasts.  Fine  not  less  than  fifty,  nor  more  than  five  hundred 
dollars  ;  imprisonment  not  less  than  one,  nor  more  than  five 
years ;  whipping  not  less  than  one  hundred  nor  more  thanjfive 
hundred  stripes ;  and  accounted  infamous,  and  incapable  of 
holding  any  office,  or  giving  testimony. 

Bigamy. — Penalty,  to  be  whipped  not  less  than  one  hundred 
nor  more  than  three  hundred  stripes ;  fine,  not  less  than  one 
hundred,  nor  more  than  five  hundred  dollars,  for  the  use  of  the 
party  injured  ;  and  imprisonment  not  less  than  six,  nor  more 
than  twelve  months,  and  made  infamous.  Provided,  one  party 
be  beyond  the  seas  for  seven  years,  or  elsewhere  the  same  pe- 
riod and  not  heard  from,  the  marriage  is  lawful.  Forcible  or 
stolen  marriages  made  felony. 

For  marrying  a  minor  without  the  guardian's  consent; — im- 
prisonment not  more  than  two  years. 

Selling  Criminals. — Persons  convicted  and  unable  to  pay 
fines  and  costs,  may  be  sold,  or  hired  out  to  pay  the  demand. 
If  such  persons  abscond,  they  may  be  whipped  thirty-nine 
stripes,  and  serve  two  days  for  one. 

Marriages. — Males  of  seventeen,  and  females  of  fourteen 
years,  may  lawfully  marry.  Judges  of  the  General  Court, 
and  Court  of  Common  Pleas ;  Justices  of  the  Peace  in  each 
county ;  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  in  any  religious  society  in 
the  district  in  which  they  are  settled;  and  the  society  of 
Quakers  in  their  public  meetings,  may  join  together  the  par- 
ties in  marriage.  Intentions  of  the  parties  to  be  published, 
either  three  times  in  religious  meetings,  or  a  public  notice  set 


Synopsis  of  the  Territorial  Code.  725 

up  under  the  hand  and  seal  of  a  magistrate; — or  a  license 
from  the  clerk  of  the  Courts  of  Common  Pleas,  authorizing 
marriage.  Fee  for  license  one  dollar,  and  the  clerk  to  record 
the  certificate  of  the  person  who  officiates.  Males  under  the 
age  of  twenty-one,  and  females  under  eighteen  years,  not  to 
marry,  unless  leave  be  obtained  of  the  parents  and  guardian. 

[The  plan  of  license  from  the  clerk,  has  been  the  exclusive 
mode  in  Illinois.] 

Coroners  to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor  in  each  county, 
and  their  duties  were  prescribed  by  law. 

Townships. — The  Court  of  Common  Pleas  were  authorized 
to  divide  the  counties  into  townships,  and  establish  bounda- 
ries to  the  same. 

[In  Illinois,  the  township  divisions  were  abolished,  and  the 
only  civil  division  has  been  counties,  until  recently  under  the 
new  Constitution,  the  counties  are  authorized  to  organize 
townships,  upon  a  vote  of  the  people.] 

Prisons  and  Prison  Bounds. — Courts  of  Common  Pleas  to 
lay  off  prison  bounds,  not  to  exceed  more  than  two  hundred 
yards  from  the  jail.  Persons  imprisoned  for  debt,  by  giving 
bond  with  double  security  for  the  debt,  may  use  bounds.  [No 
imprisonment  for  debt  has  existed  in  these  Slates;  consequent- 
ly "prison  bounds"  are  unknown  ] 

Persons  who  convey  tools  and  other  aid  in  the  escape  of  a 
prisoner,  to  be  fined  not  exceeding  one  hundred  dollars;  and 
if  the  prisoner  escape,  the  abettor  to  be  liable  to  the  same 
penalty  as  the  prisoner.  But  if  liable  to  capital  punishment, 
he  who  aids  in  escape,  shall  be  fined,  whipped,  imprisoned, 
stand  in  the  pillory,  or  sit  on  the  gallows  with  a  rope  around 
his  neck,  as  the  Court  may  order.  Jailors  who  suffer  a  pris- 
oner to  escape  voluntarily,  shall  suffer  the  same  penalties  as 
any  other  abettor. 

The  Judges  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  to  enquire  into 
the  condition  of  the  prison  at  each  term. 

Sheriffs  required  to  keep  persons  of  different  sexes  in  sepa- 
rate rooms,  unless  married ;  to  provide  proper  food,  meat, 
drink  and  bread ;  and  if  the  prisoner  be  unable  to  pay,  the 
county  to  be  taxed  for  such  expenses. 

Execution  Laws, — Real  estate  to  be  sold  for  debt,  under 
judgment.  Personal  property  to  be  advertised  by  the  sheriff, 
ten  days  previous  to  sale. 


726  Synopsis  of  the   Territorial  Code. 

Administration  Laws.  —  Clerks  of  the  Courts  of  Common 
Pleas  to  take  proofs  of  wills ;  grant  letters  of  administration 
during  vacancy  of  Court.  The  Court  of  Common  Pleas  was 
the  Probate  Court.  Rights  of  minors  and  orphans  well  guar- 
ded and  secured.  No  minor  or  orphan  to  be  put  under  the 
control  of  persons  of  a  different  religious  persuasion  from  their 
parents;  nor  against  their  own  mind  or  inclination. 

The  true  interest  or  meaning  of  testator  to  be  duly  regar- 
ded in  all  wills.  Administrators  to  give  bonds  with  two  or 
more  sureties  ;  respect  being  had  to  the  value  of  the  estate. 
Children  of  intestates  to  share  equally  in  the  distribution  of 
the  estate.  When  no  heirs,  the  widow  to  have  one  half  the  es- 
tate. Courts  of  Common  Pleas  may  order  sale  of  real  estate, 
where  the  personal  estate  is  not  sufficient  to  pay  the  debts,  or 
support  and  educate  the  children. 

Tavern  Licenses. — No  person  to  keep  a  Cavern,  ale-house, 
dram-shop,  or  house  of  entertainment,  [in  which  any  intoxica- 
ting liquor  is  sold]  without  license,  under  penalty  of  one  dol- 
lar each  day;  two-thirds  to  the  poor  of  the  county,  and  one- 
third  to  the  informer.  No  licensed  person  shall  allow  drunk- 
enness, gaming,  etc.,  in  or  about  his  house,  under  penalty  of 
five  dollars. 

All  tavern  keepers  shall  provide  good  entertainment  for 
man  and  beast ;  penalty  five  dollars. 

The  Court  shall  demand  twelve  dollars  for  license  to  keep 
a  tavern,  annually.  No  license  to  be  granted  unless  the  per- 
son becomes  bound  to  the  Governor  of  the  Territory  to  keep 
an  orderly  house,'  and  conform  to  the  law  in  every  respect. 

Another  act  provided  that  no  license  shall  be  granted,  "un- 
less the  person  requiring  the  same  shall  first  become  bound  to 
the  Governor  of  the  Territory,  with  security,  if  required,  in 
any  sum  not  exceeding  three  hundred  dollars,  that  he,  she,  or 
they,  obtaining  such  license,  shall,  at  all  times,  be  prepared  to 
accommodate  four  lodgers,  and  stabling  and  feed  for  four  hor- 
ses." 

Severe  penalties  were  enacted  for  selling  intoxicating  li- 
quors to  Indians,  slaves,  apprentices  and  minors. 

We  have  given  a  synopsis  only  of  such  statutes  as  may 
serve  to  illustrate  the  principles  of  Territorial  Legislation  in 
all  the  North- Western  region.  4  Most  of  the  same  principles 
have  been  transferred  to  Oregon,  and  form  the  basis  of  law  in 


-.j  Appendix.  727 

that  remote  Territory.  Similar  statutes  pertaining  to  the  Ter- 
ritory of  Louisiana,  may  be  found  in  the  Territorial  Laws  of 
Missouri,  1842,  volume  i.  pp.  15  to  66. 


NOTE. — Since  the  caption  of  this  chapter  was  prepared  and 
went  to  press,  we  have  thought  it  to  be  expedient  to  alter  our 
plan.  "  Incidents  of  war  in  Illinois,"  we  have  reserved  for 
the  next  chapter,  and  substituted  the  foregoing  "  Synopsis"  in 
its  place.  By  an  oversight,  the  caption  of  Section  First,  was 
left  out  in  the  contents  of  the  chapter. 


CHAPTER  III. 
INCIDENTS  OF  THE  WAR. 

Threatening  aspects  of  tbe  Indians — Various  incidents  of  the  War  in  Illinois  and  Mis- 
souri— Expedition  to  Peoria  and  Erection  of  Fort  Clark. 

SECTION  FIRST. 
Indian  Hostilities  Threatened. 

The  manifestation  of  hostile  intentions  among  some  of  the 
tribes  of  northern  Indians,  was  made  as  early  as  1809.  Even 
in  December,  1808,  the  sub-agent  on  the  Missouri,  wrote  to 
General  William  Clark,  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  at 
St.  Louis,  as  follows  : — • 

"I  am  sorry  to  inform  you,  that  on  the  15th  instant,  a  cer- 
tain John  Rufty  was  fired  upon  and  killed,  about  six  miles 
above  this  place,  [Fort  Osage.]  Rufty  belonged  to  McClel- 
land's  party  of  hunters. 

There  were  only  two  men  in  a  canoe  ;  the  survivor  was  un- 
able to  ascertain  to  what  nation  of  Indians  the  party  belonged. 
On  that  subject  there  are  various  conjectures ;  some  suspect 
the  Kanzas,  others  the  lowas,  the  Ottoes,  the  Sioux,  and  the 
Panis." 

By  the  requisition  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  under  the  act 
of  Congress  of  1808,  for  arming  and  equiping  one  hundred 
thousand  militia  in  the  United  States,  Governor  Lewis  of  the 


728  Indian  Hostilities  Manifested. 

territory  of  Louisiana,  made  proclamation  for  raising  and 
equipping  three  hundred  and  seventy-seven  militia  of  the  ter- 
ritory, which  were  duly  apportioned  in  the  counties  of  St. 
Charles,  St.  Louis,  Ste.  Genevieve,  Cape  Girardeau,  New 
Madrid,  and  Arkansas. 

On  the  28th  of  June,  1809,  Nicholas  Jarrot,  of  Cahokia, 
who  had  just  returned  from  Prairie  du  Chien,  made  affidavit, 
that  the  British  Agents  and  traders  at  that  place,  and  on  the 
Frontiers  of  Canada,  were  stirring  up  the  Indians,  furnishing 
them  guns  and  ammunition,  and  preparing  them  for  hostile 
demonstrations. 

In  November,  a  communication  from  Messrs.  Portier  and 
Bleakly,  of  Prairie  du  Chien,  denying  the  statements  of  M. 
Jarrot.  They  were  persons  implicated.  About  the  same 
period,  hostile  demonstrations  were  made  on  the  part  of  the 
Sac  and  Fox  nations,  against  Fort  Madison,  During  the  same 
month,  hostilities  commenced  between  the  Osages  and  lowas  ; 
the  latter  having  killed  some  of  the  former,  not  far  from 
where  Liberty  is  now  situated,  north  of  the  Missouri  river. 
In  1810,  hostile  demonstrations  were  made  by  the  Indians  on 
the  Wabash.  [Annals,  677  to  581.] 

It  was  in  July,  1810,  that  a  band  of  hostile  Indians,  sup- 
posed to  be  Pottawatomies,  came  into  a  frontier  settlement  on 
the  Loutre,  at  the  upper  part  of  Loutre  Island,  and  nearly  op- 
posite the  mouth  of  the  Gasconade  river,  and  stole  a  number 
of  horses.  A  company  was  raised,  consisting  of  Stephen 
Cooper,  William  T.  Cole,  Messrs.  Brown,  Gooch,  Patton,  and 
another  person,  making  six,  who  followed  the  Indians  across 
Grand  Prairie  to  a  branch  of  Salt  river,  called  Bone  Lick. 
The  party  discovered  the  Indians,  eight  in  number,  who,  in 
the  retreat,  threw  off  their  packs  and  plunder,  and  scattered 
in  the  woods.  Night  coming  on,  the  party  struck  a  camp  and 
immediately  lay  down  to  sleep,  though  Stephen  Cole,  the 
leader,  warned  them  against  it,  and  proposed  a  guard.  This 
notion  was  hooted  at  as  an  evidence  of  cowardice.  About 
mid-night  they  were  awakened  by  the  ''Indian  yell"  and  the 
death-dealing  bullet !  Stephen  Cole  killed  four  Indians  and 
wounded  the  fifth,  though  severely  wounded  himself.  W.  T. 
Cole,  his  brother,  was  killed  at  the  commencement  of  the 
fight.  Two  others  of  the  party  were  killed. 

The  survivors  reached  the  settlements  next  morning  to  tell 


Appendix.  729 

the  dreadful  tidings,  and  a  party  returned  to  the  ground,  buri- 
ed the  dead,  but  found  the  Indians  had  escaped. 

We  obtained  this  incident  from  Samuel  Cole,  in  1849,  whose 
father  was  killed  in  the  action,  but  he  gave  it  from  memory, 
and  placed  it  in  1807.  The  early  files  of  the  "Gazette,"  pub- 
lished in  St.  Louis  from  1808,  is  our  authority  for  the  date  of 
this  and  several  preceding  incidents. 

The  settlement  on  the  Loutre,  commenced,  probably,  in 
1806  or  1807,  and  until  1810,  was  the  "Far  West,"  except  the 
French  hamlet  of  Cote  Sans  Dessein.  During  that  year  emi- 
grant families  found  their  way  to  the  "Boone's  Lick  country," 
now  Howard  county,  Missouri.  The  incidents  of  the  war  in 
that  quarter,  we  will  leave  for  a  subsequent  section. 

In  July,  1811,  a  company  of  "rangers,"  or  mounted  rifle- 
men, was  raised  in  Goshen  settlement,  Illinois.  The  intelli- 
gence of  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe  was  peculiarly  alarming  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  and  measures  as 
prompt  and  efficient  as  circumstances  admitted,  were  adopted 
by  the  Governors  of  the  two  territories. 

Early  in  1812,  the  Indians  on  the  Upper  Mississippi  were 
very  hostile,  and  committed  frequent  murders. 

An  express  from  Fort  Madison  came  down  the  river  on  the 
ice  in  a  sleigh,  with  some  traders,  and  reached  St.  Louis  on 
the  13th  of  February.  They  were  fired  on  frequently  by  war 
parties,  and  especially  a  few  miles  above  Salt  river,  where  the 
Indians  chased  them  some  distance.  A  family  by  the  name 
of  O'Neal  was  killed  in  the  district  of  St.  Charles,  about  the 
same  time. 

The  following  item  from  the  Louisiana  Gazette  of  March 
21,  is  corroborated  by  other  evidence : 

"Since  Christmas  last,  the  following  murders  have  been  com- 
mitted by  the  Indians  in  this  country.  Two  persons  near  the 
Mines  on  the  Mississippi,  nine  in  the  district  of  St.  Charles, 
within  the  settlements,  supposed  to  be  killed  by  the  Kicka- 
poos ;  one  man  at  Fort  Madison,  on  the  third  instant,  by  the 
Winnebagoes.  There  were  several  men  who  left  Fort  Madi- 
son for  this  part  of  the  territory,  about  the  17th  February, 
who  are  supposed  to  have  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy,, 
as  they  have  not  been  heard  of. 

"Main  Poc,  the   Pottawatomie    chief,  is  preparing  a  war 
party  to  proceed  against  the  Osages.     This  fellow  has  been 
lately  at  Fort  Maiden,  and  it  is  thought  at  Peoria  that  he  in- 
tends to  strike  at  the  whites. 
46 


730  Indian  Hostilities  Increase. 

"Travelers  and  spies  who  have  been  amongst  them,  all  con- 
cur in  the  same  story,  that  the  Indians  have  no  desire  to  make 
peace  with  us ;  that  red  wampum  is  passing  through  the  up- 
per villages,  from  the  Sioux  of  St.  Peters,  to  the  head  of  the 
Wabash  ;  that  at  every  council  fire  the  Americans  are  devo- 
ted and  proscribed ;  and  in  short,  that  a  general  combination 
is  ripening  fast." 

At  the  same  period,  the  few  companies  of  rangers,  raised  by 
the  act  of  Congress,  and  the  militia  volunteers,  were  the  only 
defence  of  the  towns  [and  settlements  of  Missouri  and  Il- 
linois. 

A  company  of  rangers  under  command  of  Capt.  Kibby,  in 
the  district  of  St.  Charles,  as  fine  a  body  of  hardy  pioneers  as 
ever  took  the  field,  by  constant  and  rapid  movements,  pro- 
tected the  tract  of  country  from  the  mouth  of  Salt  river  to 
Loutre  Island  on  the  Missouri. 

In  the  month  of  April,  1812,  a  deputation  of  Pottawato- 
mies,  Kickapoos  and  Chippeways,  came  down  the  Mississippi, 
headed  by  Gomo,  to  negotiate  a  treaty  with  Gov.  Edwards. 
They  met  at  Cahokia,  where  the  Governor  addressed  them  in 
a  forcible  speech,  told  them  of  the  strong  desire  of  our  gov- 
ernment to  maintain  peace  and  harmony  with  all  the  Indian 
nations ; — warned  them  of  the  arts  and  deceptions  of  the 
Shawanese  prophet,  and  the  agents  and  traders  from  Canada; 
assured  them  he  perfectly  understood  the  hostile  dispositions 
of  the  Indians ;  the  murders  and  depredations  already  com- 
mitted ;  and  the  combination  amongst  the  tribes  attempted 
to  be  formed  ;  and  should  adopt  energetic  measures  to  pro- 
tect the  white  people.  He  insisted  that  the  murderers  must 
be  delivered  up,  or  the  whole  nation  would  suffer. 

They  professed  to  be  humble,  professed  their  inability  to 
deliver  up  the  murderers,  laid  the  blame  on  the  Winnebagoes, 
and  promised  good  behavior  on  their  part.  Some  of  these 
fellows  were  concerned  in  the  massacre  at  Chicago  in  Au- 
gust. 

During  the  summer  of  1812,  hostile  Indians  were  lurking 
about  the  settlements  in  the  Boone's  Lick  country,  and  along 
the  Missouri  river.  Fort  Mason  had  been  established  on  the 
Misssissippi,  as  a  rendezvous  for  the  United  States  troops  and 
rangers.  Of  this  class  of  troops,  who  furnished  their  own 
horses,  equipments,  forage  and  rations,  at  one  dollar  per  day, 


Appendix.  731 

ten  companies  were  raised  by  an  act  of  the  last  Congress ; 
four  in  Illinois,  two  in  Missouri,  and  four  in  Indiana.  The 
term  of  service  was  for  one  year,  but  by  re-enlistments  were 
continued  from  year  to  year  during  the  war. 

Two  companies  in  Illinois,  and  one  in  Missouri,  had  been 
raised  the  preceding  year.  These  rangers,  as  a  protection  to 
the  defenceless  settlements,  were  a  most  effective  corps. — 
Many  were  heads  of  families,  and  all  were  of  the  most  enter- 
prizing  and  industrious  class  of  citizens,  and  deeply  interested 
in  the  defence  of  their  families  and  friends. 

It  is  no  more  than  justice  to  this  worthy  class  of  citizens, 
who  defended  the  settlements  in  the  now  flourishing  States  of 
Indiana,  Illinois  and  Missouri,  that  we  should  derote  a  page 
or  two  of  this  work  to  this  subject.  And  we  cannot  do  it  bet- 
ter justice  than  in  the  language  of  a  Memorial  from  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  Illinois,  in  1833,  to  the  Congress  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  asking  for  a  donation  of  land,  as  was  given  to  re- 
gular soldiers. 

"  To  the  honorable  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in 
Congress  assembled : 

Your  memorialists,  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State  of 
Illinois,  would  respectfully  present  to  your  honorable  body, 
the  necessity  and  justice  of  calling  your  attention  to  the  re- 
lief of  the  soldiers  who  defended  this  frontier  during  the  late 
war: — The  class  of  citizens,  now  for  the  first  time  attempted 
to  be  brought  forward  to  your  consideration,  are  not  the  least 
deserving  your  aid,  though  they  are  the  last  almost  of  your 
defenders  of  our  country  who  have  asked  for  any  remunera- 
tion. Their  claims  to  this  attention  and  favor  of  Government 
will  be  better  understood  by  a  brief  outline  of  the  condition 
of  the  country,  the  nature  of  their  services,  and  the  great  re- 
liance and  dependence  placed  upon  their  faithfulness,  forti- 
tude and  courage.  In  the  year  1812,  and  long  before,  the  set- 
tlements of  this  country  were  confined  to  a  few  inhabitants 
on  the  margins  of  the  rivers  Mississippi  and  Ohio,  while  all 
between  was  a  wilderness  so  little  frequented  by  the  whites, 
that  it  was  the  constant  abode  of  the  Indian  ;  when  the  late 
war  broke  out,  the  inhabitants  were  always  open  to  their  at- 
tack, and  actually  subject  to  their  perpetual  hostilities.  In 
this  state  of  things  the  weakness  of  their  situation  caused  them 
to  erect  a  house  here  and  there  something  larger  than  their 
ordinary  dwellings,  which  they  dignified  with  the  name  of 
"station;"  some  of  them  had  not  even  this  primitive  defence, 
and  with  it  they  were  exposed,  either  to  the  open  assault,  or 


732  Memorial  for  the  Rangers. 

the  sly  ambush  of  the  enemy,  and  were  daily  falling  a  human 
sacrifice  to  the  most  ferocious  cruelty.     To  depict  their  situa- 
tion, in  one  word,  it  is  only  necessary  to  say,  that  a  few   ad- 
venturers had  left  a  peaceable  and  cultivated  land,  where  the 
savage  war-whoop  was  known  only  by  "  tale  or  history,"  and 
settled  in  an  Indian  country,  destitute  of  money  and  the  ne- 
cessaries they  had  been  accustomed   to  ;   a  little  spot  of  corn 
ground  was  their  only  hope  of  subsistence,  and  with  a  sword 
slung  to  the  plough  handle  they  cultivated  it.     Thus  the  lives 
and  property  of  the  whites  were  always  in  jeopardy  and  often 
destroyed  ;  and  the  government  of  the  territory  itself,  which 
had  been  recently  established  under  the  authority  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  was  immediately  in  danger.     The  late  war  with 
Great  Britain  breaking  out  just  at  this  time  with  all  its  vio- 
lence, and  while  the  great  body  of  the  forces  of  the  United 
States  were  engaged  in  defending  the  more  populous  and  val- 
uable parts  of  the  Union,  this  territory  was  without  the  paren- 
tal aid  of  the  Government;  left  to  rely  upon  its  own  strength 
and  courage  for  its  defence  against  the  Indians,  who  lay  en- 
camped in  myriads  within  it.     The  then  Governor  of  the  Ter- 
ritory, Ninian  Edwards,  by  his  prompt  and  vigorous  exertions, 
contributed  greatly  to  advance  the  means  of  defence,  and  by 
acts  of  disinterested  patriotism  and  magnanimity,  almost  un- 
exampled, relieved  the  necessities  of  the  soldiers  by  advan- 
cing from  his  private  funds  their  pay,  without  which  they  could 
not  have  rendered  any  service.  Relying  upon  individual  means 
and  seeking  only  to  relieve  the  country  of  distress,  the  class 
of  citizens  whose  claims  it  is  the  object  of  this  memorial  to 
urge,  came  boldly  forward,  and  did  effectually  defend  the  citi- 
zens and  property  of  the  United  States.      It  has  not  escaped 
the  observation  of  your  memorialists  that  it  may  be  contended 
that  one  dollar  per  day,  which  was   the  allowance  to  each  in- 
dividual, was  more  than  usual  for  soldiers,  and  extremely  lib- 
eral; but  in  the  estimation  of  your  memorialists,  their  servi- 
ces have  far  outgone  that  consideration,  for  ihe  ranger  \vas 
bound,  out  of  this,  to  furnish  himself  with  a  horse,  arms,  cloth- 
ing, ammunition,  and  provisions;  not  one  cent,  was  ever  con- 
tributed by  Government  towards  their  sustenance,  no  conven- 
ience provided,  but  that,  which  their  own  well  earned  money 
paid  for. 

Many  of  them  had  families,  whose  reliance  for  support  was 
upon  him  who  was  upon  duty,  and  who  were  provided  for  out 
of  his  wages;  while  in  service  they  often  failed  in  cultivating 
their  farms  for  an  entire  season,  and  the  loss  of  a  crop  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  territory  was  a  misfortune  of  no  small  mag- 
nitude. Add  to  these  circumstances,  the  information  that  a 
horse  of  middling  qualities  would  cost  100  dollars,  a  gun  from 
twenty-five  to  forty  dollars,  and  all  other  articles  of  consump- 
tion, use  or  necessity  cost  in  the  same  proportion.  Deduct 


Appendix.  733 

from  their  pay  those  articles  of  necessity,  without  which  they 
were  not  qualified  for  service,  what  remains  as  a  remunera- 
tion for  the  time,  service  and  devotion  of  these  citizen  soldiers? 
Your  memorialists  answer  unhesitatingly,  nothing.  They  left 
their  fire-sides,  their  families,  and  their  farms,  penetrated  the 
uninhabited  wilderness,  traversed  countries  without  roads  or 
bridges ;  and  met  without  a  murmur,  all  the  inclemencies  of 
the  weather  "  to  beard  the  lion  in  his  den,"  the  savage  in  his 
ambuscade,  and  rid  the  country  of  violence,  outrage  and 
death. 

For  services  like  these,  your  memorialists  rely  ing  confident- 
ly upon  the  justice  and  liberality  of  Congress,  ask  for  a  remu- 
neration to  all  these  organized  militiamen,  mounted  militia- 
men, and  rangers  who  defended  this  frontier  during  the  late 
war  under  the  authority  of  Congress.  There  are  near  thirty 
millions  of  acres  of  unappropriated  lands  in  the  State  of  Illi- 
nois. A  liberal  donation  of  this  land  would  be  but  little  ex- 
pense to  the  General  Government,  and  would  be  of  great  ad- 
vantage to  those  for  whom  it  is  asked,  and  an  easy  method  of 
remunerating  such  signal  services  and  so  devotedly  rendered. 
Which  was  read. 

On  the  question,  Will  the  House  concur  with  the  commit- 
tee, in  the  adoption  of  said  memorial? 

It  was  decided  in  the  affirmative. 

SECTION  SECOND. 
Incidents  of  the  War  continued. 

It  was  in  the  month  of  April,  1812,  that  three  families  were 
murdered  by  the  Indians,  at  no  great  distance  from  Vin- 
cennes.  One  was  the  family  of  Mr.  Hutson,  on  the  Wabash  ; 
another,  the  family  of  Mr.  Harriman,  on  the  Embarras,  and 
the  third  a  family  of  Mr.  Hinton,  on  Driftwood  fork  of  White 
river.  In  May,  a  party  of  Indians  came  to  the  house  of  a 
Mr.  McGowan,  about  forty  miles  from  Vincennes,  and  killed 
him  in  bed.  His  family  escaped. 

The  news  of  the  declaration  of  war  produced  no  other  ef- 
fect than  to  inspire  the  people  with  more  zeal  in  defending 
the  settlements  and  repelling  the  savage  foe  that  hovered 
around  them. 

There  was  a  United  States  factory  and  a  small  stockade 
fort  at  Bellevue,  up  the  Mississippi,  which  was  besieged  by  a 
party  of  Winnebagoes,  about  two  hundred  in  number.  It  was 
not  an  eligible  situation  for  defence,  as  from  points  of  steep 
and  high  bluffs,  the  invaders  could  throw  fire-brands  and  burn- 


734  Incidents  of  the  War  Continued. 

ing  sticks  on  the  block-houses.  The  commanding  officer,  Lt. 
Thomas  Hamilton,  with  Lieutenant  B.  Vasquez  and  a  small 
force,  resolutely  defended  the  fort,  and  drove  off  the  assail- 
ants. 

We  have  already  given  a  sketch  of  the  expedition  of  Gov- 
ernor Edwards  and  Colonel  Russell,  against  the  Kickapoos  at 
the  head  of  Peoria  Lake.  [Annals,  617 — 619.] 

The  year  1813,  opened  with  gloomy  prospects  to  these  far 
off  and  exposed  territories.  On  the  9th  of  February,  ten  In- 
dians contrived  to  elude  the  vigilance  of  the  rangers  in  Illi- 
nois, passed  down  near  the  Wabash,  and  massacred  two  fami- 
lies at  the  mouth  of  Cache  [Cash]  river,  on  the  Ohio,  seven 
miles  from  the  Mississippi. 

Indians  frequently  crossed  the  Mississippi  above  the  mouth 
of  the  Illinois  river,  and  committed  depredations,  killed  and 
scalped  individuals,  and  in  some  instances  families,  in  Saint 
Charles  county.  The  exposed  settlements  were  in  the  district 
now  included  in  Lincoln  and  Pike  counties. 

In  the  month  of  March,  David  McLain,  a  minister  of  the 
gospel,  and  a  Mr.  Young,  traveling  from  the  Boone's  Lick 
settlement  into  Kentucky,  after  having  crossed  the  Kaskaskia 
river  at  "  Hill's  ferry,"  in  the  present  county  of  Clinton,  in 
Illinois,  were  fired  on  by  a  party  of  Indians.  Young  was 
killed  and  scalped ;  McLain's  horse  was  shot,  and  fell,  but  he 
escaped  in  the  woods,  and  ran  with  great  speed,  with  several 
Indians  in  chase.  Soon  all  fell  back  but  one,  who  was  an 
athletic  fellow,  and  appeared  determined  not  to  lose  his  prey. 
Mr.  McLain  was  encumbered  with  a  thick  overcoat,  wrap- 
pers on  his  legs  and  spurs  on  his  feet.  The  Indian  fired  and 
missed  him,  which  gave  him  a  little  chance  to  throw  off  his 
coat,  in  hopes  the  prize  would  attract  the  attention  of  the 
savage.  Finding  no  other  Indians  in  pursuit,  and  as  this  one 
approached,  McLain  would  make  signs  of  surrender,  until 
the  Indian  was  within  a  few  feet,  when  he  would  assume  an 
attitude  of  defiance,  watch  the  motion  of  his  enemy,  and  at 
the  instant  he  fired,  dodge  the  ball  and  then  put  on  all  his  en- 
ergy to  escape.  The  contest  continued  for  more  than  an  hour, 
during  which  his  foe  fired  at  him  seven  times.  In  one  case, 
as  he  threw  his  breast  forward,  he  unfortunately  threw  his 
elbow  back  and  received  the  ball  in  his  arm 

During  the  chase  he  contrived  to  throw  off  his  boots.  They 


Appendix.  735 

had  made  a  considerable  distance  in  the  timbered  bottom  down 
the  river.      Finding  himself  nearly  exhausted,   the  last   and 
only  chance  was  to  swim  the  river.     He  plunged  in,  making 
the  utmost  effort  of  his  remaining  strength,  and  yet  he  had  to 
keep  an  eye  constantly  fixed  on  his  wily  foe,  who  had  loaded 
his  gun  the  eighth  time,  and  from  the   bank  brought  it  to  a 
poise,   and    fired  a  second    after  McLain  had  dove   in  deep 
water.     By  swimming  diagonally  down  stream  he  had  gained 
on  his  pursuer,  who,  with  the  peculiar  yell  on  such  occasions, 
gave  up  the  chase.     Doubtless  his  report  to  the   braves  was, 
that  he  had  followed  a  "  great  medicine,"  who  was  so  charm- 
ed that  his  musket  balls  could  not  kill  him.     Mr.  McLain  was 
so  exhausted  that  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  he  could 
crawl  up  the  bank;  having,  in  a  state  of  profuse  perspiration, 
plunged  into  the  cold  water  of  the  river.     He  was  wet,  chill- 
ed, badly  wounded,  and   scarcely  able  to  stand.     Two  days 
previous,  two  or  three  families  about  Hill's  ferry,  had  become 
alarmed  from  Indian  "signs,"  and  removed  to  the  west  of  Sil- 
ver creek.     It  was  thirty-five  miles  to  the  Badgley  settlement, 
which  McLain,  after  incredible  effort   and  suffering,  reached 
the  next  morning.     Here  with  his  wound  and  a  severe  fever, 
he  lay  several  weeks.     A  party  of  volunteers  went  over  the 
Kaskaskia,  buried  Mr.  Young,  found  Mr.  McLain's  saddle- 
bags, but  saw  no  Indians. 

The  fact  of  this  rencontre  may  be  found  in  the  "  Missouri 
Gazette"  of  March  20th  ;  the  particulars  we  obtained  from 
the  heroic  sufferer  at  his  residence  in  Howard  county,  Mo.,  in 
1818. 

A  farmer,  of  the  name  of  Boltenhouse,  was  killed  near  the 
Wabash,  a  few  miles  south  of  Albion,  in  a  little  prairie  that 
perpetuates  his  name.  A  Mr.  Moore  and  his  son,  while  haul- 
ing a  load  of  corn  in  the  South-Eastern  part  of  Jefferson  coun- 
ty, Illinois,  were  killed  and  scalped  in  the  prairie  that  bears 
his  name.  One  or  two  more  persons  were  killed  between  that 
place  arid  the  U.  S.  Saline. 

The  "  Gazette"  reckons  "sixteen  men,  women,  and  children 
who  fell  victims  to  savage  ferocity,  in  Missouri  and  Illinois, 
between  February  8th  and  March  20th." 

The  same  paper  has  a  communication  from  a  gentleman  in 
Illinois,  of  the  efforts  of  the  "  rangers"  and  "  volunteers,"  un- 


736  Incidents  of  the   War   Continued. 

der  the  direction  of  Governor  Edwards,  to  protect  the  settle- 
ments. 

"We  have  now  nearly  finished  twenty-two  family  forts, 
[stations,]  extending  from  the  Mississippi,  nearly  opposite 
Bellefontaine,  [mouth  of  the  Missouri,]  to  the  Kaskaskia  river, 
a  distance  of  about  sixty  miles.  Between  each  fort,  spies  are 
to  pass  and  repass  daily,  and  communicate  throughout  the 
whole  line,  which  will  be  ex-tended  to  the  U.S.  Saline,  and  from 
thence  to.  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio.  Rangers  and  mounted 
militia,  to  the  amount  of  five  hundred  men,  constantly  scour 
the  country  from  twenty  to  fifty  miles  in  advance  of  our  set- 
tlements, so  that  we  feel  perfectly  easy  as  to  an  attack  from 
our  'red  brethren,'  as  Mr.  Jefferson  very  lovingly  calls  them." 

Notwithstanding  these  measures,  the  Indians  would  fre- 
quently prowl  through  the  unsettled  country  between  Kaskas- 
kia and  the  Ohio  river,  and  occasionally  commit  outrages. 
On  the  last  of  April  they  attacked  a  house  about  twelve  miles 
south-east  of  that  town,  and  tomahawked  and  scalped  a 
boy. 

Amongst  the  British  traders,  that  had  great  influence  over 
the  northern*. Indians,  was  a  Mr.  Robert  Dickson,  who,  at  this 
period,  had  stationed  himself  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  furnished 
the  savages  with  large  supplies  of  goods  and  munitions  of 
war.  Mr.  Dickson  had  the  manners  and  appearance  of  a 
gentleman,  but  doubtless,  as  did  many  other  British  subjects, 
who  anticipated  a  war  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States,  felt  himself  authorized  to  enlist  the  Indians  as  parti- 
sans. 

About  the  first  of  June,  (1813,)  Mr.  Manuel  Lisa,  a  citizen 
of  St.  Louis,  and  an  acting  partner  of  the  Missouri  Fur  Com- 
pany, arrived  from  the  Mandan  villages  o'n  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri. He  reported,  [Gazette,  June  5,]  that  the  Auricarees, 
Chiennes,  Gros  Ventres,  Crows,  and  Arrapahoes,  were  hostile 
to  the  Americans ;  that  the  British  North  West  Company  had 
a  number  of  trading  houses  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
waters  of  the  Missouri,  and  were  active  in  their  endeavors  to 
enlist  the  savages  against  the  Americans. 

About  this  period,  Benjamin  Howard,  Governor  of  Mis- 
souri, resigned  the  office,  and  accepted  the  commission  of 
Brigadier-General  in  command  of  the  rangers  in  both  territo- 
ries, and  as  the  United  States  government  had  made  no  pro- 
vision to  sustain  the  militia  volunteers,  those  in  Illinois  were 


Appendix.  737 

discharged  from  further  services  by  Governor  Edwards,  as 
Commander-in-chief.  The  order  is  dated  on  the  eighth  of 
June. 

About  twenty  horses  were  stolen  by  Indians  on  the  remote 
settlements  of  Shoal  creek,  Illinois,  during  this  month. 

Fort  Madison,  (in  Iowa,  above  the  Lower  Rapids,)  was  sub- 
ject to  repeated  attacks  from  the  Sacs,  Foxes  and  Winneba- 
goes. 

"On  the  16th  of  July,  the  enemy  carried  a  block-house, 
lately  erected  by  the  commanding  officer,  to  command  a  ra- 
vine in  which  they  had  taken  advantage  in  all  their  attacks 
upon  this  place ;  they  kept  up  a  fire  on  the  garrison  for  about 
two  hours.  This  is  the  ninth  or  tenth  rencontre  that  has  taken 
place  on  our  frontier,  between  the  4th  and  17th  of  this  month." 
— [Gazette,  July  31st.] 

An  editorial  in  the  same  paper,  gives  some  important  facts 
concerning  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  the  resources  at  the  trading 
posts  in  Wisconsin,  for  supplying  both  British  and  Indians  in 
their  hostilities.  A  letter  about  the  same  time  from  Governor 
Edwards  to  Governor  Shelby,  of  Kentucky,  designed  to  call 
the  attention  of  the  government  to  the  occupancy  of  that 
position,  contains  similar  facts.  We  copy  the  editorial : 

"Last  winter,  we  endeavored  to  turn  the  attention  of  gov- 
ernment towards  Prairie  du  Chien,  a  position  which  we  ought 
to  occupy,  by  establishing  a  military  post  at  the  village,  or  on 
the  Ouisconsin,  six  miles  below. 

"For  several  months  we  have  not  been  able  to  procure  any 
other  than  Indian  information  from  the  Prairie,  the  enemy 
having  cutoff  all  communication  with  us;  but  we  are  per- 
suaded that  permanent  subsistence  can  be  obtained  for  one 
thousand  regular  troops  in  the  upper  lake  country.  At  Prai- 
rie du  Chien  there  are  about  fifty  families,  most  of  whom  are 
engaged  in  agriculture  ;  their  common  field  is  four  miles  long, 
by  half  a  mile  in  breadth.  Besides  this  field,  they  have  three 
separate  farms  of  considerable  extent,  and  twelve  horse  mills 
to  manufacture  their  produce. 

"At  the  village  of  L'abre  Croche,  an  immense  quantity  of 
corn  is  raised:  from  thence  to  Milwaukee,  on  lake  Michigan, 
there  are  several  villages  where  corn  is  grown  extensively. 
These  supplies,  added  to  the  fine  fish  which  abound  in  the 
lakes  and  rivers,  will  furnish  the  enemy's  garrison  with  pro- 
vision in  abundance. 

******* 

"Our  little  garrison  on  the  Mississippi,  half  way  up  to  the 


738  Views   of  Governor   Edwards. 

Prairie,  has  taught  the  Indians  a  few  lessons  on  prudence. 
With  about  thirty  effective  men,  those  brave  and  meritorious 
soldiers,  Lieutenant  Hamilton  and  Vasquez,  in  a  wretched 
pen,  improperly  called  a  fort,  beat  off  five  hundred  savages  of 
the  North-west." 

This  was  Bcllevue,  already  noticed,  and  the  site  of  the  town 
of  that  name  in  Jackson  county,  Iowa. 

The  movements  of  the  government  against  Canada  and  the 
combined  forces  of  the  British  and  Indians,  wrought  convic- 
tion in  the  sagacious  mind  of  Governor  Edwards,  that  should 
they  be  defeated  (as  was  the  case  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames,) 
the  savages  would  retreat,  and  by  marauding  bands  attack 
the  settlements  of  Illinois  and  Missouri.  His  correspondence 
on  this  subject  with  the  War  Department  was  frequent  and 
voluminous.  Our  limited  space  will  allow  only  a  passing  no- 
tice of  the  fact. 

Early  in  August,  one  man  \vas  killed  and  another  wounded 
in  a  field  near  "  Stout's  fort,"  on  the  Cuivre,  in  St.  Charles 
county.  The  scattered  settlements,  through  what  is  now  Lin- 
coln and  the  South-Eastern  part  of  Pike  counties,  were  often 
harrassed  with  small  scouting  parties  of  Indians,  in  1813. — 
On  the  15th  of  the  same  month,  a  party  of  sixteen  picked 
men  from  the  company  of  rangers,  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Nathan  Boone,  were  attacked  late  at  light,  between 
the  Illinois  and  Mississippi  rivers,  by  a  party  of  forty  or  fifty 
Indians.  Captain  Boone  formed  his  m'en  back  from  the  fires, 
and,  as  they  expected,  the  Indians  rushed  on  the  camping 
ground.  Unfortunately,  owing  to  a  recent  rain,  the  guns  of 
the  party  were  wet,  did  but  poor  execution,  and  they  were 
obliged  to  retreat.  One  of  the  party  received  a  slight  wound 
in  the  hand.  This  party  had  been  sent  out  by  General  How- 
ard as  spies. 

During  the  campaign  in  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1813, 
all  the  companies  of  rangers  from  Illinois  and  Missouri  were 
under  the  command  of  General  Howard.  Large  parties  of 
hostile  Indians  were  known  to  have  collected  about  Peoria, 
and  scouting  parties  traversed  the  district  between  the  Illinois 
and  Mississippi  rivers,  then  an  entire  wilderness. 

It  was  from  these  marauding  parties  that  the  frontier  settle- 
ments of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  were  harrassed.  It  became  an 
object  of  no  small  importance,  to  penetrate  the  country  over 


Appendix.  739 

which  they  ranged,  and  establish  a  fort  at  Peoria,  and  thus 
drive  them  to  the  northern  wilderness.  Our  authorities  for  the 
incidents  of  the  campaign,  is  a  long  letter  from  the  honorable 
John  Reynolds,  who  was  anon-commissioned  officer  in  a  com- 
pany of  spies;  and  the  "Missouri  Gazette,"  of  November 
6th.  The  rendezvous  for  the  Illinois  regiment  was  "  Camp 
Russell,"  two  miles  north  of  Edwardsville.  The  whole  party 
when  collected,  made  up  of  the  rangers,  volunteers  and  mili- 
tia, amounted  to  about  fourteen  hundred  men,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Gen.  Howard.  Robert  Wash,  Esq.,  and  Dr.  Walk- 
er, of  St.  Louis,  were  of  his  staff.  Colonels  Benjamin  Ste- 
phenson,  then  of  Randolph  county,  Illinois,  and  Alexander 
McNair,  of  St.  Louis,  commanded  the  regiments.  W.  B. 
Whiteside  and  John  Moredock,  of  Illinois,  were  Majors  in  the 
second  regiment,  and  William  Christy  and  Nathan  Boone  fill- 
ed the  same  office  in  the  first,  or  Missouri  regiment.  A  Major 
Desha,  a  United  States  officer  from  Tennessee,  was  in  the 
army,  but  what  post  he  occupied  we  do  not  learn.  Colonel 
E.  B.  Clemson,  of  the  United  States  Army,  was  Inspector. — 
Governor  Reynolds  states,  there  were  some  United  States 
rangers  from  Kentucky,  and  a  company  from  Vincennes.  We 
have  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  names  of  all  the  subaltern 
officers.  We  know  that  Samuel  Whiteside,  Joseph  Phillips, 
Nathaniel  Journey  and  Samuel  Judy,  were  Captains  in  the 
Illinois  companies. 

The  Illinois  regiment  lay  encamped  on  the  Piasau,  opposite 
Portage  de  Sioux,  waiting  for  more  troops,  for  three  or  four 
weeks.  They  then  commenced  the  march,  and  swam  their 
horses  over  the  Illinois  river,  about  two  miles  above  the  mouth. 
On  the  high  ground  in  Calhoun  county,  they  had  a  skirmish 
with  a  party  of  Indians.  The  Missouri  troops,  with  General 
Howard,  crossed  the  Mississippi  from  Fort  Mason,  and  form- 
ed a  junction  with  the  Illinois  troops.  The  baggage  and  men 
were  transported  in  canoes,  and  the  horses  swam  the  river. 

The  army  marched  for  a  number  of  days  along  the  Missis- 
sippi bottom.  On  or  near  the  site  of  Quincy,  was  a  large 
Sac  village,  and  an  encampment,  that  must  have  contained  a 
thousand  warriors.  It  appeared  to  have  been  deserted  but  a 
short  period. 

The  army  continued  its  march  near  the  Mississippi,  some 
distance  above  the  Lower  Rapids,  and  then  struck  across  the 


740  General  Howard's  Expedition. 

prairies  for  the  Illinois  river,  which  they  reached  below  the 
mouth  of  Spoon  river,  and  marched  to  Peoria  village.  Here 
was  a  small  stockade,  commanded  by  Colonel  Nicholas  of  the 
United  States  Army.  Two  days  previous,  the  Indians  had 
made  an  attack  on  the  fort,  and  were  repulsed.  The  army, 
on  its  march  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  Illinois  river,  found 
numerous  fresh  trails,  all  passing  northward,  which  indicated 
that  the  savages  were  fleeing  in  that  direction. 

Next  morning  the  General  marched  his  troops  to  the  Sen- 
atchvvine,  a  short  distance  above  the  head  of  Peoria  Lake, 
where  was  an  old  Indian  village,  called  Gomo's  village. — 
Here  they  found  the  enemy  had  taken  water  and  ascended  the 
Illinois.  This,  and  two  other  villages,  were  burnt.  Finding 
no  enemy  to  fight,  the  army  was  marched  back  to  Peoria,  to 
assist  the  regular  troops  in  building  Fort  Clark,  so  denomina- 
ted in  memory  of  the  old  hero  of  1778;  and  Major  Christy, 
with  a  party,  was  ordered  to  ascend  the  river  with  two  keel 
boats,  duly  armed  and  protected,  to  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  and 
break  up  any  Indian  establishments  that  might  be  in  that  quar- 
ter. Major  Boone,  with  a  detachment,  was  dispatched  to 
scour  the  country  on  Spoon  river,  in  the  direction  of  Rock 
River. 

The  rangers  and  militia  passed  to  the  east  side  of  the  Illi- 
nois, cut  timber,  which  they  hauled  on  truck- wheels  by  drag 
ropes  to  the  lake,  and  rafted  it  across.  The  fort  was  erected 
by  the  regular  troops  under  Captain  Phillips.  In  preparing 
the  timber,  the  rangers  and  militia  were  engaged  about  two 
weeks. 

Major  Christy  and  the  boats  returned  from  the  Rapids  with- 
out any  discovery,  except  additional  proofs  of  the  alarm  and 
fright  of  the  enemy,  and  Major  Boone  returned  with  his  force 
with  the  same  observations. 

It  was  the  plan  of  General  Howard  to  return  by  a  tour 
through  the  Rock  River  valley,  but  the  cold  weather  set  in  un- 
usually early.  By  the  middle  of  October  it  was  intensely  cold, 
the  troops  had  no  clothing  for  a  winter  campaign,  and  their 
horses  would,  in  all  probability,  fail ;  the  Indians  had  evident- 
ly fled  a  long  distance  in  the  interior,  so  that,  all  things  con- 
sidered, he  resolved  to  return  the  direct  route  to  Camp  Rus- 
sell, where  the  militia  and  volunteers  were  disbanded  on  the 
22nd  of  October.  Supplies  of  provisions,  and  munitions  of 


Appendix.  741 

war  had  been  sent   to   Peoria,  in  boats,  which   had   reached 
there  a  few  days  previous  to  the  army. 

It  may  seem  to  those,  who  delight  in  tales  of  fighting  and 
bloodshed,  that  this  expedition  was  a  very  insignificant  affair. 
Very  few  Indians  were  killed,  very  little  fighting  done,  but  one 
or  two  of  the  army  were  lost,  and  yet  as  a  means  of  protect- 
ing the  frontier  settlements  of  these  territories,  it  was  most 
efficient,  and  gave  at  least  six  months  quiet  to  the  people. — 
After  this,  Indians  shook  their  heads  and  said  "  White  men 
like  the  leaves  in  the  forest, — like  the  grass  in  the  prairies, — 
they  grow  every  where." 

SECTION  THIRD. 
Campaign  of  1814. 

The  first  act  of  hostilities  we  find  on  record  for  1814,  is  an 
attack  on  a  party  of  surveyors  in  the  vicinity  of  the  United 
States  Saline,  in  Saline  county,  Illinois,  when  Major  Nelson 
Rector  was  severely  wounded.  His  left  arm  was  broken,  a 
ball  entered  his  left  side,  below  the  collar  bone,  and  another 
cut  the  skin  on  the  right  side  of  his  head.  The  Indians  were 
concealed  under  the  bank  of  a, creek.  This  was  on  the  first 
of  March. 

Two  brothers,  by  name  of  Eastwood,  were  trapping  for  bea- 
ver on  the  head  waters  of  the  Gasconade  and  White  rivers, 
when  they  were  attacked  by  a  party  of  Osages,  who  after- 
wards said  they  mistook  them  for  southern  Indians,  with  whom 
they  were  at  war.  They  killed  one  brother,  and  the  other 
made  his  escape.  The  Osage  nation  professed  to  be  friendly 
to  the  United  States.  Subsequently,  on  the  27th  of  May, 
Pierre  Chouteau,  Esq.,  agent  for  the  Osages,  arrived  in  St. 
Louis,  with  several  chiefs,  with  three  Osages  as  prisoners, 
who  had  been  given  up  as  the  murderers. 

About  the  first  of  May,  Governor  Clark  fitted  out  five  bar- 
ges, with  fifty  regular  troops  and  one  hundred  and  forty  vol- 
unteers, and  left  St.  Louis  on  an  expedition  to  Prairie  du 
Chien.  On  the  13th  of  June,  Governor  Clark,  with  several 
gentlemen  who  accompanied  him,  returned  with  one  of  .the 
barges,  having  left  the  officers  and  troops  to  erect  a  fort  and 
maintain  the  position. 

No  Indians  molested  the  party  till  they  reached  Rock  river, 


742  Battle  at  Prairie  du  Chien. 

where  they  had  a  skirmish  with  some  hostile  Sauks.  The 
Foxes  resided  at  Dubuque,  and  professed  to  be  peaceable,  and 
promised  to  fight  on  the  American  side. 

Twenty  days  before  the  expedition  reached  Prairie  du 
Chien,  the  British  trader,  Dickson,  left  that  place  for  Macki- 
nac,  with  eighty  Winnebagoes,  one  hundred  and  twenty  Folls- 
avoine,  and  one  hundred  Sioux,  probably  as  recruits  for  the 
British  army  along  the  lake  country.  He  had  gained  infor- 
mation of  the  expedition  of  Governor  Clark  from  his  Indian 
spies,  and  had  left  Captain  Deace  with  a  body  of  Mackinac 
fencibles,  with  orders  to  protect  the  place.  The  Sioux  and 
Renards,  (Foxes,)  having  refused  to  fight  the  Americans, 
Deace  and  his  soldiers  fled.  The  inhabitants  also  fled  into 
the  country,  but  returned  as  soon  as  they  learned  they  were 
not  to  be  injured.  A  temporary  defence  was  immediately 
erected.  Lieutenant  Perkins,  with  sixty  rank  and  file  from* 
Major  Z.  Taylor's  company  of  the  7th  regiment,  took  posses- 
sion of  the  house  occupied  by  the  Mackinac  Fur  Company,  in 
which  they  found  nine  or  ten  trunks  of  Dickson's  property, 
with  his  papers  and  correspondence.  A  writer  in  the  "Ga- 
zette" says: —  •. 

"The  farms  of  Prairie  du  Chien  are  in  high  cultivation  ;  be- 
tween two  and  three  hundred  barrels  of  flour  may  be  manu- 
factured there  this  season,  besides  a  vast  quantity  of  corn. 

Two  of  the  largest  boats  were  left  in  command  of  Aid-de- 
camp Kennedy,  and  Captains  Sullivan  and  Yeizer,  whose 
united  forces  amount  to  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  men. 
The  regulars  under  command  of  Lieutenant  Perkins,  are  sta- 
tioned on  shore,  and  are  assisted  by  the  volunteers  in  building 
the  new  fort." 

This  was  called  Fort  Shelby.  On  his  return,  the  people  of 
St.  Louis  gave  the  Governor  a  public  dinner,  and  expressed 
their  hearty  gratulations  for  the  success  of  the  enterprize. 

About  the  last  of  June,  Captain  John  Sullivan,  with  his 
company  of  militia,  and  some  volunteers  whose  term  of  ser- 
vice had  expired,  returned  from  Prairie  du  Chien,  and  report- 
ed that  the  fort  was  finished,  the  boats  well  manned  and  bar- 
ricaded; that  the  Indians  were  hovering  around,  and  had 
taken  prisoner  a  Frenchman  while  hunting  his  horses.  The 
boats  employed,  carried  a  six  pounder  on  their  main  deck,  and 
several  howitzers  on  the  quarters  and  gangway.  The  men 
were  protected  by  a  musket-proof  barricade. 


Appendix.  743 

On  the  6th  of  August,  the  Gazette,  (our  authority  in  these 
details,)  states : — 

"Just  as  we  had  put  our  paper  to  press,  Lieutenant  Perkins, 
with  the  troops  which  composed  the  garrison  at  Prairie  du 
Chien,  arrived  here.  Lieutenant  Perkins  fought  the  combined 
force  of  British  and  Indians  three  days  and  nights,  until  they 
approached  the  pickets  by  mining ;  provisions,  ammunition 
and  water  expended,  when  he  capitulated.  The  officers  to 
keep  their  private  property,  and  the  whole  not  to  serve  until 
duly  exchanged.  Five  of  our  troops  were  wounded  during 
the  siege." 

In  a  letter  from  Captain  Yeizer,  to  Governor  Clark,  dated, 
St.  Louis,  July  28th,  1814,  we  find  the  following  facts.  Cap- 
tain Y.  commanded  one  of  the  gun-boats,  a  keel-boat  fitted 
up  in  the  manner  heretofore  described.  On  the  17th  July,  at 
half  past  one  o'clock,  from  twelve  to  fifteen  hundred  British 
and  Indians,  marched  up  in  full  view  of  the  fort  and  the  town 
and  demanded  a  surrender,  "which  demand  was  positively  re- 
fused." They  attacked  Mr.  Yeizer's  boat  at  three  o'clock,  at 
long-shot  distance.^  He  returned  the  compliment  by  firing 
round-shot  from  his  six  pounder,  which  made  them  change 
their  position  to  a  small  mound  nearer  the  boat.  At  the  same 
time  the  Indians  were  firing  from  behind  the  houses  and 
pickets.  The  Boat  then  moved  up  the  river  to  the  head  of  th'e 
village;  keeping  up  a  constant  discharge  of  firearms  and  ar- 
tillery, which  was  answered  by  the  enemy  from  the  shore. 
The  enemy's  boats  then  crossed  the  river  below,  to  attack  the 
Americans  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.  A  galling 
fire  from  opposite  points  was  now  kept  up  by  the  enemy,  on 
this  boat,  until  the  only  alternative  was  left  for  Captain  Yei- 
zer to  run  the  boat  through  the  the  enemy's  lines  to  a  point 
five  miles  below;  keeping  up  a  brisk  fire. 

In  the  meantime,  another  gun-boat  that  lay  on  shore,  was 
fired  on  until  it  took  fire  and  was  burnt.  In  Captain  Yeizer's 
boat,  two  officers  and  four  privates  were  wounded,  and  one 
private  killed. 

The  British  and  Indians  were  commanded  by  Colonel  Mc- 
Cay,  (or  Mackey,)  who  came  in  boats  from  Mackinac,  by  Green 
Bay  and  the  Wisconsin,  with  artillery.  Their  report  gives 
from  one  hundred  and  sixty  to  two  hundred  regulars,  and  "Mi- 
chigan fencibles,"  and  about  eight  hundred  Indians.  They 
landed  their  artillery  below  the  town  and  fort,  and  formed  a 


Battle  at  Rock  Island. 

battery;  attacking  the  forts  and  the  boats  at  the  same  time. — 
After  Captain  Yeizer's  boat  had  been  driven  from  its  anchor- 
age, sappers  and  miners  began  operations  in  ihe  bank,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  fort.  Lieutenant  Perkins 
held  out  while  hope  lasted.  In  the  fort  were  George  and 
James  Kennerly,  the  former  an  aid  to  Governor  Clark ;  the 
latter  a  Lieutenant  in  the  militia. 

During  this  season  strenuous  efforts  were  made  by  the  small 
force  at  command,  to  plant  forts  along  the  Upper  Mississippi. 
Cape  au  Gris,  (Cap  au  Grey)  an  old  French  hamlet  ontthe  left 
bank  of  the  Mississippi,  a  few  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Illinois  river,  was  the  place  of  rendezvous.  Armed  boats,  al- 
ready described,  the  means  of  transportation. 

Among  the  persons  in  command  were  brevet  Major  Zacha- 
ry  Taylor,  (President  of  the  United  States,  in  1850,)  and  Cap- 
tain Campbell,  of  the  United  States  regular  army.  Among 
the  commanders  of  companies,  or  of  boats,  we  find  the  names 
of  Captain  Whiteside  and  N.  Rector. 

A  detachment,  under  command  of  Major  Taylor,  left  Cape 
au  Gris  on  the  23d  of  August,  in  boats,  for  the  Indian  town  at 
Rock  River.     The  detachment  consisted  of  three  hundred  and 
thirty-four  effective  men,  officers,  non-commissioned  officers 
and  privates.     A  report  from  the  commanding  officer  to  Gen- 
eral Howard,  dated  from  Fort  Madison,  September  6th,  and 
published  in  the  "Missouri  Gazette"  of  the  17th,  gives  the  de- 
tails of  the  expedition.      They  met  with  no  opposition  until 
they  reached  Rock  Island,  where   Indian  villages  were  situa- 
ted on  both  sides  of  the  river,  above  and  below  the  Rapids. — 
The  object  was  to  destroy  these  villages  and  the  fields  of  corn. 
They  continued  up  the  rapids  to  Campbell's  Island,  so  named 
from  the  commander  of  one  of  the  boats  ;  so  named  from  some 
hard  fighting  his  detachment  had  with  some  of  the  Indians. — 
The  policy  of  the  commanding  officer  was  to  commence  with 
the  upper  villages,  and  sweep  both  sides  of  the  river.     But 
the  policy  was  interrupted  by  a  party  of  British,  and  more 
than  a  thousand  Indians,   with  a  six  and  a  three  pounder, 
brought  from  Prairie  du    Chicn.      Captains    Whiteside  and 
Rector,  and  the  men  under  their  charge,  with  Lieutenant  Ed- 
ward Hempstead,  who  commanded  a  boat,  fought  the  enemy 
bravely  for  several  hours  as  they  descended  the  Rapids.     The 
danger  consisted  in  the  enemy's  shot  sinking  the  boats,  and 


Appendix.  745 

they  were  compelled  to  fall  down  below  the  rapids  to  repair 
the  boats. 

"I  then  called  the  officers  together,  and  put  to  them  the  fol- 
lowing question:  'Are  we  able,  334  effective  men,  to  fight  the 
enemy,  with  any  prospect  of  success  and  effect,  which  is  to 
destroy  their  villages  and  corn  ?'  They  were  of  opinion  the 
enemy  was  at  least  three  men  to  one,  and  that  it  was  not 
practicable  to  effect  either  object.  I  then  determined  to  drop 
down  the  river  to  the  Desmoines,  without  delay,  as  some  of 
the  officers  of  the  rangers  informed  me  their  men  were  short 
of  provisions,  and  execute  the  principal  object  of  the  expedi- 
tion in  erecting  a  fort  to  command  the  river.  *  *  * 

"In  the  affair  at  Rock  river,  I  had  eleven  men  badly  wound- 
ed, three  mortally,  of  whom  one  has  since  died. 

"I  am  much  indebted  to  the  officers  for  their  prompt  obedi- 
ence to  orders,  nor  do  I  believe  a  braver  set  of  men  could 
have  been  collected  than  those  who  compose  this  detach- 
ment. But,  Sir,  I  conceive  it  would  have  been  madness  in  me, 
as  well  as  in  direct  violation  of  my  orders,  to  have  risked  the 
detachment  without  a  prospect  of  success. 

"I  believe  I  would  have  been  fully  able  to  have  accom- 
plished your  views,  if  the  enemy  had  not  been  supplied  with 
artillery,  and  so  advantageously  posted,  as  to  render  it  impos- 
sible for  us  to  have  dislodged  him,  without  imminent  danger 
of  the  loss  of  the  whole  detachment." 

Fort  Johnston,  a  rough  stockade  with  block-houses  of  round 
logs,  was  then  erected  on  the  present  site  of  the  town  of  War- 
saw, opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Desmoines. 

On  the  18th  of  September,  General  Benjamin  HowarJr 
whose  military  district  extended  from  the  interior  of  Indiana 
to  the  frontier  of  Mexico,  died  in  St.  Louis,  after  a  short,  but 
painful  illness.  He  was  a  native  of  Virginia,  removed  with, 
his  father  to  Kentucky  at  an  early  period,  and  was  engage^ 
in  the  defence  of  the  frontiers  before  the  treaty  of  Greenville. 
After  that  period,  he  commenced  the  study  of  the  law,  and  in 
the  course  of  a  few  years,  was  ranked  among  the  ablest  men  of 
his  profession,  when  he  was  appointed  to  a  seat  on  the  bench. 

About  1806,  or  1807,  he  was  elected  to  Congress  from  the 
Lexington  district,  and  was  in  Congress  when  he  was  ap- 
pointed Governor  of  Missouri  Territory,  as  the  successor  of 
Governor  Lewis.  An  interesting  biographical  sketch  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Missouri  Gazette,  of  October  1st.  We  have  also 
a  letter  from  the  venerable  David  Todd,  of  Columbia,  Mis- 
souri, giving  a  sketch  of  his  family  connections,  character  and 
47 


746  Death  of  General  Howard. 

personal  appearance,  for   which  we  have   not  room  in  this 
section. 

Fort  Madison,  after  sustaining  repeated  attacks  from  the 
Indians,  was  evacuated  and  burnt.  And  in  the  month  of  Oc- 
tober, the  people  of  St.  Louis  were  astounded  with  the  intelli- 
gence, that  the  troops  stationed  in  Fort  Johnston,  had  burnt 
the  block-houses,  destroyed  the  works,  and  retreated  down  the 
river  to  Cape  au  Gres.  The  officer  in  command,  (Major  Tay- 
lor having  previously  left  that  post,)  reported  they  were  out  of 
provisions  and  could  not  sustain  the  position.  It  should  be 
here  noticed,  that  the  defeat  of  the  Indians  in  the  battle  of  the 
Thames,  drove  back  a  large  force  of  hostile  savages  to  the 
Mississippi. 

Colonel  Russell,  who  had  been  in  a  bad  state  of  health,  ar- 
rived in  St.  Louis  on  the  8th  of  October,  and  soon  after  held  a 
conference  with  Governors  Clark  and  Edwards  on  measures- 
for  the  future  defence  of  the  two  territories. 

Two  rangers  were  killed  by  Indians  near  Cape  au  Gres,  and 
four  more  in  a  skirmish  not  far  from  Vincennes. 

On  the  6th  of  August,  Mr.  Henry  Cox  and  his  sons,  while 
at  work  on  his  farm  near  Shoal  creek,  Illinois,  were  attacked  by 
a  party  of  Indians,  one  of  his  sons  was  killed  and  shockingly 
mangled,  (so  says  the  Gazette,)  and  another  taken  prisoner. 

Early  in  July,  a  party  of  Indians  entered  the  Wood  river 
settlement,  (five  miles  east  of  Alton  city,)  and  massacred  a 
Mrs.  Reagan  and  her  two  children,  after  night-fall,  as  they 
were  returning  home  from  her  brother's  house,  the  late  Mr. 
Moore.  The  husband  and  father,  supposing  they  had  tarried 
at  their  relations,  was  awakened  in  the  morning  by  a  company 
of  rangers,  with  the  distressing  intelligence  of  the  massacre 
of  his  wife  and  children,  whose  mangled  remains  were  but  a 
few  rods  from  the  house. 

Captain  (now  General)  Samuel  Whiteside,  with  fifty  ran- 
gers, was  on  their  trail  at  an  early  hour,  pursued  them  to  the 
Sangamon  river,  where  they  discovered  the  party  just  as  they 
entered  a  dense  thicket  in  the  river  bottom,  by  which  all  esca- 
ped but  the  leader,  in  whose  possession  they  found  the  scalp 
of  Mrs.  Reagan. 

The  only  incident  we  find  to  complete  this  section,  is  the 
adventure  of  the  heroic  Thomas  Higgins.  He  was  a  native 
of  Kentucky,  and  joined  the  rangers  of  Illinois  at  their  first 


Appendix.  747 

organization,  and  continued  by  annual  enlistments  until  dis- 
abled. 

A  frontier  settlement  on  Shoal  creek,  in  the  present  county 
of  Bond,  had  a  "station,"  or  block-house,  about  eight  miles 
south  of  the  present  site  of  Greenville.  It  was  one  of  the 
points  of  rendezvous  for  the  rangers,  where  Lieutenant  Jour- 
ney and  eleven  men,  including  Higgins,  were  stationed. 

On  the  20th  of  August,  1814,  Indian  signs  were  discovered 
in  the  vicinity  ;  and  at  night  a  party  was  seen  prowling  about 
the  fort.  Before  day-light  on  the  31st,  Lieutenant  Journey 
and  his  command  were  on  their  trail.  They  had  not  proceed- 
ed far  on  the  border  of  the  prairie,  before  they  w«re  in  an 
ambuscade,  surrounded  with  seventy  or  eighty  Indians  ;  and 
at  the  first  fire,  the  Lieutenant  and  three  men  were  killed. — 
Six  fled  to  the  fort,  while  Higgins  remained  on  the  field,  as  he 
said  "  to  have  one  more  pull  at  the  enemy."  His  horse  had 
been  shot  in  the  neck,  fell  on  his  knees ;  but  rose  again  in  a 
moment.  Higgins  thought  his  horse  mortally  wounded,  dis- 
mounted, and  resolving  to  avenge  the  loss  of  his  comrades, 
took  to  a  tree.  The  fog  of  the  early  dawn,  and  the  smoke  of 
the  Indian  guns,  which  had  obscured  the  atmosphere,  now 
cleared  away,  and  he  discovered  the  Indians.  Taking  delibe- 
rate aim,  he  fired,  and  the  foremost  savage  fell.  Concealed 
by  the  smoke,  he  reloaded  his  gun ;  mounted  his  wounded 
horse  and  turned  to  retreat,  when  a  familiar  voice  from  the 
grass  hailed  him  with  "  Tom,  you  wont  leave  me?"  Turning 
around,  he  saw  a  fellow  soldier  by  the  name  of  Burgess,  lying 
in  the  grass,  wounded  and  helpless.  "  Come  along,"  said  Hig- 
gins. "  I  can't  come,"  responded  Burgess,  "  my  leg  is  smash- 
ed to  pieces."  Higgins  instantly  dismounted,  and  in  attempt- 
ing to  lift  his  friend  on  the  horse,  the  animal  took  fright,  ran 
off  and  left  Higgins  with  the  wounded  man.  He  directed  him 
to  crawl  on  one  leg  and  hands  through  the  tallest  grass,  while 
he  remained  behind  to  protect  him  from  the  Indians.  In  this 
way  Burgess  reached  the  fort.  Higgins  could  best  have  fol- 
lowed the  same  trail,  but  this  would  endanger  his  comrade. — 
He  therefore  took  another  direction,  concealing  himself  by  a 
small  thicket.  As  he  passed  it,  he  discovered  a  stout  savage 
near  by,  and  two  others  approaching.  He  started  for  a  small 
ravine,  but  found  one  of  his  legs  fail,  which,  until  now,  he 
was  scarcely  conscious  had  been  wounded  in  the  first  rencon- 


748  Adventure  of  Thomas  Higgins. 

tre.  The  large  Indian  pressed  him  close,  and  Higgins,  know- 
ing the  advantage,  resolved  to  halt  and  dodge  the  ball.  The 
Indian  poised  his  gun,  and  Higgins,  turning  suddenly,  received 
the  ball  in  his  thigh.  He  now  fell,  rose  again  ;  and  received 
the  fire  of  the  others ;  and  again  fell,  severely  wounded.  The 
Indians  now  threw  aside  their  guns  and  advanced  on  him  with 
their  spears  and  knives.  As  he  presented  his  gun  first  at  one, 
then  at  the  other,  each  fell  back.  At  last  the  stout  Indian  who 
had  fired  first,  supposing  Higgins'  gun  empty,  advanced  boldly 
to  the  charge,  when  Higgins  fired,  and  he  fell. 

Higgins  had  now  four  bullets  in  his  body, — an  empty  gun 
in  his  hand — two  Indians  unharmed  before  him  :  and  a  large 
party  but  a  short  distance  in  the  ravine.  Still  he  did  not  des- 
pair. His  two  assailants  now  raised  the  war-whoop,  rushed 
on  him  with  their  spears,  and  a  deadly  conflict  ensued.  They 
gave  him  numerous  flesh  wounds,  as  the  scars  we  have  seen 
testified.  At  last  one  threw  his  tomahawk,  which  struck  Hig- 
gins on  his  cheek,  severed  his  ear,  laid  bare  his  skull  to  the 
back  of  his  head,  and  stretched  him  on  the  prairie.  Again  the 
Indians  rushed  on,  but  Higgins  kept  them  off  with  his  feet,  and 
grasping  one  of  their  spears,  he  arose,  seized  his  rifle  and 
dashed  out  the  brains  of  his  antagonist,  but  broke  his  rifle. — 
The  other  Indian  now  raised  the  yell,  and  rushed  on  him  and 
attempted  to  stab  the  exhausted  ranger  with  his  knife.  Hig- 
gins still  fought  with  his  broken  rifle  ;  then  with  his  knife  ; 
both  were  bleeding,  and  nearly  exhausted. 

The  smoke  had  cleared  away;  the  party  of  Indians  were  in 
view ;  and  the  little  garrison  at  the  fort  could  see  the  contest, 
but  dared  not  sally  out.  There  was  a  woman, — a  Mrs.  Pur- 
sley, — at  this  crisis  urged  the  rangers  to  the  rescue.  They 
objected, — she  taunted  them  with  cowardice, — snatched  her 
husband's  rifle  from  his  hand,  declared  that  "  so  fine  a  fellow 
as  Tom  Higgins,  should  not  be  lost  for  want  of  help  ";  mount- 
ed a  horse,  and  sallied  forth  to  his  rescue.  The  men,  asham- 
ed to  be  outdone  by  a  woman,  followed  at  full  gallop, — reach- 
ed the  spot  where  Higgins  had  fainted  and  fell,  before  the  In- 
dians came  up,  and  brought  off  the  wounded  ranger  to  the 
fort.  For  many  days  his  life  was  despaired  of;  there  was  no 
surgeon  ;  some  of  his  friends  cut  out  two  balls  from  his  body ; 
but  by  careful  nursing  he  recovered.  Another  ball  was  ex- 
tracted from  his  thigh,  by  his  own  hands  and  razor,  some  years 


Appendix.  749 

after.  He  was  a  fine  specimen  of  a  frontier  man,  open  heart- 
ed, generous;  and  lived,  and  died,  a  few  years  since  in  Fay- 
ette  county. 

Postscript. — We  have  discovered — too  late  to  correct  the  er- 
ror in  the  text — a  mistake  in  connecting  the  battle  at  the  Up- 
per Rapids,  by  Major  Taylor,  and  a  similar  action  at  the  same 
place  by  Lieutenant  Campbell. 

Soon  after  the  return  of  Governor  Clark  from  Prairie  du 
Chien,  it  was  thought  expedient  by  General  Howard,  (who 
had  just  returned  from  Kentucky,)  to  send  up  a  force  to  relieve 
the  volunteer  troops,  and  strengthen  that  remote  post.  He 
therefore  sent  Lieutenant  Campbell,  (who  was  acting  as  bri- 
gade Major)  and  three  keel  boats,  with  42  regulars,  and  66 
rangers;  and  including  the  sutler's  establishment,  boatmen 
and  women,  making  133  persons.  They  reached  Rock  River 
without  difficulty,  but  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids,  they  were 
visited  by  large  numbers  of  Sauks  and  Foxes,  pretending  to 
be  friendly,  and  some  of  them  bearing  letters  from  the  garri- 
son above  to  St.  Louis.  In  a  short  time  the  contractors  and 
sutler's  boats  had  reached  the  head  of  the  rapids ;  the  two 
barges  with  the  rangers  followed,  and  were  about  two  miles 
ahead  of  the  commander's  barge.  Here  a  gale  of  wind  arose 
and  the  barge  drifted  against  the  little  Island,  known  as  Camp- 
bell's Island.  Here  he  thought  proper  to  lie  by  until  the  wind 
abated;  sentries  were  stationed  at  proper  distances,  and  the 
men  were  on  the  Island  shore  cooking,  when  the  report  of  sev- 
eral guns  announced  the  attack. 

The  savages  were  seen  on  shore  in  quick  motion ;  canoes 
filled  with  Indians  passed  to  the  Island  ;  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ments they  found  themselves  nearly  surrounded  with  five  or 
six  hundred  Indians,  who  gave  the  war-whoop  and  poured 
upon  them  a  galling  fire.  The  barges  ahead,  commanded  by 
Captains  Rector  and  Riggs,  attempted  to  return,  but  one  got 
stranded  on  the  rapids;  the  other,  to  prevent  a  similar  disas- 
ter, let  go  an  anchor.  The  rangers  from  both  these  barges 
opened  a  brisk  fire  on  the  Indians.  The  unequal  contest  was 
kept  up  for  more  than  an  hour ;  the  Indians  firing  from  the 
Island  and  the  shore  under  cover,  when  the  commander's 
barge  took  fire.  Captain  Rector  cut  his  cable,  fell  to  wind- 
ward, and  took  out  the  survivors.  Captain  Riggs  soon  after 
followed  with  his  barge,  and  all  returned  to  St.  Louis. 


760  Settlement  of  Boone's  Lick. 

There  were  three  regulars,  four  rangers,  one  woman  and 
one  child,  killed  and  mortally  wounded;  and  sixteen  wounded; 
among  whom  was  Major  Campbell  and  Dr.  Stewart,  severely. 
(Gazette,  July  30th,  1814.) 

SECTION  FOUR. 
The  .Boone's  Lick  Settlements. 

The  country  above  the  Cedar,  a  small  stream  on  the  west- 
ern border  of  Callaway  county,  which  was  regarded  as  the 
boundary  of  the  district  (afterwards  the  county)  of  St.  Charles, 
was  called  "  Boone's  Lick"  from  its  first  settlement  until  the 
organization  of  the  State  Government. 

Cote  Sans  Dessein,  (from  a  singular  oblong  hill  in  the  bot- 
tom near)  was  a  hamlet,  or  small  village  of  French  settlers, 
as  early  as  1808.  In  1810,  (perhaps  a  few  in  1809)  many  en- 
terprizing  persons  with  their  families,  struck  into  the  wilder- 
ness and  commenced  settlements,  in  what  is  now  the  county 
of  Howard.  Here  were  several  large  salt  springs  and  "licks," 
at  one  of  which  the  old  pioneer  had  his  hunting  camp  in  the 
olden  time,  and  where  his  son,  Major  Nathan  Boone,  made 
salt  about  1807.  This  gave  name  to  the  "  lick,"  and  that  to 
a  large  district  of  country.  As  the  formation  of  this  settle- 
ment and  the  "  Incidents  of  the  war,"  which  is  the  subject  of 
this  chapter,  are  in  direct  connection,  we  shall  group  them 
together  in  this  section. 

About  twelve  families,  in  1810,  settled  on  the  south  side  of 
the  Missouri.  They  were  from  the  Loutre  settlement.  Mrs. 
Cole  and  family,  whose  husband  was  killed  by  the  Indians, 
settled  at  the  lower  point  of  the  bluff,  adjacent  to  Booneville, 
in  1811.  [Appendix,  p.  728.] 

The  Boone's  Lick  settlement,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
war  with  Great  Britain,  numbered  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  families.  The  Governor  of  the  territory  considered  them 
beyond  the  organized  jurisdiction  of  any  county,  and  for  about 
four  years  the  only  authority  over  them  was  patriarchal. — 
The  state  of  society  was  orderly,  and  the  habits  of  the  people 
virtuous.  Several  ministers  of  the  gospel  were  among  the 
immigrants.  The  force  of  public  sentiment  and  the  good 
sense  of  the  people  regulated  society. 

For  several  years,  a  party  of  the  Sauk  Indians,under  Quash- 


Appendix.  751 

quamme,  their  chief,  lived  on  the  Moniteau,  south  of  the  Mis- 
souri. They  professed  to  be  friendly,  but,  as  is  customary  with 
all  uncivilized  Indians,  very  probably  they  stole  horses,  and 
committed  other  depredations.  And  it  is  a  general  custom 
for  hostile  parties  in  their  marauding  excursions,  to  lay  the 
mischief  they  commit  to  those  who  keep  the  peace.  After 
the  war  this  band  of  Sauks  were  ordered  off.  They  went  to 
Grand  river,  and  from  thence  to  the  mouth  of  Rock  river,  and 
joined  the  other  branch  of  the  Sauk  nation. 

On  the  Petite  Osage  plains,  in  what  is  now  Saline  county, 
were  a  large  party  of  Miami  Indians.  Their  village,  built  of 
poles,  was  a  short  distance  from  the  Missouri  river.  They 
are  accused  of  committing  many  depredations,  and  some  mur- 
ders, which,  probably,  was  the  work  of  hostile  Indians. 

The  Pottawatomies  were  the  principal  depredators  in  the 
Boone's  Lick  country,  during  the  war.  They  stole  nearly  or 
quite  three  hundred  horses  from  the  settlements.  The  Foxes, 
lowas  and  Kickapoos,  carried  the  war  into  this  frontier.  For 
two  years,  the  gallant  settlers,  unaided  by  any  government, 
sustained  the  conflict  and  defended  their  families  with  daunt- 
less heroism.  Every  man,  and  every  boy  that  could  load  a 
rifle,  was  a  soldier,  and  enrolled  himself  in  one  of  the  volun- 
teer companies.  By  common  consent,  Colonel  Benjamin 
Cooper  was  Commander-in-Chief.  Colonel  Cooper  had  been 
identified  with  the  early  operations  in  Kentucky,  and  possess- 
ed those  elements  of  character,  that  eminently  qualified  him 
for  a  leader  and  adviser. 

Amongst  the  subalterns,  we  recollect  the  names  of  Sarshall 
Cooper,  (son  of  the  Colonel,)  Wm.  Head,  and  Stephen  Cole  ; 
regretting  the  names  of  others,  equally  deserving  notice,  are 
unknown  to  the  writer. 

(We  find  the  name  Braxton  given  to  this  gentleman  in  sev- 
eral documents,  and  infer  that  his  name  was  Sarshall  Braxton 
Cooper.) 

The  people  erected  five  stockade  forts  for  their  defence. — 
Mr.  McLain's  fort,  afterwards  called  Fort  Hempstead,  about 
one  mile  from  the  present  site  of  New  Franklin ;  Cooper's 
Fort,  in  the  bottom  prairie,  near  the  old  Boone's  Lick:  Kin- 
caid's  fort,  a  mile  above  the  site  of  old  Franklin,  near  the  riv- 
er ;  Head's  fort,  on  the  Moniteau,  near  the  old  Boone's  Lick 
trace  from  St.  Charles ;  and  Cole's  fort  south  of  the  Missouri, 


752  Boone's  Lick  Settlement. 

a  mile  below  Booneville.  As  dangers  thickened,  the  people 
in  this  fort  moved  temporarily  across  the  Missouri.  The  fami- 
lies, when  danger  was  apprehended,  resided  in  these  stock- 
ades, but  the  citizen  soldiers,  besides  ranging  in  advance  of 
the  forts  after  the  enemy,  had  to  hunt  game  for  provisions, 
and  cultivate  the  land  for  corn.  As  much  of  their  stock  was 
killed  or  driven  off  by  the  early  incursions  of  the  enemy,  the 
terms  "bear-bacon,"  and  "hog-meat,"  were  inserted  in  con- 
tracts for  provisions  in  those  days.* 

Large  enclosures  near  the  forts  were  occupied  for  corn- 
fields, in  common  ;  and  frequently  sentinels  stood  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  field,  while  their  neighbors  turned  the  furrow. — 
Skirmishes  with  parties  of  Indians  were  frequent. 

If  they  threatened  the  fort  while  the   detachments  were  in 
the  corn-field,  or  on  the  hunting  range,  the  sound  of  the  horn, 
•was  the  rallying  signal.  » 

Among  the  persons  killed  at  different  periods,  and  various 
points,  we  can  record  the  names  of  Sarshall  Cooper,  Jonathan 
Todd,  William  Campbell,  Thomas  Smith,  Samuel  McJVIahan, 
William  Gregg,  John  Smith,  James  Busby,  Joseph  W.  Still, 
and  a  negro  man. 

Our  authority  for  this  and  several  other  particulars,  is  Sam- 
uel Cole,  son  of  W.  T.  Cole ; — memoranda  taken  from  the 
statements  of  many  of  the  pioneers  in  the  Boone's  Lick  coun- 
try by  the  writer,  in  1818; — Wetmore's  Gazetteer; — and  the 
files  of  the  Missouri  Gazette. 

Of  the  murders  committed,  none  excited  so  deep  a  feeling, 
as  the  tragic  end  of  Captain  Sarshall  Cooper,  who  was  killed 
at  his  own  fire-side  in  Cooper's  fort.  It  was  on  a  dark  and 
stormy  night,  when  the  winds  howled  through  the  adjacent 
forest,  that  a  single  warrior  crept  to  the  wall  of  Captain  Coop- 
er's cabin,  which  formed  one  side  of  the  fort,  and  made  an 
opening  between  the  logs,  barely  sufficient  to  admit  the  muz- 
zle of  his  gun,  which  he  discharged  with  fatal  effect.  Captain 
Cooper  was  sitting  by  the  fire,  holding  his  youngest  child  in  his 
arms,  which  escaped  unhurt ;  his  other  children  lounging 
on  the  cabin  floor,  and  his  wife  engaged  in  domestic  duties. 
A  single  crack  of  the  rifle  was  heard,  and  Cooper  was  stretch- 
ed on  the  floor  !  His  prowess  was  well  known  to  the  Indians; 
his  'skill  and  bravery  had  often  foiled  the  wily  and  treacher- 

*  Wetmoro'g  Gazetteer,  p.  82. 


Appendix. 

ous  savages.  He  is  remembered  to  this  day  by  the  early  pio- 
neers of  Missouri  for  his  heroic  and  manly  virtues,  as  he  is 
for  his  philanthropy  and  other  moral  qualities. 

Captain  Stephen  Cole  survived  the  war,  after  making 
every  effort  for  the  .defence  of  the  settlement,  when,  just  about 
the  period  of  prosperity,  and  the  increase  and  value  of  lands 
and  other  property  invited  repose  and  contentment,  his  love 
of  wild  adventure,  in  1822,  induced  him  to  become  a  pioneer 
in  the  trade  to  Santa  Fe.  He  was  killed  by  the  red  skins  on 
the  plains. 

Colonel  Cooper  attained  to  a  green  old  age.  He  was  a 
member  of  the  Territorial  Council,  much  respected  by  all 
classes,  and  died  about  1840. 

After  about  two  years  of  hard  fighting,  "on  their  own  hook," 
to  use  a  western  figure,  application  was  made  to  the  Governor, 
and  a  detachment  of  rangers  under  General  Henry  Dodge 
was  sent  to  their  relief.  The  mounted  men,  (rangers)  inclu- 
ded the  companies  of  Captain  John  Thompson,  of  St.  Louis, 
Captain  Daugherty  of  Cape  Girardeau,  and  Captain  Cooper 
of  the  Boone's  Lick  settlement,  with  fifty  Shavvanese  and 
Delaware  Indians;  the  whole  amounting  to  three  hundred  men, 

They  marched  to  the  village  of  the  Miamies,  took  about 
four  hundred  men,  women  and  children  prisoners,  and  sent 
them  to  their  nation  on  the  Wabash. 

In  connection,  an  expedition  ascended  the  Missouri  river, 
under  command  of  Captain  Edward  Hempstead. 

In  the  spring  of  1813,  a  party  of  Sauks  and  Pottawatomies 
made  an  attack  on  Loutre  Lick,  and  killed  a  young  man  by 
the  name  of  Massey,  while  ploughing  in  the  field. 

Early  in  1814,  the  Sauks  and  Foxes  stole  horses  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Loutre  Island.  Fifteen  or  twenty  rangers 
commanded  by  Captain  James  Call  a  way,  being  out  on  a  tour 
of  observation,  accidentallylfell  on  their  trail,  and  followed  it. 
They  overtook  the  Indians  in  camp  near  the  head  of  the 
Loutre  creek,  and  found  the  horses,  but  the  Indians  appa- 
rently, had  fled.  They  retook  the  horses,  and  proceeded  to- 
wards the  settlements,  until  they  reached  Prairie  fork.  Here 
the  Captain,  desirous  of  relieving  the  men  who  had  charge  of 
the  horses  in  the  rear,  gave  the  command  to  Lieut.  Riggs, 
who  went  on  with  the  main  party.  In  a  short  time,  Captain 
Callaway  and  the  men  who  had  charge  of  the  horses,  were 


754  Sketches  of  Missouri   Territory. 

fired  on  by  a  large  party  of  Indians  who  lay  in  ambuscade, 
and  was  severely  wounded.  He  broke  the  line  of  the  Indians, 
while  men  and  horses  fled,  rode  towards  the  main  Loutre, 
where  he  was  intercepted  by  the  Indians,  and  being  mortally 
wounded,  fell  from  his  horse  into  the  stream  as  he  attempted 
to  swim  it,  and  expired.  Four  rangers  in  his  party  were 
killed.  Their  names  were,  Mc'Dermot,  Hutchinson,  McMil- 
lan, and  Gilrnore.  The  latter  was  taken  prisoner  and  subse- 
quently killed. 

At  the  village  of  Cote  Sans  Dessein,  the  French  and  others 
erected  a  block-house  and  pallisade  enclosure,  to  protect  the 
families.  The  principal  person  in  command,  was  a  resolute 
Frenchman  by  the  name  of  Baptiste  Louis  Roy.  The  fort 
was  assailed  by  a  large  party  of  Indians  when  only  two  men 
besides  Captain  Roy,  with  many  women  and  children,  were  in 
it.  The  women  cast  bullets,  cut  patches,  loaded  rifles,  and 
furnished  refreshments,  while  Roy  and  his  two  soldiers  defend- 
ed the  post,  until  fourteen  braves  were  numbered  as  slain. 
The  Indians  attempted  to  set  the  house  on  fire  by  shooting  ar- 
rows armed  with  combustible  materials,  but  the  resolute 
women  put  out  the  fire.  The  defence  proved  succesful,  and 
M.  Roy,  at  a  period  subsequent  to  the  war,  received  a  costly 
rifle  from  the  young  men  at  St.  Louis  for  his  gallant  behavior.* 

*  Wetmore's  Gazetteer,  pp.  47,  50.    Also  125,  126. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
TERRITORIAL   GOVERNMENT. 

SECTION   FIRST. 
Sketches  of  Missouri  Territory. 

We  shall  commence  these  sketches  by  gleaning  such  inci- 
dents as  have  been  omitted.  One  of  these  is  the  location  and 
settlement  of  New  Madrid.  This  town  was  projected  as  a 
large  commercial  city,  in  1787,  by  Col.  G.  Morgan,  from  New 
Jersey.  A  little  French  village  was  commenced  at  an  earlier 


Appendix.  755 

period,  and  called  Uanse  a  la  Gresse.  Stoddard  says :  "In 
consequence  of  some  obstacles  to  his  designs,  created  by  the 
Spanish  Government,  he  abandoned  his  project,  and  retired 
from  the  country.* 

In  1779,  it  is  said  to  have  contained  800  inhabitants,  and  to 
have  been  in  a  flourishing  condition.  We  think  this  estimate 
included  the  village  and  settlement  of  Little  Prairie,  some 
thirty  miles  below,  which  at  that  period,  contained  about  400 
inhabitants. 

The  act  of  Congress,  passed  October  31st,  1803,  authorized 
the  President  to  take  possession  of  the  Territories  ceded  by 
France  to  the  United  States,  and  establish  a  temporary  gov- 
ernment therein.  [Annals,  637.] 

An  act  passed  March  26,  1804,  organizing  the  Territory  of 
Orleans,  and  making  "the  residue  of  the  country,  the  district 
of  Louisiana,"  and  placing  it  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Governor  and  Judges  of  Indiana.  It  so  continued  until 
March  3d,  1805,  when  an  act  was  passed,  organizing  the  "Ter- 
ritory of  Louisiana,"  under  the  jurisdiction  of  a  Governor, 
Judges  and  Secretary.  General  James  Wilkinson  was  ap- 
pointed Governor,  and  Frederick  Bates,  Esq.,  Secretary,  who 
frequently  officiated  as  acting  Governor.  He  continued  in  the 
office  by  reappointments  until  the  territorial  government  was 
suspended  by  that  of  the  State. 

The  expedition  of  Messrs.  Lewis  and  Clark,  is  noticed  al- 
ready. [Annals,  552.]  It  was  not  long  after  their  return  that 
Captain  Meriwether  Lewis  received  the  appointment  of  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Territory  of  Louisiana ;  and  Captain  Wm.  Clark 
(a  little  later,  we  think,)  the  appointment  of  Superintendent  of 
Indian  Affairs.  The  territorial  records  having  been  consum- 
ed with  the  State  House  at  Jefferson  City,  in  1837,  we  cannot 
be  certain  of  accuracy  in  dates. 

On  the  20th  of  August,  1808,  we  find  in  the  "  Gazette,"  the 
proclamation  of  Governor  Lewis,  organizing  the  "  District  of 
Arkansas."  At  that  period,  counties  were  denominated  dis- 
tricts. 

It  was  no  minor  event  in  the  annals  of  Missouri,  that  the 
printing  press  and  weekly  paper  west  of  the  Mississippi  riv- 
er, was  introduced  and  established  in  St.  Louis,  in  1808,  by 
the  late  Joseph  Charless.  Its  earliest  issues  were  on  cap  pa- 

*  Stoddard'a  Sketches,  p.  219.         0  ''  '«• 


756  Second  Grade  of  Government. 

per;  the  first  number  is  dated  in  July,  1808.  Mr.  Charless 
was  a  native  of  Ireland.  For  a  time,  he  was  in  an  office  in 
Philadelphia,  then  in  Lexington,  Ky.,  where  he  published  a 
paper.  The  name  of  the  paper  at  St.  Louis,  was  changed 
with  that  of  the  territory.  It  was  first  called  the  "  Louisiana 
Gazette,"  then  the  "Missouri  Gazette,"  and  finally,  in  1822, 
in  other  hands,  it  took  the  name  of  the  "  Missouri  Republi- 
can." The  files  of  this  paper,  in  size  and  typographical  ap- 
pearance, would  furnish  an  illustration  of  the  growth  and 
progress  of  the  city  and  the  territory. 

During  the  spring  or  summer  of  1809,  Governor  Lewis  de- 
parted for  New' Orleans,  and  thence  to  Washington  City. — 
While  passing  through  the  Chickasaw  country,  he  discovered 
great  aberration  of  mind,  and  shot  himself  with  a  brace  of  pis- 
tols in  the  night,  at  the  house  where  he  tarried.  We  give  the 
following  sketch  from  Howe's  Virginia,  Albermarle  county, 
page  171. 

"  Meriwether  Lewis,  the  son  of  a  wealthy  planter,  was 
born  near  Charlottesville,  in  1774.  At  18  years  of  age,  he 
relinquished  his  academic  studies  and  engaged  in  agriculture. 
Two  years  after,  he  acted  as  a  volunteer,  to  suppress  the 
whisky  insurrection,  from  which  situation  he  was  removed  to 
the  regular  service.  From  about  1801  to  1803,  he  was  the 
private  secretary  of  Mr.  Jefferson,  when  he,  with  Wm.  Clark, 
went  on  their  celebrated  exploping  expedition  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  recommending  him  to  this  duty, 
gave  him  a  high  character,  as  possessing  courage,  inflexible 
perseverance,  intimate  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character,and 
fidelity,  intelligence,  and  all  those  peculiar  combinations  of 
qualities  that  eminently  fitted  him  for  so  arduous  an  under- 
taking. They  were  absent  three  years,  and  were  highly  suc- 
cessful in  the  accomplishment  of  their  duties.  Shortly  after 
his  return,  he  was  appointed  Governor  of  the  territory  of 
Louisiana,  and,  finding  it  the  seat  of  internal  dissentions,  he, 
by  his  moderation,  firmness  and  impartiality,  brought  matters 
into  a  systematic  train.  He  was  subject  to  constitutional  hyp- 
ochondria, and  while  under  the  influence  of  a  severe  attack, 
shot  himself  on  the  borders  of  Tennessee,  in  1809,  at  the  age 
of  thirty-five.  The  event  was  ascribed  to  the  protest  of  some 
bills,  which  he  drew  on  the  public  account." 

The  Commissioners  to  examine  into  and  confirm  claims  to 
land  by  virtue  of  concessions  and  grants  under  the  Spanish 
Government,  were  Jjohn  B.  C.  Lucas,  Clement  B.  Penrose,  and 


Appendix.  757 

James  L.  Donaldson.  From  the  American  State  Papers,  Pub- 
lic Lands,  volume  ii.,  we  learn  they  commenced  the  duties  of 
the  office  in  1806.  In  1807,  we  find  the  name  of  Frederick 
Bates  in  place  of  J.  L.  Donaldson.  Lucas,  Penrose  and  Bates, 
continued  to  officiate  until  1812,  and  probably  a  longer  peri- 
od. The  doubtful  and  conflicting  titles,  made  the  office  both 
laborious  and  unpleasant. 

An  act  of  Congress,  approved  June  4th,  1812,  changed  the 
name  of  the  Territory  of  Louisiana  to  that  of  Missouri,  and 
advanced  it  to  the  second  grade  of  government. 

The  "  Council"  consisted  of  nine  members,  elected  in 
the  same  mode  as  was  then  customary  in  territorial  organiza- 
tions. The  Representatives,  when  elected  by  the  people,  were 
required  to  convene  on  the  proclamation  of  the  Governor,  and 
nominate  eighteen  persons,  residents  of  said  territory  one  year 
preceding  their  nomination;  each  possessing,  in  his  own  right, 
two  hundred  acres  of  land  therein  ;  and  return  their  names  to 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  who,  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate,  selected  nine  for  the  Legislative  Coun- 
cil. The  term  of  appointment  was  five  years. 

The  House  of  Representatives  were  apportioned  at  the  ra- 
tio of  one,  for  every  five  hundred  free,  white  male  inhabitants. 
Qualifications  for  this  office,  were  one  year's  residence  in  the 
territory,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and  a  free-holder  in  the 
county.  The  term  was  two  years,  and  the  Legislature  to  sit 
annually,  in  the  town  of  St.  Louis.  Thirteen  Representatives 
were  provided  at  the  first  election. 

Qualifications  for  suffrage  were  free,  white  male  citizens  of 
the  United  States,  one  year's  residence  in  the  territory,  and 
the  payment  of  a  territorial,  or  county  tax.  A  Delegate  to 
Congress,  to  be  chosen  biennially. 

In  1816,  the  organic  law  was  so  modified,  as  to  permit  bi- 
ennial sessions  of  the  Legislature. 

On  the  1st  day  of  October,  Governor  Howard,  by  proclama- 
tion, reorganized  the  districts,  as  heretofore  called,  into  five 
counties ;  St.  Charles,  St.  Louis,  Ste.  Genevieve,  Cape  Girar- 
deau,  and  New  Madrid.  The  district  of  Arkansas  formed  a 
portion  of  the  county  of  New  Madrid.  The  territorial  gov- 
ernment passed  into  the  second  grade  the  first  Monday  in  De- 
cember. The  election  for  representatives  to  the  legislature 


758  Territorial  Legislation. 

and  a  delegate  to  congress,  was  ordered   to  be  held  on  the 
second  Monday  in  November. 

On  the  18th  of  October,  the  names  of  Edward  Hempstead, 
Rufus  Easton,  Samuel  Hammond,  and  Matthew  Lyon,  were 
announced  as  candidates  for  the  office  of  Delegate  to  con- 
gress. Edward  Hempstead  was  the  successful  candidate,  but 
we  find  no  records  of  the  polls  to  show  how  the  other  candi- 
dates stood. 

The  House  of  Representatives  commenced  their  first  ses- 
sion on  the  7th  December,  1812.  The  following  persons,  as 
representatives  of  their  respective  counties,  were  present: 

St.   Charles. — John  Pitman,  Robert  Spencer. 

St.  Louis. — David  Musick,  Bernard  G.  Farrar,  William  C. 
Carr,  and  Richard  Caulk. 

Ste.  Genevieve. — George  Bullett,  Richard  S.  Thomas,  Isaac 
McGready. 

Cape  Girardeau. — George  F.  Bellinger,  Stephen  Byrd. 

New  Madrid. — John  Shrader,  Samuel  Phillips. 

The  oath  was  administered  by  John  B.  C.  Lucas,  one  of  the 
Judges.  William  C.  Carr  was  elected  Speaker,  and  Thomas 
F.  Riddick,  Clerk,  pro.  tern.  Andrew  Scott  was  elected 
Clerk  before  the  close  of  the  session. 

The  House  of  Representatives  then  proceeded  to  nominate 
eighteen  persons,  from  which,  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  with  the  Senate,  was  to  select  nine  for  the  Council. 

James  Flaugherty,  and  Benjamin  Emmons,  of  St.  Charles 
county  ; — Auguste  Chouteau,  sen.,  and  Samuel  Hammond,  of 
St.  Louis  county; — John  Scott,  James  Maxwell,  Nathaniel 
Cook,  John  M' Arthur,  Moses  Austin,  John  Smith,  T.,  of  Ste. 
Genevieve  county; — William  Neely,  George  Cavener,  Abra- 
ham Boyd,  John  Davis,  of  Cape  Girardeau  county ; — Joseph 
Hunter,  Elisha  Winson,  William  Gray,  William  Winchester, 
of  New  Madrid  county,  were  nominated. 

The  President  nominated,  and  the  Senate  confirmed,  as 
members  of  the  Territorial  Council,  James  Flaugherty,  Ben- 
jamin Emmons,  Auguste  Chouteau,  sen.,  Samuel  Hammond, 
John  Scott,  James  Maxwell,  William  Neely,  George  Cavener, 
and  Joseph  Hunter.  The  acting  Governor,  Mr.  Bates,  made 
proclamation  to  that  effect,  on  the  3d  day  of  June,  1813,  and 
appointed"  the  first  Monday  in  July  following,  for  the  meeting 
of  the  General  Assembly. 


Appendix.  759 

The  Journal  of  the  House  of  Representatives  was  published 
only  in  the  Missouri  Gazette.  Before  the  called  session  ap- 
pointed to  be  held  in  July,  William  Clark  entered  upon  the 
office  of  Governor. 

We  find  no  journal  of  legislative  proceedings  in  the  Ga- 
zette for  that  session,  except  a  friendly  interchange  between 
the  Assembly  and  the  new  Governor. 

The  Assembly  passed  laws  regulating  and  establishing 
weights  and  measures  ; — the  office  of  Sheriff; — mode  of  taking 
the  census; — fixing  permanently  seats  of  justice  in  the  coun- 
ties;— compensation  to  members  of  the  Assembly; — crimes 
and  punishments  ; — forcible  entry  and  detainer ; — establishing 
courts  of  common  pleas; — Incorporating  the  Bank  of  St. 
Louis ; — and  erecting  the  county  of  Washington  from  a  part 
of  Ste.  Genevieve  county.* 

The  second  session  of  the  General  Assembly  began  in  St. 
Louis,  on  the  6th  of  December,  1813.  The  Speaker  elect 
of  the  House,  was  George  Bullett,  of  Ste.  Genevieve  county  ; 
the  Clerk,  Andrew  Scott ;  Door-keeper,  William  Sullivan. 
Vacations  having  occurred,  several  new  members  had  been 
elected.  Israel  McGready  appeared  from  the  new  county  of 
Washington.  Samuel  Hammond  was  President  of  the  Legis- 
lative Council. 

The  Journal  of  the  House,  but  not  of  the  Council,  is  to  be 
found  in  the  Gazette.  After  passnig  various  laws,  the  Assem- 
bly adjourned,  sine  die,  on  the  19th  of  January,  1814.  The 
boundaries  of  the  counties  of  St.  Charles,  Washington,  Cape 
Girardeau,  and  New  Madrid,  were  defined,  and  the  county  of 
Arkansas  created. f 

The  enumeration  of  the  free,  white  male  inhabitants,  taken 
under  the  Act  of  the  Legislature,  early  in  1814,  is  as  follows : 

Arkansas,  827  ;  New  Madrid,  1548  ;  Cape  Girardeau,  2062; 
Ste.  Genevieve,  1701;  Washington,  1010 ;  St.  Louis,  3149; 
St.  Charles,  1 ,096;  making  an  aggregate  of  free,  white  male  per- 
sons 11,393.  Allowing  an  equal  number  of  white  females,  and 
1,000  slaves  and  free  blacks,  and  the  population  of  the  terri- 
tory was  25:000.  The  census  of  1810,  by  the  United  States, 
gives  20,845  of  all  classes. 

Edward  Hempstead,  Esq.,   who  had  discharged  his  duty 

*  Territorial  Laws,  vol.  i.  pp.  225,  290. 
•j-  Territorial  Laws,  vol.  i.  pp.  191-333. 


760  Territorial  Legislation. 

faithfully  as  a  Delegate  to  Congress,  declined  a  re-election. — 
The  candidates  were  Rufus  Easton,  Samuel  Hammond,  Alex- 
ander McNair  and  Thomas  F.  Riddick.  The  aggregate  votes 
from  all  the  counties  (excepting  Arkansas)  was  2,599,  of 
which  Mr.  Easton  had  965  ;  Mr.  Hammond,  746;  Mr.  McNair, 
853 ;  and  Mr.  Riddick  (who  had  withdrawn  his  name  previous 
to  the  election)  35. 

The  apportionment  under  the  census,  increased  the  number 
of  Representatives  in  the  Territorial  Legislature,  to  twenty- 
two. 

The  first  session  of  the  second  General  Assembly,  commen- 
ced in  St.  Louis,  on  the  5th  of  December,  1814.  Twenty  Re- 
presentatives were  present  the  first  day.  James  Caldwell,  of 
Ste.  Genevievfi  county,  was  elected  Speaker,  and  Andrew 
Scott,  clerk.  The  Council  chose  William  Neely,  of  Cape  Gi- 
rardeau  county,  President.  The  county  of  Lawrence  was  or- 
ganized from  the  western  part  of  New  Madrid,  and  the  cor- 
porate powers  of  St.  Louis,  as  a  borough,  enlarged. 

It  appears  from  the  journal  of  the  House,  in  the  Gazette,  that 
James  Maxwell,  a  member  of  the  Council  from  the  county  of 
Ste.  Genevieve,  and  SethEmmons,  member  elect  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  from  the  county  of  St.  Louis,  had  died, 
and  measures  were  adopted  to  fill  the  vacancies. 

The  laws  passed  this  session,  may  be  found  in  the  Territo- 
rial Laws,  volume  first,  pages  339  to  421. 

Another  weekly  paper,  called  the  "  Western  Journal,"  was 
started  in  St.  Louis,  in  the  spring  of  1815. 

The  Territorial  Legislature  commenced  its  annual  session 
in  November,  1815.  Only  a  partial  report  can  be  found  in  the 
Gazette.  The  customary  business  was  transacted.  The  coun- 
ty of  Howard  was  organized  from  the  western  portion  of  St. 
Louis  and  St.  Charles  counties. 

The  acts  passed  may  be  found  in  the  first  volume  of  the 
Territorial  Laws,  pages  422  to  489.  The  session  continued 
until  January  26th,  1816. 

Tho  war  with  Great  Britain  having  closed,  and  the  treaties 
held  with  the  various  nations  of  Indians  at  Portage  des  Sioux, 
in  18 15,  gave  peace  to  the  frontier  settlements  of  Missouri  and 
Illinois — [Annals,  pp.  648  to  651.]  Immigrants  now  began  to 
flock  to  these  territories.  Old  settlements  increased  in  num- 
bers, and  new  settlements  were  formed. 


Territorial  Legislation.  761 

The  Territorial  Legislature  of  Missouri,  commenced  again 
in  December,  1816,  and  continued  till  February  1st,  1817. — 
Amongst  the  acts  passed,  was  one  "  killing  of  wolves,  pan- 
thers and  wild-cats  ;"  two  or  three  lotteries  were  chartered; 
— a  charter  granted  for  an  academy  at  Potosi ;  and  a  Board 
of  Trustees  incorporated  for  superintending  schools  in  the 
town  of  St.  Louis.  This  was  the  starting  point  in  the  school 
system  in  this  city. 

The  old  "  Bank  of  Missouri"  was  chartered  and  soon  went 
into  operation,  and  by  autumn,  1817,  the  two  banks,  "St. 
Louis"  and  "  Missouri,"  were  issuing  bills.  The  one  called 
St.  Louis,  went  into  operation  in  1814.  [See  Territorial  Laws, 
vol.  i.  pp.  489—553.] 

The  Territorial  Legislature  held  a  session  in  December, 
1818.  During  this  session  the  counties  of  Jefferson,  Frank- 
lin, Wayne,  Lincoln,  Madison,  Montgomery,  Pike,  Cooper, 
and  three  counties  in  the  southern  part  of  Arkansas,  were  or- 
ganized. The  next  year  (1819)  the  territory  of  Arkansas  was 
formed  into  a  separate  Territorial  Government. 

The  Territorial  Legislature  of  Missouri,  made  application 
to  Congress  for  authority  to  organize  a  State  Government. 

The  organization  of  so  many  new  counties,  and  the  appli- 
cation to  organize  a  State  Government,  indicate  the  rapid  in- 
crease of  population  by  immigrants,  from  1816  to  1818.  Dur- 
ing the  latter  year,  St.  Louis  commenced  its  onward  progress 
in  buildings,  enterprize  and  commerce.  At  the  commence- 
ment of  that  year,  the  writer  counted  seven  houses  and  stores 
of  brick,  that  were  finished  and  occupied,  a  few  more  unfin- 
ished and  occupied,  and  some  eight  or  ten  with  the  founda- 
tions laid,  or  walls  up.  During  1818,  more  than  three  mill- 
ions of  brick  were  manufactured,  and  about  one  hundred 
buildings  erected.  Of  these,  two  were  church  edifices,  but 
never  finished.  The  first  brick  dwelling-house  erected  in  St. 
Louis,  in  1813-'14,  was  by  Wm.  C.  Carr. 

The  first  steamboat  that  ascended  the  Mississippi,  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Ohio,  was  the  General  Pike,  that  reached  St. 
Louis  the  2nd  of  August,  1817.  It  was  commanded  by  Capt. 
Jacob  Reed,  who  subsequently  became  a  citizen  of  the  place, 
and  died  here.  The  second  steamboat  was  the  Constitution, 
Capt.  R.  P.  Guyard,  which  arrived  on  the  2nd  of  October,  in 
the  same  year.  During  1818,  there  were,  several  arrivals, 
48 


762  Appendix. 

The  population  of  St.  Louis  in  1815,  as  taken  by  the  Sher- 
iff, John  W.  Thompson,  was  2,000.  Throughout  the  county, 
including  the  town,  7,395. 

In  1816,  the  late  Colonel  Daniel  M.  Boone,  son  of  the  old 
pioneer,  and  Mr.  Lamme,  penetrated  the  Gasconade  pine  for- 
ests, and  erected  the  first  saw-mill  on  Little  Piney.  Subse- 
quently, A.  Pattie  purchased  Boone's  interest  and  became  a 
partner  of  Lamme.  John  McDonald,  of  St.  Louis  county, 
with  his  family  connections,  erected  another  mill  on  the  same 
stream  in  1817,  and  removed  his  family  there  the  same  season. 


SECTION  SECOND. 
Territorial  Government  of  Jllinoia. 

On  the  14th  of  February,  1812,  Governor  Edwards  issued 
his  proclamation,  ordering  an  election  to  be  held  in  each  coun- 
ty, on  the  second  Monday  in  April,  for  three  successive  days, 
that  the  people  might  decide  whether  they  would  enter  on  the 
second  grade  of  government.  The  territorial  charter  gave 
ample  power  to  the  Governor,  to  advance  the  territory  to  the 
second  degree,  but  it  was  his  rule  through  life,  to  ascertain  and 
be  guided  by  the  popular  will,  and  govern  accordingly.  The 
vote  at  the  election  decided  the  question  in  the  affirmative  by 
a  very  large  majority. 

It  came  to  the  knowledge  of  the  Governor,  that  some  per- 
sons at  Peoria,  (a  mere  hamlet,  with  a  few  French  cabins,  after 
the  war,)  were  selling  liquor  to  the  Indians.  On  the  25th  of 
May,  1812,  he  issued  the  following  proclamation: — 

"  WHEREAS,  it  is  deemed  improper  to  furnish,  the  Indians 
with  spirituous  liquors  at  Peoria ; — 

"  I  do  hereby  forbid  all  persons  whatsoever,  to  sell,  ex- 
change, or  in  any  manner  give,  or  deliver  to  any  Indians  or  In- 
dian, any  spirituous  liquors,  or  any  ardent  spirits,  within 
twenty  miles  of  Peoria;  and  I  do  hereby  enjoin  it  upon  Thos. 
Forsythe,  and  any  other  Justice  of  the  Peace  for  St.  Clair 
county,  to  enforce  this  proclamation." 

On  the  16th  of  September,  the  Governor,  by  proclamation, 
organized  the  counties  of  Madison,  Gallatin,  Pope,  and  John- 
son; and  the  same  day  issued  another  proclamation,  author- 
izing an  election  to.  be  held  in  each  county,  on  the  8th,  9th 


Territorial  Government  of  Illinois.  763 

and  10th  days  of  October,  to  elect  members  of  the  Council 
and  House  of  Representatives. 

Another  proclamation  dated  November  10th,  authorized  the 
members  elect  to  convene  at  Kaskaskia,  on  the  25th  of  the 
same  month. 

The  members  of  the  Council  were  Pierre  Menard,  of  Ran- 
dolph county,  who  was  elected  to  preside  ; — William  Biggs, 
of  St.  Clair  county  ; — Samuel  Judy,  of  Madison  county ; — 
Thomas  Ferguson,  of  Johnson  county  ; — and  Benjamin  Tal- 
bot,  of  Gallatin  county.  John  Thomas,  Esq.,  was  chosen  Se- 
cretary. 

The  House  of  Representatives  consisted  of  William  Jones, 
from  Madison  county; — Joshua  Oglesby  and  Jacob  Short, from 
St.  Clair ;  George  Fisher,  from  Randolph  ; — Phillip  Trammel 
and  Alexander  Wilson,  from  Gallatin  ; — and  John  Grammar, 
from  Johnson  county.  Their  Clerk  was  Wm.  C.  Greenup. — 
Both  bodies  occupied  separate  rooms  in  a  house  in  that  an- 
cient town — had  a  door-keeper  in  common,  and  all  boarded 
in  one  family.  They  did  their  work  like  men  devoted  to  busi- 
ness matters.  Not  a  lawyer  or  an  attorney  is  found  in  the  roll 
of  names.  They  deliberated  like  sensible  men,  passed  such 
laws  as  they  deemed  the  country  needed,  made  no  speeches, 
had  no  contention,  and  after  a  brief  session  of  some  ten  or 
twelve  days,  adjourned. 

The  following  brief  sketch,  so  far  as  we  have  had  informa- 
tion, of  the  members  of  the  first  Legislative  Assembly  of  Illi- 
nois, may  be  interesting  to  some  of  our  readers. 

Doct.  George  Fisher,  came  to  Kaskaskia  as  a  merchant  in 
1800,  from  Hardy  county,  Va.  At  the  period  of  his  election, 
he  resided  on  his  farm  five  miles  north  of  Kaskaskia,  at  the 
point  of  the  bluffs.  His  education  was  medium,  but  he  possess- 
ed considerable  original  talent,  and  great  firmness.  He  was 
a  member  of  the  Convention  to  organize  a  State  Government 
in  1818,  and  died  in  1820. 

Phillip  Trammel,  was  a  lessee  of  the  U.  S.  Saline,  in  Galla- 
tin county  ;  possessed  a  good  discriminating  mind,  had  a  strong 
inclination  to  military  affairs,  and  died  in  a  few  years  after. 

Alexander  Wilson,  kept  a  public  house  in  Shawneetovvn, 
was  a  man  of  moderate  abilities,  and  died  soon  after  the  war. 

John  Grammar,  was  a  plain  frontier  man  from  Tennessee, 
with  very  little  education  in  youth ;  but  a  man  of  good  com- 


764  Appendix. 

mon  sense,  and  subsequently  represented   Union  county  re- 
peatedly in  each  House  of  the  State  Legislature. 

Joshua  Ogksby  was  a  respectable  farmer,  and  a  local  Meth- 
odist preacher  in  St.  Clair  county,  a  man  of  decent  education, 
and  respected  by  his  neighbors.  He  died  in  1828. 

Jacob  Short  was  a  citizen  and  farmer  of  St.  Clair  county,  and 
distinguished  himself  as  a  ranger  during  the  war.  He  came 
with  his  father,  Moses  Short,  to  Illinois  in  1796. 

Wm.  Jones,  was  born  in  North  Carolina,  removed  in  early 
life  to  East  Tennessee,  and  from  thence  to  came  to  Illinois  in 
1806,  and  settled  in  Rattan's  prairie,  a  few  miles  east  of  Al- 
ton. He  was  a  Baptist  preacher,  of  moderate  abilities,  grave 
in  his  deportment,  and  respected  by  his  acquaintance.  He 
represented  the  county  of  Madison,  in  the  State  Legislature 
in  1828,  and  died  in  January,  1845. 

Pierre  Menard,  was  a  French  gentleman  and  a  native  of 
Canada.  He  came  to  Kaskaskia  about  the  close  of  the  last 
century,  and  was  engaged  in  the  Indian  trade  with  success. 
He  was  a  man  of  intelligence,  popular  among  all  classes, 
upright  and  strictly  honorable.  He  was  elected  the  first  Lieu- 
tenant Governor  of  the  State,  and  presided  with  dignity  and 
propriety  over  the  Senate.  He  died  a  few  years  since,  respec- 
ted and  lamented. 

William  Biggs,  whose  name  appears  in  the 'Appendix,  (p. 
701,)  was  an  intelligent  and  respectable  man,  and  for  some 
years  a  Judge  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  in  St.  Clair 
county.  He  died  about  1828  or  1829. 

Samuel  Judy  was  the  commander  of  a  company  of  spies  in 
the  war,  a  man  of  much  energy,  fortitude  and  enterprise, 
and  died  in  Madison  county  a  few  years  since. 

Of  Thomas  Ferguson  and  Benjamin  Talbot,  we  have  no 
certain  information. 

The  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the  Ter- 
ritorial Legislature  in  1814,  were,  Wm.  Rabb,  of  Madison 
county  ; — Risdon  Moore,  Sen.,  and  James  Lemen,  Jr.,  of  St. 
Clair  county; — James  Gilbreath,  of  Randolph  county  ; — Phil- 
lip Trammel  and  Thomas  C.  Brown,  of  Gallatin  county ; — and 
Owen  Evans,  of  Johnson  county.  Risdon  Moore  was  elected 
Speaker,  and  Wm.  Mears,  Clerk,  and  Moses  Stewart,  joint 
Door-keeper  between  the  two  bodies.  The  Council  were  the 
same  persons  as  in  the  preceding  session. 


Second  Territorial  Legislature.  765 


"to 


The  committee  on  Revenue  made  a  report,  that  from  Jan- 
uary 1st,  1811,  to  November  8th,  1814,  the  revenue  from  tax- 
es received,  was  $4,875  45 ;  of  which  there  had  been  paid 
into  the  Treasury  $2,616  89,  and  remained  in  the  hands  of 
delinquent  Sheriffs  $2,378  47.  f 

This  Legislature  took  action  on  the  subject  of  Common 
Schools. 

"On  motion  of  Mr.  Trammel,  a  committee  was  appointed  to 
draft  a  bill  to  incorporate  the  inhabitants  of  the  respective 
townships,  to  enable  them  to  choose  trustees  to  lease  and  ap- 
propriate the  profits  of  the  sixteenth  section  in  each  township, 
for  the  benefit  of  Public  Schools,  in  conformity  to  the  act  of 
Congress." 

Messrs.  Evans  and  Trammel  were  that  committee.  (See 
Legislative  Journal,  November  28, 1814.) 

A  bill  was  reported  on  the  30th,  and  passed  by  the  House 
December  2nd.  Edwards  county  was  organized  this  session. 
Benjamin  Stephenson  was  the  first  Delegate  elected  to  Con- 
gress in  1812. 

At  the  session  of  the  General  Assembly,  of  18 15-' 16,  Pierre 
Menard  again  presided  in  the  Council,  and  Risdon  Moore  in 
the  House  of  Representatives.  The  counties  of  White,  Mon- 
roe, Jackson  and  Johnson,  were  organized  this  session.  Im- 
migration came  into  the  territory  rapidly  at  this  period.  A 
settlement  was  formed  in  1815,  by  a  few  families  south  of  the 
Macoupin  [Ma-qua-pin,  it  should  have  been  written]  in  the 
south  part  of  the  present  county  of  Greene,  and  the  next  year, 
Thomas  Rattan,  and  one  or  two  more  families,  made  their 
pitch  on  the  border  of  a  fertile  prairie,  above  Apple  Creek. — 
Through  Morgan,  Sangamon,and  all  the  counties  west  of  the 
Illinois  river,  the  Indians,  (now  peaceable,)  roamed  and  hunt- 
ed. 

The  counties  south,  towards  the  Ohio  and  Wabash  rivers, 
received  a  large  accession  to  their  population,  and  many  per- 
sons advanced  into  the  wilderness,  and  built  their  cabins  and 
made  their  locations  along  the  Saline,  Muddy,  Beaucoup,  and 
Little  Wabash  rivers.  The  settlements  were  generally  made 
on  the  borders  of  the  prairies;  too  many  inconveniences  then 
existed  in  settling  out  in  the  prairies. 

The   session  of  the    Territorial  Legislature   of  1816-'17, 
caught  the  banking  mania,  and  chartered  the  "  Illinois  Bank," 


766  Appendix. 

at  Shawneetovvn,  and  the  "  Edwardsville  Bank."  Both  these 
banks  became  deposit  banks  for  government  funds,  received 
the  money  from  the  Land  Offices,  and  used  it  for  their  own 
purposes.  The  Illinois  Bank  eventually  accounted  for  the 
whole,  after  considerable  delay  ;  but  against  the  Bank  of  Ed- 
wardsville, the  United  States  obtained  a  judgment  for  fifty- 
four  thousand  dollars,  which  has  never  been  collected.* 

At  the  session  of  the  Legislature,  of  1817-'18,  the  "  Bank 
of  Cairo"  was  incorporated ;  connected  with  the  project  of 
building  a  city  at  the  junction  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
rivers.  Some  of  the  persons  afterward  having  died,  the  pro- 
ject was  suspended.  In  the  period  of  the  "  Internal  Improve- 
ment" mania,  in  1836,  this  bank  was  galvanized  into  exis- 
tence, flourished  for  a  short  time,  and  expired. 

In  1815,  Nathaniel  Pope,  Secretary  of  the  Territory,  was 
elected  to  Congress,  and  remained  in  that  office  till  the  State 
Government  was  formed.  In  that  capacity  he  rendered  the 
State  very  important  service.  He  obtained  the  extension  of 
the  line  of  the  new  State  north,  from  the  southern  bend  of 
Lake  Michigan,  to  latitude  42  degrees  30  minutes,  which  now 
constitutes  the  limit  of  that  State,  and  he  was  mainly  instru- 
mental in  obtaining  the  act  to  form  the  State  Government, 
when  scarcely  forty  thousand  souls  existed  in  the  State. 

*  Brown's  Illinois,  p.  420. 


[  CHAPTER  V. 

STATE  GOVERNMENTS. 

SECTION  FIRST. 
Organization  of  the  State  of  Illinois. 

Representatives  to  the  Convention  to  form  a  State  Constitu- 
tion were  chosen.  We  record  their  names  and  the  counties 
they  represented.  The  counties  of  Crawford,  Bond,  Union, 


State  Legislation.  767 

Washington  and  Franklin,  had  been  organized  the  preceding 
Legislature. 

St.  Clair. — Jesse  B.  Thomas,  John  Messinger,  James  Lem- 
on, Jr. 

Randolph. — George  Fisher,  Elias  Kent  Kane. 

Madison. — Benjamin  Stephenson,  Joseph  Borough,  Abra- 
ham Pickett. 

Gallatin. — Michael  Jones,  Leonard  White,  Adolphus  Fred- 
erick Hubbard. 

Johnson. — Hezekiah  West  and  Wm.  McFatridge. 

Edwards. — Seth  Gard,  Levi  Compton. 

White. — Willis  Hargrave,  Wm.  McHenry. 

Monroe. — Caldwell  Carnes,  Enoch  Moore. 

Pope. — Samuel  Omelvany,  Hamlet  Furguson. 

Jackson. — Conrad  Will,  James  Hall,  Jr. 

Crawford. — Joseph  Kitchell,  Edward  N.  Cullom. 

.Bond. — Thomas  Kirkpatrick,  Samuel  G.  Morse. 

Union. — Wm.  Echols,  John  Whitaker. 
Washington. — Andrew  Bankson. 

Franklin. — Joshua  Harrison,  Thomas  Roberts. 

Jesse  B.  Thomas,  was  chosen  President,  and  Wm.  C.  Green- 
up,  Secretary  of  the  Convention. 

This  body  assembled  at  Kaskaskia  in  July,  and  closed  their 
labors  by  signing  the  Constitution  they  had  framed  on  the 
twenty-sixth  day  of  August. 

The  election  for  the  first  Legislature,  was  appointed  to  be 
held  on  the  third  Thursday,  and  the  two  following  days  in 
September,  and  all  white  male  inhabitants  above  the  age  of 
twenty-one  years,  who  were  actual  residents  of  the  State  at 
the  time  of  signing  the  Constitution,  had  the  right  of  suffrage. 
The  first  session  of  the  General  Assembly  was  to  commence 
at  Kaskaskia,  on  the  first  Monday  in  October  following,  but 
all  subsequent  sessions  on  the  first  Monday  in  December,  there- 
after. The  Constitution  was  not  referred  to  the  people  for 
adoption.  In  general,  they  were  satisfied  with  the  labors  of 
their  servants. 

Members  to  the  General  Assembly  were  elected,  met  at  the 
time  appointed,  and  set  in  operation  the  new  machinery  of 
government.  Shadrach  Bond,  of  Kaskaskia,  had  been  duly 
elected  Governor,  and  Pierre  Menard,  of  the  same  place,  Lieu- 
tenant Governor.  Their  terms  of  service  were  from  1818  to 


768  Appendix. 

1822.  Governor  Bond  in  his  brief  Inaugural  address,  called 
the  early  attention  of  the  General  Assembly  to  a  survey,  pre- 
paratory to  opening  a  canal  between  the  Illinois  river  and 
Lake  Michigan. 

Ninian  Edwards,  whose  administration  over  the  territory 
had  gained  a  strong  position  in  the  confidence  of  the  people, 
was  elected  Senator  of  the  United  States'  Congress.  Jesse 
B.  Thomas,  who  had  presided  in  the  Convention  with  dignity 
and  impartiality,  was  elected  to  the  same  office.  The  treas- 
ury of  the  State  was  impoverished  at  the  commencement,  as 
the  expenses  of  the  Convention,  and  then  of  the  Legislature, 
had  to  be  incurred  before  a  revenue  system  could  be  adopted 
and  carried  into  effect.  After  a  short  session  the  Legislature 
adjourned. 

The  second  session  commenced  about  the  first  of  February, 
1819,  and  continued  until  the  20th.  During  this  period  they 
revised  and  re-enacted  the  Territorial  Laws,  so  far  as  appli- 
cable to  the  State,  with  such  additional  laws  as  the  public 
exigencies  seemed  to  require. 

SECTION  SECOND. 
Organization  of  the  Stale  of  Missouri. 

It  has  been  stated  already  that  the  Territorial  Legislature 
-of  1818-'19,  made  application  to  Congress  for  a  law  to  be 
passed,  authorizing  the  people  of  Missouri  to  organize  a  State 
Government.  John  Scott,  Esq.,  was  the  Delegate  in  Congress 
at  that  period;  having  been  elected  by  a  majority  of  votes 
over  Rufus  Easton,  in  1817. 

A  bill  was  prepared  in  Congress  during  the  session  of  1818- 
'19,  in  the  accustomed  form,  authorizing  the  people  to  elect 
Delegates  in  the  several  counties,  to  constitute  a  Convention 
for  the  purpose  of  forming  a  Constitution.  While  under  pro- 
gress, an  amendment  in  the  form  of  a,  proviso,  was  introduced 
by  Mr.  Talmadge,  of  New  York,  in  the  following  words : 

"  And, provided,  That  the  further  introduction  of  slavery,  or 
involuntary  servitude,  be  prohibited,  except  for  the  punish- 
ment of  crimes,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  fully  con- 
victed ;  and  that  all  children  born  within  the  said  State,  after 
the  admission  thereof  into  the  Union,  shall  be  free  at  the  age 
of  twenty-years." 


Slate  Legislation.  769 

This  proviso,  after  a  brief  discussion,  passed  the  House  of 
Representatives,  on  the  15th  of  February,  1819,  by  a  vote  of 
79  to  67.  This  unexpected  movement  brought  up  what  has 
since  been  called  the  "  Missouri  Question;"  caused  a  protract- 
ed discussion,  and  raised  one  of  those  political  storms,  which 
threatened  to  endanger,  if  not  dissolve  the  national  Union. — 
It  not  only  agitated  Congress, but  the  Union  from  one  extreme 
to  the  other,  for  eighteen  months.  Amongst  the  people  in  this 
territory,  the  excitement  was  intense  ;  the  absorbing  idea  that 
prevailed  was,  that  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  a  body 
limited  in  constitutional  power,  was  about  to  deprive  the  peo- 
ple of  Missouri  of  their  just  rights,  in  forming  a  Constitution 
in  accordance  with  the  treaty  of  cession,  and  as  they  might 
judge  the  best  calculated  to  promote  their  interests.  The  wri- 
ter at  that  period  was  a  citizen  of  the  territory,  and  in  his 
professional  calling,  had  occasion  to  travel  into  every  county. 
Taking  no  direct  part  in  an  exciting  political  question,  and 
mixing  with  all  classes  of  people,  hearing  their  conversations 
in  private  and  their  discussions  in  public,  he  claims  to  know 
the  views  by  which  they  were  actuated.  At  that  period  not 
one-fourth  of  the  population  owned  or  held  slaves  ;  many  were 
opposed  to  slavery  as  a  measure  of  State  policy,  but,  (with  a 
very  few  exceptions,)  all  were  determined  to  resist  what  they 
regarded  an  arbitrary  stretch  of  congressional  power. 

Louisiana,  from  its  earliest  colonization,  had  sustained  and 
tolerated  negro  slavery  on  both  sides  of  the  Mississippi.  Un- 
der the  government  of  both  France  and  Spain,  African  negroes 
had  been  recognized  as  property  by  the  laws.  The  treaty  of 
cession  secured  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  province  the  protec- 
tion and  full  enjoyment  of  their  property.  Hence  the  people 
of  Missouri,  and  their  friends  in  Congress,  maintained  that 
Congress  possessed  no  just  right  to  disturb  the  existing  rela- 
tion of  master  and  slave.  With  the  people  of  Missouri,  it 
became  an  absorbing  question  of  political  rights. 

The  discussions  in  Congress  continued  during  the  session, 
and  the  bill  was  lost,  with  other  unfinished  business. 

During  the  following  summer  the  discussions  continued  in 
Missouri,  chiefly  on  one  side,  though  the  "  Gazette"  opened  its 
columns  to  all  parties. 

On  the  opening  of  Congress,  Mr.  Scott,  Delegate  from  Mis- 
souri, and  chairman  of  the  committee  on  the  "  Memorial  from 


Appendix. 

Missouri,"  reported  a  bill  "  to  authorize  the  people  of  that 
territory  to  form  a  Constitution  and  State  Government,  on  an 
equal  footing  with  the  original  States."  The  bill  was  twice 
read  and  referred  to  the  committee  of  the  whole  House.  This 
was  on  the  9th  of  December,  1819.  On  the  14th,  Mr.  Taylor 
of  New  York,  offered  a  resolution  for  the  appointment  of  a 
committee  "  to  enquire  into  the  expediency  of  prohibiting  by 
law,  the  introduction  of  slaves  into  the  territories  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  west  of  the  Mississippi."  After  some  discussion, 
in  which  the  Delegate  from  Missouri  took  part,  the  Missouri 
bill  was  postponed  and  made  the  order  of  the  day  for  the  se- 
cond Monday  in  January.  The  discussion  opened  at  that  pe- 
riod, and  continued  during  the  winter.  Various  amendments 
were  proposed,  in  both  Houses,  and  lost. 

Application  had  been  made  by  the  people  of  Maine,  with 
the  consent  of  Massachusetts,  to  form  a  State  Government  and 
be  admitted  into  the  Union.  This  proposition,  for  a  period, 
became  coupled  with  the  Missouri  Question. 

In  the  Senate,  on  the  3d  of  February,  Mr.  Thomas  from  Illi- 
nois, offered  an  amendment  to  the  Missouri  branch  of  the 
bill,  in  the  following  words: — 

"And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  in  all  that  territory  ceded 
by  France  to  the  United  States,  under  the  name  of  Louisiana, 
which  lies  north  of  thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes  north 
latitude,  [excepting  only  such  part  thereof  as  is]  not  included 
within  the  limits  of  the  State  contemplated  by  this  act,  slave- 
ry and  involuntary  servitude,  otherwise  than  in  the  punish- 
ment of  crimes,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been  duly  con- 
victed, shall  be,  and  is  hereby  forever  prohibited :  Provided, 
always,  That  any  person  escaping  into  the  same,  from  whom 
labor  or  service  is  lawfully  claimed  in  any  State  or  Territory 
of  the  United  States,  such  fugitive  may  be  lawfully  reclaimed, 
and  conveyed  to  the  person  claiming  his  or  her  labor  or  ser- 
vice, as  aforesaid." 

This  amendment  was  adopted  in  the  Senate  on  the  17th  of 
February,  by  a  vote  of  34  to  10,  and  subsequently  became  the 
basis  of  the  "  Missouri  Compromise,"  modified  by  striking  out 
the  words  enclosed  in  brackets.  On  ordering  the  bill  to  a  third 
reading  in  the  Senate,  the  vote  was  in  the  affirmative,  24  to 
20. 

On  the  3rd  of  March,  the  bill  as  amended  from  the  Senate 
and  passed,  was  sent  to  the  House.  Though  the  Journal  be- 


The  "  Missouri  Question." 

fore  us  is  silent  on  that  subject,  it  is  understood  as  a  historical 
fact,  that  at  this  crisis,  when  despair  sat  on  the  countenances 
of  the  friends 'of  Missouri,  Mr.  Clay,  who  was  Speaker  of  the 
House,  exercised  the  office  of  peace-maker,  and  by  his  popu- 
larity and  influence  with  both  parties,  not  in  an  official  capa- 
city, but  as  an  individual,  healed  the  waters  of  strife,  and  in- 
duced a  majority  of  the  members  to  accept  the  compromise  of 
the  Senate.  The  clause  restricting  slavery  within  the  State 
of  Missouri,  was  stricken  out  by  the  majority  of  90  to  87.  On 
the  final  vote,  for  inserting  the  substitute  from  the  Senate,  it 
was  decided  under  the  previous  question,  in  favor,  134; — 
against  it,  42.  So  the  House  concurred  in  the  amendments  of 
the  Senate  to  the  bill,  on  the  evening  of  the  3rd  of  March. 

The  "  Compromise"  may  be  found  in  the  8th  section  of  the 
Act  to  authorize  the  people  of  Missouri  to  form  a  Constitu- 
tion and  State  Government.  [Territorial  Laws,  volume  1,  pp. 
628,  631.J 

The  Act  provided  for  the  representation  of  each  county  in 
the  Convention;  in  the  aggregate, forty-one  members. 

The  boundaries  prescribed,  are  here  given  : 

"  Beginning  in  the  middle  of  the  Mississippi  river,  on  the 
parallel  of  thirty-six  degrees  of  north  latitude  ;  thence  west 
along  that  parallel  of  latitude,  to  the  St.  Francois  river; 
thence  up,  and  following  the  course  of  that  river,  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  main  channel  thereof,  to  the  parallel  of  latitude  of 
thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty  minutes;  thence  west  along  the 
same,  to  a  point  where  said  parallel  is  intersected  by  a  meri- 
dian line  passing  through  the  middle  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Kansas  river,  where  the  same  empties  into  the  Missouri  river ; 
thence,  from  the  point  aforesaid,  north,  along  the  said  meri- 
dian line  to  the  intersection  to  the  parallel  of  latitude  which 
passes  through  the  rapids  of  the  river  Des  Moincs,  making  the 
said  line  to  correspond  with  the  Indian  boundary  line;  thence 
east,  from  the  point  of  intersection  last  aforesaid,  along  the 
said  parallel  of  latitude,  to  the  middle  of  the  channel  of  the 
main  fork  of  the  said  river  Des  Moines,  to  the  mouth  of  the 
same,  where  it  empties  into  the  Mississippi  river ;  thence,  due 
east,  to  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  of  the  Mississippi 
river;  thence  down  and  following  the  course  of  the  Mississip- 
pi river,  in  the  middle  of  the  main  channel  thereof,  to  the 
place  of  beginning." 

We  have  given  the  boundary  in  full,  to  explain  the  ground 
of  a  dispute,  which  at  one  period  threatened  serious  collision 


772  Appendix. 

between  the  territory,  and  subsequently  the  State  of  Iowa  and 
the  State  of  Missouri,  relative  to  boundaries  and  jurisdiction. 
The  words  in  italics  gave  rise  to  the  difference,  and  involved 
the  questions:  First,  what  was  meant  by  the  "  rapids  of  the 
river  Des  Moines ;"  Secondly,  what  Indian  boundary  line  was 
intended  ? 

Missouri  contended  for  certain  rapids,  or  ripples  in  the  river 
Des  Moines,  some  distance  up,  which  threw  the  line  some 
twenty  or  thirty  miles  farther  north.  Iowa  contended  the  ra- 
pids in  the  Mississippi,  called  by  the  French  explorers,  La 
rapidcs  la  riviere  Des  Moincs,  was  the  point  mean't.  After  sev- 
eral years  of  contested  jurisdiction,  during  which  a  sheriff  of 
Missouri  was  imprisoned  in  Iowa,  and  military  force  was  ap- 
pealed to,  both  States  consented  to  refer  the  question  of  boun- 
dary and  jurisdiction  to  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States.  After  a  labored  investigation,  the  court  decided  in  fa- 
vor of  the  old  boundary  line,  as  it  was  called,  and  the  rapids 
of  the  Desmoines  in  the  French  sense  of  the  term. 

The  election  for  members  of  the  Convention  was  held  on 
the  first  Monday,  and  two  succeeding  days  of  May,  1820. — 
The  only  discussion  on  slavery,  was,  -whether  the  emancipa- 
tion of  slaves  should  be  left  open  for  legislative  action  at  any 
future  time,  or  restricted  in  the  Constitution.  We  do  not  re- 
collect that  any  candidate  was  elected  who  advocated  leaving 
the  question  open.  The  objection  urged  against  this  policy 
was,  that  slaves  were,  in  a  legal  sense,  property;  that  proper- 
ty could  not  be  taken  from  its  owner  by  statute  law,  except 
for  public  purposes,  and  then  only  for  compensation  paid;  that 
were  the  Legislature  at  any  time  to  pass  a  law  to  emancipate 
slaves,  the  courts  could  nullify  the  act;  and  that  when  the 
people  desired  to  change  the  policy  of  the  State,  they  could 
reorganize  the  government  by  a  new  constitution. 

We  here  give  the  members  of  the  Convention,  and  the  coun- 
ties they  represented : 

Cape  Girardeau. — Stephen  Byrd,  James  Evans,  Richard  S. 
Thomas,  Alexander  Buckner,  Joseph  McFerron. 

Cooper. — Robert  P.  Clark,  Robert  Wallace,  William  Lil- 
lard. 

Franklin. — John  G.  Heath. 

Howard. — Nicholas  S.  Burckhartt,  Duff  Green,  John  Ray, 
Jonathan  S.  Findlay,  Benjamin  H.  Reeves. 


Missouri  Convention.  773 

Jefferson. — Samuel  Hammond. 

Lincoln. — Malcolm  Henry. 

Montgomery. — Jonathan  Ramsey,  James  Talbott. 

Madison. — Nathaniel  Cook. 

New  Madrid. — Robert  D.  Dawson,  Christopher  G.  Houts. 

Pike. — Stephen  Cleaver. 

St.  Charles. — Benjamin  Emmons,  Nathan  Boone,  Hiram  H. 
Baber. 

Ste.  Genevicvc. — John  D.  Cook,  Henry  Dodge,  John  Scott, 
R.  T.  Brown. 

St.  Louis. — David  Barton,  Edward  Bates,  Alexander  Mc- 
Nair,  Wm.  Rector,  John  C.  Sullivan,  Pierre  Chouteau,  Jr., 
Bernard  Pratte,  Thomas  F.  Riddick. 

Washington. — John  Rice  Jones,  Samuel  Perry,  John  Hutch- 
ings. 

Wayne. — Elijah  Bettis. 

The  Convention  met  at  St.  Louis,  on  the  12th  day  of  June. 
David  Barton  was  elected  President,  and  William  G.  Pettus, 
Secretary. 

Their  labors  were  finished  by  signing  the  constitution  on 
19th  day  of  July,  1820.  The  first  General  Assembly  were  re- 
quired to  meet  on  the  third  Monday  in  September,  at  St.  Lou- 
is. An  election  for  a  Governor,  Lieutenant  Governor ;  a  re- 
presentative in  Congress  for  the  residue  of  the  sixteenth  Con- 
gress ;  a  representative  for  the  seventeenth  Congress ;  sena- 
tors and  representatives  to  the  General  Assembly,  sheriffs  and 
coroners,  was  held  on  the  fourth  Monday  in  August.  The  ap- 
portionment in  the  constitution  for  the  first  General  Assem* 
bly,  provided  fourteen  senators,  and  forty-three  representa- 
tives. 

Alexander  McNair  was  elected  Governor,  and  William  H. 
Ashley,  Lieutenant  Governor,  and  John  Scott  representative 
to  Congress.  No  provision  was  made  to  refer  the  adoption  of 
the  constitution  to  the  people,  and  it  took  effect  from  the  au- 
thority of  the  Convention. 

There  were  several  features  in  the  constitution  quite  objec- 
tionable to  the  people.  These  were  the  office  of  Chancellor, 
with  a  salary  of  $2,000  per  annum ;  and  the  salaries  of  the 
Governor  and  the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  and  Circuit  Courts, 
being  fixed  at  not  less  than  $2,000  per  annum  for  each  officer. 

The  mode  provided  for  amending  the  constitution,  was  by 


774  Appendix. 

a  vote  of  two- thirds  of  each  House  of  the  General  Assembly 
proposing  amendments;  these  to  be  published  in  all  the  news- 
papers in  the  State  three  times,  at  least  twelve  months  before 
the  next  general  election ;  and  if,  at  the  first  session  of  the 
next  General  Assembly  after  such  general  election,  two-thirds 
of  each  House,  by  yeas  and  nays,  ratify  such  proposed  amend- 
ments, after  three  separate  readings,  on  three  several  days,  the 
amendments  become  parts  of  the  constitution. 

At  a  special  session  of  the  General  Assembly,  in  1821, 
amendments  were  proposed  to  remove  the  objectionable  fea- 
tures, and  passed  by  the  constitutional  majority.  The  next 
General  Assembly  at  its  first  session  ratified  them. 

At  the  first  session  of  the  General  Assembly  in  1820,  Thos. 
H.  Benton  and  David  Barton  were  elected  Senators  to  repre- 
sent the  new  State  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  The 
Senators  and  Representative  were  at  Washington  City  at  the 
opening  of  the  session,  when,  on  presenting  the  constitution 
and  claiming  admittance  as  a  State  into  the  Union,  they  met 
a  repulse.  In  article  third,  defining  the  legislative  power  of 
the  General  Assembly,  was  the  following  injunction  : — 

"  It  shall  be  their  duty,  as  soon  as  may  be,  to  pass  such  laws 
as  may  be  necessary 

"  To  prevent  free  negroes  and  mulattoes  from  coming  to, 
and  settling  in  this  State,  under  any  pretext  whatsoever." 

To  this  clause  objections  were  made  in  Congress,  the  State 
was  refused  admittance  into  the  Union,  and  another  discus- 
sion followed.  The  objection  was,  that  "  free  negroes  and 
mulattoes"  were  citizens  of  some  of  the  States,  and  the  clause 
infringed  on  the  rights  of  such  as  were  guaranteed  in  the  con- 
stitution of  the  U.  States.  The  words  of  the  constitution  are: 
"  The  citizens  of  each  State  shall  be  entitled  to  all  privileges 
and  immunities  of  citizens  in  the  several  States."  The  diffi- 
culty was  increased  by  remonstrances  from  the  legislatures  of 
Vermont  and  New  York,  against  the  "  Missouri  Compromise" 
of  the  preceding  session,  and  the  reception  of  the  new  State 
without  the  restriction  of  slavery. 

In  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  resolution  previously 
introduced  to  admit  that  State,  was  rejected  by  the  vote  of  79 
to  93. 

The  Select  Committee,  to  whom  the  constitution  was  re- 
ferred, made  an  elaborate  report  and  recommended  the  recep- 


Another  "  Missouri  Question."  775 

tion  of  the  State.  This  was  also  disagreed  to,  83  to  36.* — 
This  was  February  10th.  On  a  subsequent  occasion  the  ques- 
tion came  up  somewhat  modified,  and  was  lost  in  the  House, 
80  to  83.  This  vote  was  afterwards  reconsidered,  by  a  vote 
of  101  to  66. 

During  the  session  the  whole  subject  was  discussed;  the 
rights  of  the  south ;  the  balance  of  power  ;  the  rights  of  the 
people  of  Missouri,  and  the  mooted  question,  whether  "  free 
negroes"  were,  constitutionally  citizens  in  all  the  States,  were 
agitated  questions  at  various  periods  of  the  session.  A  reso- 
lution with  various  restrictions,  to  admit  Missouri,  finally  pass- 
ed the  House  by  a  vote  of  91  to  67,  but  in  such  a  form  as  it 
would  not  be  likely  to  receive  the  support  of  the  Senate. 

At  this  crisis,  (February  22,)  Mr.  Clay,  (who  had  declined 
being  a  candidate  for  the  speakership,)  proposed  a  Joint  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  and  Senate,  which  was  carried  by  a  vote 
of  101  to  65.  Mr.  Clay  reported  from  the  Joint  Committee 
on  the  subject,  (February  26,)  the  formula  that  became  incor- 
porated in  the  public  Act,  to  be  found  in  the  Laws  of  Con- 
gress for  that  session,  and  in  the  "  Territorial  Laws  of  Mis- 
souri," volume  i.  pp.  758,  759. 

The  substance  is  as  follows:  On  condition  that  the  Legis- 
lature of  Missouri,  by  a  solemn  act,  shall  declare  the  twenty- 
sixth  section  of  the  third  article  of  the  constitution,  shall  nev- 
er be  construed  to  authorize  the  passage  of  any  law  by  which 
any  citizen  of  either  of  the  States  of  the  Union,  shall  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  enjoyment  of  any  of  the  privileges  to  which 
such  citizen  is  entitled  under  the  constitution  of  the  United 
States ;  and  shall  transmit  to  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  on  or  before  the  fourth  Monday  in  November,  1821, 
an  authentic  copy  of  said  act ;  —  upon  the  receipt  thereof  the 
President,  by  proclamation,  shall  announce  the  fact,  where- 
upon, without  any  further  proceeding  on  the  part  of  Congress, 
the  admission  of  that  State  into  the  Union  shall  be  considered 
as  complete. 

To  carry  this  proviso  out,  it  became  necessary  for  the  Gov- 
ernor to  convene  the  Legislature  in  a  special  session,  which 
was  held  in  the  town  of  St.  Charles,  in  the  month  of  June, 
and  the  SOLEMN  PUBMC  ACT  was  passed ;  guarded  by  explana- 
tions, so  as  not  to  appear  to  affect  constitutional  rights.  The 

•  Niles'  Register,  xix.  409,  410. 


776  Appendix. 

mooted  question  whether  "  free  negroes  and  mulattoes"  are 
"  citizens,"  in  the  sense  of  the  constitution  of  the  U.  States, 
retrains  as  it  was  before  the  action  of  Congress  and  the  Le- 
gislature of  Missouri. 

In  the  month  of  August,  the  President  having  received  an 
authentic  copy  of  the  "  Solemn  Public  Act,"  made  proclama- 
tion that  the  reception  of  Missouri  was  complete.  During  the 
preceding  session  of  Congress,  the  Senators  and  Representa- 
tives of  this  State  had  no  seat  in  Congress,  and  the  votes  for 
President  were  not  counted. 

We  have  been  thus  particular  in  this  protracted  sketch,  that 
our  readers  may  understand  the  whole  subject.  They  may 
now  learn  there  were  two  "  Missouri  Questions,"  and  two 
"  Compromises,"  on  different  and  disconnected  subjects.  We 
hope  the  sketch  given  will  prevent  all  readers  of  these  An- 
*  nals  from  confounding  both  the  subjects  and  the  dates,  as 
many  have  heretofore  done. 

In  1820,  the  population  of  Missouri,  by  the  United  States 
census,  was  66,586.  The  Legislature  of  that  and  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  organized  the  counties  of  Lillard  (now  Lafay- 
ette,) Rails,  Boone,  Chariton,  Ray,  Perry,  Cole,  Saline,  Gas- 
conade, Callaway,  St.  Francois,  Scott  and  Clay.  From  the 
number  of  new  counties  created,  the  reader  may  infer  the 
rapid  increase  of  population,  and  the  extension  of  settlements 
in  Missouri. 

SECTION  THIRD. 
Commercial  and  Military  Enterprise. 

The  first  Steamboat  that  made  a  trip  from  New  Orleans  to 
Louisville,  Ky.,  was  the  Enterprise,  commanded  by  Captain 
Henry  M.  Shreve.  The  boat  left  New  Orleans  on  the  6th  of 
May,  1815,  and  arrived  at  Louisville  on  the  31st  of  the  same 
month  ;  making  the  passage  twenty-Jive  days.  This  was  then 
regarded  as  quite  an  achievement  in  the  navigation  of  the 
Mississippi  and  Ohio  with  steam.  For  many  years  Captain 
Shreve  was  in  the  employ  of  the  national  government,  in  re- 
moving snags  from  the  Mississippi,  Missouri,  Arkansas,  and 
Red  Rivers.  That  singular  obstruction,  made  by  fallen  and 
imbedded  timber  in  Red  River,  termed  the  "Raft,"  has  been 
removed  by  his  skill  and  agency,  and  navigation  opened  into 
the  vast  and  rich  country  above. 


Expedition  up  the  Missouri.  777 

The  Independence,  Captain  Nelson,  from  Louisville,  Ky.,  was 
the  pioneer  boat  in  the  navigation  of  the  more  difficult  chan- 
nel of  the  Missouri  river.  This  was  in  the  same  month  of 
May,  1819.  She  left  St.  Louis  on  the  13th,  was  at  St.  Charles 
on  the  15th,  and  reached  the  town  of  Franklin,  opposite 
Booneville,  on  the  26th  of  that  month.  The  banks  of  the  river 
were  visited  by  crowds  of  people,  as  the  boat  came  in  sight  of 
the  town.  It  was  the  first  boat  that  ever  attempted  to  over- 
come the  strong  current  of  the  Missouri,  and  find  its  way 
amidst  the  shifting  sand-bars.  Besides  a  large  number  of  pas- 
sengers, this  boat  carried  up  a  cargo  of  flour,  whisky,  sugar, 
coffee,  iron,  castings,  and  other  goods.  The  question,  long 
agitated,  and  much  doubted,  "  can  the  Missouri  be  navigated 
by  steamboats?"  was  fully  solved.  A  new  era  in  Missouri  an- 
nals had  opened.  Boats  now  ascend  this  river  daily,  and  to 
the  remotest  settlements ;  and  repeatedly  have  boats  gone  up 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone,  about  1,800  miles  above 
St.  Louis.  Even  before  1844,  the  Assineboine  went  several 
hundred  miles  above  the  rnouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone,  into  a 
gorge  of  the  Rocky  mountains. 

The  Independence  returned  to  St.  Louis,  on  the  5th  of  June, 
and  took  freight  for  Louisville,  Ky. 

On  the  8th  of  June,  1819,  the  United  States  steamboat, 
Western  Engineer,  under  command  of  Maj.  S.  H.  Long,  went 
on  an  exploring  expedition  up  the  Missouri,  having  on  board 
several  gentlemen  attached  to  the  department  of  Topographi- 
cal Engineers.  This  corps  were  on  a  tour  of  observation  to 
the  Yellow  Stone,  or  at  least  the  Mandan  villages.  They  left 
St.  Louis  on  the  21st  of  June.  The  boat  was  a  small  one, 
with  a  stern  wheel,  and  an  escape  pipe  so  contrived  as  to  emit 
a  torrent  of  smoke  and  steam  through  the  head  of  a  serpent, 
with  a  red,  forked  tongue,  projecting  from  the  bow. 

It  was  understood  that  this  contrivance  was  intended  to 
make  an  impression  on  the  Indians,  as  the  boat  had  the  ap- 
pearance of  being  carried  by  a  monstrous  serpent,  vomiting 
fire  and  srnoke,  and  lashing  the  water  into  foam  with  his  tail. 
Tradition  says  the  aborigines  were  panic  struck,  and  fled ; 
imagining  that  the  "pale-faces"  had  sent  a  "  maniteau,"  into 
their  country  to  destroy  them. 

A  military  expedition  left  Bellefontaine  and  St.  Louis  early 
in  June,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Atkinson,  to  establish 
49 


778  Appendix. 

a  military  post  at  Council  Bluffs,  then  far  in  advance  of  the 
American  settlements.  The  expedition  consisted  of  three 
steamboats,  of  heavy  construction,  the  Expedition,  the  Jeffer- 
son, and  the  Johnson,  and  nine  keel-boats.  Several  of  these 
last  description  of  boats  were  prepared  to  be  propelled  with 
sails  and  wheels.  In  this  expedition  were  General  Jessup, 
Quarter-master  General  of  the  United  States  Army ;  Colonel 
Henry  Atkinson,  Commander;  Brevet  Major  Humphrys  ;  Bre- 
vet Major  Ketchum  ;  Captains  Hamilton,  Boardman,  Living- 
ston, Reed,  Haile,  Shaler  and  Bliss.  Colonel  Chambers  and 
Captain  Smith,  of  the  rifle  regiment ;  and  Lieutenants  Bedell, 
Wilcox,  Talcott,  Durand,  Givens,  Wetmore,  (who  was  Pay- 
master;) Brown,  (Quarter-master;)  Mcllvain,  Keeler  and  Palm- 
er, were  in  the  expedition.  The  steamboats  were  comman- 
ded by  Captain  Colfax,  of  the  "Johnson,"  Captain  Craig,  of 
the  "Expedition,"  and  Captain  Orfort,  of  the  "Jefferson." — 
Colonel  James  Johnson,  who,  it  was  understood,  had  the  con- 
tract from  the  War  Department,  to  transport  supplies  and  mu- 
nitions for  the  new  post,  was  on  the  expedition.  Another 
.  boat  called  the  "  Calhoun,"  was  connected  with  the  enter- 
prise. 

Residing  then  at  St.  Charles,  the  writer  was  witness  to  the 
astonishment  of  the  people,  to  see  these  boats  stem  the  rapid 
current  of  the  Missouri.  It  was  understood  at  the  time  that 
liberal  encouragement  had  been  given  by  the  War  Depart- 
ment to  aid  these  boats,  that,  incidentally,  the  great  question 
might  be  solved,  whether  the  Missouri  river  could  be  naviga- 
ted by  steam. 

The  scientific  corps  under  Major  Long,  returned  from  their 
tour  of  exploration  up  the  Missouri  to  the  Yellow  Stone,  to 
St.  Louis,  the  latter  part  of  October. 

According  to  a  report  made  to  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives by  the  committee  on  Military  Affairs,  the  following  win- 
ter, it  was  contemplated  by  the  administration  to  establish  a 
post  at  the  Mandan  villages ;  that  the  expense  of  the  Yellow 
Stone  expedition,  "  over  and  above  what  the  troops  would 
have  cost  had  they  remained  in  their  former  positions,"  was 
estimated  at  $64,226.  We  suppose  this  included  the  steam- 
boat effort  to  the  Council  Bluffs,  which  proved  a  failure.  One 
boat  reached  the  vicinity  of  Cote  Sans  Dessein  ;  another  lay 
by  at  Old  Franklin ;  and  a  third  ascended  to  the  mouth  of 


Banks  and  Banking.  779 

Grand  River.  In  the  end,  the  military  stores  were  transport- 
ed on  keel-boats.  These  boats  returned  to  St.  Louis  in  the 
spring  of  1820. 

The  expenses  were  heavy.  A  member  of  the  committee 
on  Military  Affairs,  at  the  session  of  1819-'20,  stated  that  the 
claims  for  detention  of  the  boats,  and  the  losses,  exceeded  a 
million  of  dollars.  The  Secretary  of  the  War  Department 
had  projected  the  establishment  of  a  military  post  at  or  be- 
low the  mouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone,  and  a  series  of  military 
roads  to  connect  that  post  by  St.  Peters  and  the  northern 
lakes,  which  Congress  refused  to  sanction,  by  withholding  the 
necessary  appropriations. 

i 


CHAPTER  VI. 

MISCELLANEOUS  AFFAIRS. 

SECTION  FIRST. 
Banks  and  Banking. 

We  have  given,  in  connection  with  Territorial  Legislation, 
a  sufficient  sketch  of  some  banks  in  Missouri  and  Illinois. — 
The  Annals,  [pp.  653,  654,  and  657  to  658,} gives  an  outline  of 
the  early  banking  institutions  in  Ohio.  A  communication 
from  John  B.  Dillon,  of  Indiana,  since  this  work  was  put  in 
press,  states,  that  the  "  Bank  of  Vincennes"  was  chartered  in 
1814,  to  continue  until  1835;  capital  stock  not  to  exceed 
$500,000.  The  "  Farmers'  and  Mechanics'  Bank  of  Indiana," 
was  chartered  the  same  year;  capital  stock  not  to  exceed 
$750,000  ;  to  expire  January,  1835.  These,  with  a  multitude 
of  other  banks,  in  this  valley,  expired  for  lack  of  means  to 
pay  their  debts,  long  before  the  charters  terminated, 

At  the  close  of  the  war  of  18 12-' 15,  there  were  two  banks 
in  Kentucky ;  the  "  Insurance  Company,"  and  the  "  State 
Bank"  and  branches. 

A  "  State  Bank"  in  those  days,  was  understood  to  mean  a 
chartered  bank,  owned  chiefly  by  stockholders,  in  which  the 
State  had  an  interest,  appointed  a  portion  of  the  directorship, 


780  Appendix. 

and  had  some  supervision  over  its  affairs.  Such  were  the 
State  Banks  of  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  North  Carolina,  and 
many  others.  From  1815  to  1818,  not  only  chartered  banks 
in  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  probably  in  other  States,  but  uncharter- 
ed  companies,  sent  out  a  large  amount  of  bills  as  a  circula- 
ting medium.  Even  individuals  issued  their  tickets  of"  prom- 
ise to  pay."  The  country  was  flooded  with  worthless  paper. 

So  much  apprehension  was  excited  in  the  minds  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  so  much  spurious  currency  was  imposed  on  them, 
that  as  early  as  1816,  the  Convention  of  Indiana  restricted 
the  banking  system  in  the  new  State,  to  the  charter  of  a  single 
State  Bank,  with  branches. 

Illinois  adopted  the  same  feature  in  its  constitution  in  1818, 
and  in  1820,  Missouri  adopted  a  similar  restriction. 

This,  though  it  checked,  did  not  cure  the  evil.  The  Legis- 
lature of  Kentucky,  in  1816  or  1817,  chartered  forty-seven 
"  Independent  Banks,"  as  they  were  named,  which  soon  sent 
forth  a  spurious  currency  into  the  remotest  settlements. 

In  1818,  a  reaction  commenced;  the  bills  of  such  banks  as 
the  Treasury  Department  had  selected  as  depositories  of  the 
government  funds,  .were  current  in  the  Land  Offices.  The 
rapid  influx  of  immigration,  and  the  demands  for  land,  absorb- 
ed a  large  proportion  of  this  class  of  bills,  while  the  floating 
paper  of  the  other  banks  depreciated,  until  it  was  no  longer 
current. 

By  1820,  the  reaction  was  complete  ;  the  "  Deposit  Banks" 
failed,  with  heavy 'defalcations  to  the  public  treasury.  The 
people  were  in  debt;  creditors  were  clamorous  for  their  dues; 
the  circulating  medium,  that  could  be  turned  into  specie,  had 
vanished ;  and  legislation  was  sought  for  relief. 

A  bank  was  incorporated  by  the  Legislature  of  Illinois,  on 
the  22nd  of  March,  1819,  by  the  style  of  the  "  President,  Di- 
rectors and  Company  of  the  State  Bank  of  Illinois,"  to  con- 
tinue for  twenty-five  years,  with  a  capital  not  exceeding  four 
millions  of  dollars,  one  half  of  which  was  to  be  subscribed  by 
individuals,  and  the  other  half  by  the  State,  when  "  the  Le- 
gislature thereof  should  deem  proper."  Books  were  to  be 
opened  in  divers  towns,  and  if  stock  was  ever  subscribed,  not 
a  dollar  was  paid.  The  mountain  was  not  even  a  mole-hill, 
but  it  gives  an  illustration  of  the  extravagant  folly  in  legisla- 
tion at  that  period. 


Banks  and  Banking.  781 

The  next  General  Assembly,  at  the  session  of  1820-'21,  re- 
pealed this  mammoth  charter ;  a  way  had  been  discovered  to 
create  money  without  capital.  Another  bank  was  chartered, 
in  which  specie  had  no  concern,  with  a  capital  of  $500,000, 
OTi  State  credit ;  the  stock  to  be  raised  and  managed  by  State 
Directors,  under  the  supervision  of  the  Legislature.  Three 
hundred  thousand  dollars,  in  paper  currency,  were  to  be  emit- 
ted, loaned  on  real  estate  at  two-thirds  the  appraised  value, 
or  on  personal  security,  not  exceeding  one  hundred  dollars  to 
individuals.  No  individual  could  obtain  over  one  thousand 
dollars  on  landed  security.  The  interest  was  six  per  cent.; 
the  bills  drew  a  credit  of  two  per  cent,  per  annum,  and  the 
institution  was  to  run  ten  years;  and,  if  its  projectors  were  to  be 
credited  in  their  fancies,  it  would  produce  an  increase  in  that 
period  sufficient  to  redeem  all  the  bills  issued,  pay  all  contin- 
gent expenses,  and  yield  a  net  profit  to  the  State  of  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  at  the  expiration  of  its  charter.  All 
turned  out  as  "  the  baseless  fabric  of  a  vision." 

The  bills  went  down  —  down  — down,  to  thirty-three  cents 
on  the  dollar  :  the  real  estate  of  borrowers,  previously  infla- 
ted by  a  spurious  currency,  went  down  in  a  greater  ratio ; — 
lands  that  had  sold  for  ten  dollars  per  acre,  fell  to  two  and 
three  dollars;  town  lots  in  villages,  actually  sunk  one  thous- 
and per  cent. ;  and  "  fancy  towns,"  on  paper,  became  wholly 
valueless.  At  the  expiration  of  the  charter  in  1831,  when  the 
bills  had  to  be  redeemed,  there  was  no  alternative  to  save  the 
sinking  credit  of  the  State,  but  to  contract  a  cash  loan  to  re- 
deem the  out-standing  bills  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars. — 
This  was  the  commencement  of  the  debt  of  that  State,  and 
has  been  designated  as  the  "  Wiggins'  Loan,"  from  the  gen- 
tleman who  negotiated  the  stock. 

This  was  not  the  worst  feature  in  the  concern.  Provision 
was  made  for  the  creditor  to  receive  the  paper  for  his  dues, 
else  the  debtor  could  replevy  for  three  years.  Such  laws,  with 
"  stay-laws,"  and  "  valuation  laws,"  prevailed  throughout  the 
western  States. 

The  Legislature  of  Missouri,  in  June,  1821,  established  a 
"  Loan  Office"  and  branches  —  the  same  thing  as  the  Illinois 
Bank,  under  another  name.  The  bills  were  called  "  certifi- 
cates," of  which  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  were  issued, 
with  the  same  appendages  of  "  replevy"  and  "  valuation" 


782  Appendix. 

laws,  and  nearly  the  same  results ;  except  at  an  early  period, 
the  judiciary  of  that  State  decided  the  concern  to  be  uncon- 
stitutional. 

We  have  no -space  to  appropriate  to  a  sketch  of  the  "Wild 
Cat"  banks  of  Wisconsin  and  Michigan,  nor  are  we  as  well 
versed  in  the  history  of  their  institutions,  as  in  those  more  di- 
rectly under  our  observation. 

One  general  feature  existed  in  most  of  the  earlier  banks  in 
the  west,  that  pretended  to  be  instituted  on  a  specie  basis. 
The  term  used  in  this  country  at  the  time,  expresses  the  idea. 
They  were  shingled  over  the  country.  One  bank  was  made 
the  basis  of  another,  and  that  of  a  third,  and  that  of  a  fourth; 
consequently,  when  the  foundation  gave  way,  the  whole  went 
\rith  a  crash.  The  modern  policy  of  hauling  boxes  or  kegs 
of  specie,  from  one  bank  to  another,  was  not  then  invented ; 
or,  more  correctly,  they  had  not  specie  enough  to  bear  trans- 
portation. Two  or  three  shrewd  agents  and  directors,  would 
gather  up  a  few  thousand  dollars  in  specie,  for  stock  honestly 
paid  in,  while  the  "  knowing  ones"  would  bring  their  "  shin- 
gles," from  a  neighboring  bank ;  the  bills,  or  stock  of  which 
was  counted  as  so  much  capital  paid  in. 

In  the  session  following,  1835,  another  "  State  Bank"  was 
chartered  by  the  Legislature  of  Illinois,  supposed  to  be  well 
guarded,  and  on  a  specie  basis.  Had  it  not  been  made  the 
fiscal  agent  of  the  State,  and  crushed  to  death  by  the  "  mon- 
ster Internal  Improvement  system,"  it  might  have  survived 
the  tremendous  crash  of  credit  and  values.  But  it  died  in 
1842,  in  a  hopeless  struggle  to  sustain  the  credit  of  the  State. 
Since  that  period,  Illinois  has  had  no  banking  institution. 

The  Bank  of  the  State  of  Missouri  went  into  operation,  un- 
der stringent  regulations,  in  1837,  and  continues  in  good 
credit  in  1850. 

SECTION  SECOND. 
Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal. 

In  Niles'  Register,  volume  sixth,  page  394,  may  be  found  the 
earliest  suggestion  of  a  canal  from  Lake  Michigan  to  the  navi- 
gable waters  of  the  Illinois  river,  that  we  have  found  in  print. 
The  date  is  August  6th,  1814,  in  time  of  the  war,  and  is  a 
paragraph  from  a  series  of  editorial  articles,  on  the  great  im- 
portance, in  a  national  point  of  view,  of  the  States  and  Ter- 


Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal.  783 

ritories  of  this  now  great  central  valley.      We  give  the  ex- 
tract. 

"By  the  Illinois  river,  it  is  probable  that  Buffalo,  in  New 
York,  maybe  united  with  New  Orleans,  by  inland  navigation, 
through  lakes  Erie,  Huron  and  Michigan,  and  down  that  river 
to  the  Mississippi.  What  a  route  !  How  stupendous  the  idea! 
How  dwindles  the  importance  of  the  artificial  canals  of  Europe, 
compared  with  this  water  communication  !  If  it  should  ever 
take  place  (and  it  is  said  the  opening  may  be  easily  made,) 
the  territory  [of  Illinois]  will  become  the  seat  of  an  immense 
commerce,  and  a  market  for  the  commodities  of  all  regions." 

We  have  already  noticed  that  Governor  Bond,  at  the  first 
session  of  the  General  Assembly,  in  1818,  brought  this  sub- 
ject before  that  body,  in  his  Inaugural  message. 

He  suggested  an  early  application  to  Congress  for  a  certain 
per  centage  from  the  sales  of  the  public  lands,  to  be  appropria- 
ted to  that  object.  In  his  valedictory  message,  in  December, 
1822,  he  again  refers  to  this  subject  and  to  his  first  address, 
and  states: — 

"  It  is  believed  that  the  public  sentiment  has  been  ascer- 
tained in  relation  to  the  subject,  and  that  our  fellow-citizens 
are  prepared  to  sustain  their  representatives  in  the  adoption 
of  measures  subservient  to  its  commencement." 

His  successor,  Governor  Coles,  in  his  Inaugural,  (December 
5th,  1822,)  devotes  four  pages  to  this  subject,  refers  to  an  act 
of  the  preceding  Congress,  which  "  gave  permission  to  the 
State  to  cut  a  canal  through  the  public  lands,  connecting  the 
Illinois  river  with  Lake  Michigan,  and  granting  to  it  the 
breadth  of  the  canal,  and  ninety  feet  on  each  side  of  it." 

With  this  was  coupled  the  onerous  conditions  "that  the 
State  should  permit  all  articles  belonging  to  the  United  States, 
or  to  any  person  in  their  employ,  to  pass  toll  free  for  ever." — 
The  Governor,  who  was  a  zealous  and  liberal  advocate  for  an 
economical  and  judicious  system  of  Internal  Improvements, 
proposed  to  create  a  fund  from  the  revenues  received  for  taxes 
on  the  military  bounty  lands;  from  fines  and  forfeitures;  and 
from  such  other  sources,  as  the  Legislature  in  its  wisdom, 
might  think  proper  to  set  apart  for  that  purpose.  He  also 
urged  the  importance  of  an  opening  through  Indiana  and  Ohio, 
with  Lake  Erie,  by  improving  the  navigation  of  the  Wabash 
andMaumee  rivers,  and  connecting  them  by  a  canal,  to  which 


784  Appendix. 

objects  he  proposed  the  Illinois  Legislature  should  invite  the 
special  attention  of  those  States,  and  co-operate  so  far  as  ju- 
risdiction extended.  He  further  proposed  the  examination 
and  surveys  of  the  rivers  and  the  canal  route  in  Illinois ;  and 
to  memorialize  Congress  for  a  liberal  donation  of  land,  in 
opening  the  projected  lines  of  communication. 

An  act  for  the  improvement  of  the  internal  navigation  of 
the  State,  and  a  memorial  to  Congress  on  the  subject,  were 
passed  by  the  Legislature  during  the  session.  This  act,  (which 
was  approved  February  14th,  1823,)  provided  for  a  Board  of 
Commissioners,  whose  duties  were  to  devise  and  adopt  meas- 
ures to  open  a  communication,  by  canal  and  locks,  between 
the  navigable  waters  of  the  Illinois  river  and  Lake  Michigan  ; 
to  cause  the  route  to  be  explored,  surveys  and  levels  to  be 
taken,  maps  and  field  books  to  be  constructed,  and  estimates 
of  the  costs  to  be  made ;  and  to  invite  the  attention  of  the 
Governors  of  the  States  of  Indiana  and  Ohio,  and  through 
them  the  Legislatures  of  those  States,  to  the  importance  of  a 
canal  communication  between  the  Wabash  and  Maumee 
rivers. 

Thomas  Sloo,  Jr.,  Theophilus  W.  Smith,  Emanuel  J.  West, 
and  Erastus  Brown,  were  elected  Commissioners.  Mr.  Sloo 
was  from  Hamilton  county,  and  Messrs.  Smith,  West  and 
Brown,  from  Madison  county. 

At  that  period  Sangamon  river,  and  Fulton  county,  were 
the  boundaries  of  settlements*.  A  military  and  trading  post 
existed  at  Chicago;  a  dozen  families,  chiefly  French,  were  at 
Peoria.  The  northern  half  of  Illinois  was  a  continuous  wil- 
derness ;  or,  as  the  universal  impression  was,  an  intermina- 
ble prairie,  and  uninhabitable  for  an  age.  Morgan  county, 
then  including  Scott  and  Cass  counties,  had  about  seventy- 
five  families;  and  Springfield  was  a  frontier  village,  of  a 
dozen  log  cabins. 

A  portion  of  the  Commissioners,  with  the  late  Colonel  Jus- 
tus Post,  of  Missouri,  as  their  engineer,  made  an  exploratory 
tour  in  the  autumn  of  1823.  In  the  autumn  of  1824,  Colon- 
el Rene  Paul,  of  St.  Louis,  was  also  employed  as  fngineer, 
with  the  necessary  men  to  assist  in  executing  the  levels,  and 
making  the  surveys  complete.  The  party  was  accompanied 
by  one  Commissioner.  Two  companies  were  organized,  and 
five  different  routes  examined,  and  the  expense  estimated  on 


Illinois  and  Michigan  Canal.  785 

each.  The  locks  and  excavations  were  calculated  on  the  sup- 
position that  the  construction  was  on  the  same  scale  of  the 
grand  canal  of  New  York,  then  in  process  of  making.  The 
probable  cost  of  each  route,  was  reported  by  the  engineers; 
the  highest  being  $716,110;  the  lowest,  639,946. 

At  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature,  an  act  was  passed 
(January  17th,  1825,)  to  "incorporate  the  Illinois  and  Michi- 
gan Canal  Company."  The  capital  stock  was  one  million  of 
dollars,  in  ten  thousand  shares  at  one  hundred  dollars  each.* 

The  stock  not  being  taken,  at  a  subsequent  session  the  Le- 
gislature repealed  the  charter.  During  these  movements  with- 
in the  State,  the  late  Daniel  P.  Cook,  as  the  Representative 
in  Congress,  and  the  Senators  of  Illinois,  were  unceasing  in 
their  efforts  to  obtain  lands  from  the  national  government,  to 
construct  this  work,  which  all  regarded  as  of  pre-eminent  na- 
tional advantage.  As  the  result  of  these  efforts,  on  the  2nd 
of  March,  1827,  Congress  granted  to  the  State  of  Illinois,  in 
aid  of  this  work,  each  alternate  section  of  land,  five  miles  in 
width,  on  each  side  of  the  projected  canal. 

The  embarrassments  of  the  State  in  finance,  growing  out  of 
the  ruinous  policy  of  the  State  Bank,  noticed  in  the  preceding 
section,  prevented  any  thing  being  done  until  January,  1829, 
when  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  to  organize  a  Board  of 
Commissioners,  with  power  to  employ  agents,  engineers,  sur- 
veyors, draftsmen,  and  other  persons,  to  explore,  examine, 
and  determine  the  route  of  the  canal.  They  were  authorized 
to  lay  off  town  sites,  and  sell  lots  and  apply  the  funds. 

They  laid  off  Chicago,  near  the  lake,  and  Ottowa,  at  the 
junction  of  Fox  river;  and  the  Illinois  surveys  and  estimates 
were  again  made,  but  the  project  of  obtaining  a  full  supply 
of  water  on  the  surface  level,  was  doubtful,  and  the  rock  ap- 
proached so  near  the  surface  on  the  summit  level  between 
the  Chicago  and  Des  Plaines,  as  to  increase  the  estimates  of 
cost,  and  cast  doubt  on  the  project. 

The  subsequent  Legislature  authorized  are-examination  to 
ascertain  the  cost  of  a  railway,  and  whether  a  supply  of  water 
could  be  obtained  from  the  Calumet  for  a  feeder. 

The  estimated  cost  for  a  railway,  with  a  single  track,  for 
ninety-six  miles,  about  one  million  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

*  Report  of  the  Canal  Commi:sioners,  Vandalia,  1825. 


786  Appendix. 

It  was  a  great  mistake  in  the  State,  not  constructing  a  rail- 
way. 

At  a  special  session  of  the  Legislature,  in  1835-'36,  an  act 
was  passed  authorizing  a  loan  of  half  a  million  of  dollars  for 
the  construction  of  the  canal,  and  the  Board  of  Commission- 
ers was  re-organized,  and  on  the  fourth  of  July,  1836,  the  first 
ground  was  broken. 

At  the  regular  session  of  1836-'37,  the  "  Internal  Improve- 
ment' system  became  the  absorbing  topic,  the  canal  was 
brought  under  the  same  influence ;  loans,  to  a  vast  extent, 
were  created  for  both  objects :  and  the  most  extravagant  ex- 
pectations were  raised,  but  never  realized. 

The  sole  reliance  of  the  State  was  on  loans,  without  any 
finances  of  its  own,  or  any  means  to  pay  annual  interest  and 
liquidate  the  principal.  As  a  financial  measure,  the  canal 
loans  were  distinguished  from  the  Internal  Improvement  and 
other  loans,  but  all  failed  with  the  credit  of  the  State,  before 
1842. 

Contracts  were  made,  and  the  work  on  the  scale  projected, 
made  progress  until  over  five  millions  of  dollars  had  been  ex- 
pended, and  the  work  remained  unfinished.  The  credit  of  the 
State  having  sunk  so,  that  no  further  loans  could  be  obtain- 
ed, the  contractors  were  obliged  to  abandon  their  contracts, 
with  heavy  claims  against  the  State ;  and  in  1843,  a  law  was 
passed  to  liquidate  and  settle  the  damages,  at  a  sum  not  ex- 
ceeding two  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  dollars.  The  Board 
of  Commissioners  was  dissolved,  and  the  works  remained  in 
the  same  state  for  two  years. 

The  session  of  1843-'44,  adopted  a  plan  to  complete  the 
canal,  by  making  the  "  shallow  cut,"  or  relying  on  the  streams 
for  water,  without  excavating  six  feet  below  the  lake  level, 
as  had  been  projected  and  partially  worked,  and  drawing  sup- 
plies from  that  source.  About  sixteen  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars would  complete  the  work  on  this  plan.  The  resources 
were  about  230,000  acres  of  land ;  several  hundred  city  and 
village  lots ;  the  water  power  along  the  whole  line  ;  a  bal- 
ance due  the  canal  fund  for  lands  and  lots  sold;  and  the  ca- 
nal tolls.  All  these  resources  were  considered  ample  to  com- 
plete the  work,  pay  interest  on  the  loans,  and  eventually  re- 
deem the  stock,  provided  additional  funds  could  be  obtained. 
A  proposition  was  made  and  accepted  by  the  stockholders,  a 


Internal  Improvement.  787 

Board  of  Joint  Trustees  were  appointed,  and  one  million  six 
hundred  thousand  dollars  advanced.  The  whole  work  was 
completed  in  1848  ;  regular  business  was  commenced,  and  has 
increased  in  a  larger  ratio  than  any  of  the  estimates. 

We  have  given  only  some  of  the  prominent  facts  in  the  his- 
tory of  this  great  enterprize.  Were  we  to  enter  into  details, 
it  would  be  a  volume  by  itself. 

Of  the  monster  "  Internal  Improvement"  system,  which 
brought  one  of  the  heaviest  calamities  on  the  State,  but  from 
which  its  recuperative  energies  are  slowly  recovering,  we 
have  no  space  for  particulars.  From  1835  to  1840,  the  popu- 
lar mind  through  the  United  States,  passed  through  a  species 
of  mania.  Men,  who  were  shrewd,  clear-headed,  and  safe 
calculators,  became  incapable  of  reasoning  correctly  in  finan- 
cial matters.  The  Legislature  of  Illinois,  as  did  other  Legis- 
lative bodies,  labored  and  acted  under  a  singular  halluci- 
nation. A  minority  resisted ;  a  prominent  leader  of  which, 
the  late  General  J.  J.  Hardin,  was  among  the  number  that  op- 
posed the  "  splendid  project."  The  law  passed;  ten  millions 
of  dollars  were  to  be  loaned  and  applied  to  various  lines  of 
railroads,  and  river  improvements,  and  appropriations  made 
for  the  same.  The  railroads  extended  like  checker-work  over 
the  State ;  every  one  of  which  was  planned,  and  estimates 
made  by  the  committee  on  the  copy  of  a  sectional  map  of  the 
State,  just  published,  and  which  had  reached  the  seat  of  gov- 
ernment. The  whole  length  of  the  railroads  to  be  made,  was 
one  thousand  three  hundred  and  forty-one  miles.  Extrava- 
gant as  was  this  scheme,  loans  were  negotiated  to  an  amount 
exceeding  five  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  money  thrown 
away.  The  whole  system  went  down  about  1841,  increasing 
the  demands  against  the  State,  (including  accumulations  of 
interest  due,)  to  an  amount  exceeding  fifteen  millions  of  dol- 
lars. Great  as  this  burden  may  appear  to  others,  Illinois  has 
resources,  and  has  made  provision  to  liquidate  this  heavy 
debt.  The  canal  stock  includes  a  moiety  of  this  debt,  and  its 
resources  and  income  will  absorb  that  portion.  The  State  has 
other  resources.  But  in  making  a  new  constitution  in  1847, 
which  was  adopted  by  a  vote  of  the  people,  in  March,  1848, 
a  section  providing  a  special  tax  of  two  mills  on  the  dollar  of 
the  civil  list,  was  adopted  by  a  separate  vote  of  the  people, 
by  more  than  ten  thousand  majority.  This  income  is  applied 


788  Appendix. 

to  the  extinguishment  of  the  principal  of  this  debt ;  and  we 
think  it  is  the  first  instance  in  which  the  people,  by  a  direct 
vote,  have  solemnly  declared  they  will  tax  themselves  to  pay 
an  old  debt. 

SECTION  THIRD. 

Slavery  in  Illinois. 

We  have  already  mentioned,  [Appendix,  673,]  that  Renault 
brought  five  hundred  slaves  to  Illinois,  from  St.  Domingo. — 
These  became  the  progenitors  of  that  class  of  the  African 
race,  which,  in  the  statute  books  and  census  of  Illinois,  were 
called  "  French  slaves."  Before  Renault  returned  to  France, 
in  1744,  he  sold  the  interest  he,  or  the  company  with  which  he 
had  been  connected,  had  in  slaves  to  the  French  colonists. — 
A  portion  of  this  class  were  taken  across  the  Mississippi  to 
Upper  Louisiana,  and  some  to  the  lower  province,  on  the  ces- 
sion of  the  country  to  the  British  Government.  [Appendix, 
693.]  Those  who  remained  in  the  Illinois  country,  held  their 
slaves  by  virtue  of  the  treaty  of  cession,  which  secured  to  the 
inhabitants  the  possession  of  their  entire  property,  and  a  guar- 
antee of  all  their  rights.  Slavery,  then,  existed  by  law  in  all 
the  British  colonies. 

The  edict  of  Louis  XIII.,  of  France,  dated  the  23d  of  April, 
1815,  and  re-enacted  by  Louis  XV.,  1724,  contained  the  laws 
and  regulations  concerning  slavery  in  Louisiana.*  To  this 
document  we  refer  our  readers. 

The  conquest  of  the  country  by  Clark,  in  1778,  brought  the 
subject  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Virginia,  and  in  its  transfer 
to  the  Continental  Congress,  in  1784,  the  same  relationship  of 
property  was  secured. 

The  ordinance  of  1787,  was  prospective,  and  has  been  so 
decided  by  the  courts.  The  question  whether  the  descend- 
ents  of  those  who  were  slaves  in  1787,  could  be  held  in  servi- 
tude, on  the  ground  of  a  "  vested  right,"  remained  open,  un- 
til 1845,  when,  by  a  decision  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Illi- 
nois, it  was  decided  they  were  free.  The  new  constitution 
adopted  by  the  people  in  March,  1848,  put  an  end  to  involun- 
tary servitude  in  every  form  in  Illinois. 

The  operation  of  the  ordinance  of  1787,  prohibiting  slave- 
ry in  the  North-Western  territory,  was  a  subject  of  complaint 

. 

*  See  Dillon's  Indiana,  i.  pp.  46,  55. 


S'avery  in  Illinois.  789 

by  a  very  few  interested  persons,  who,  by  memorials  to  Con- 
gress, made  efforts  to  obtain  a  removal  of  the  restriction  for  a 
limited  period.  The  first  petition  was  from  four  persons  in 
Kaskaskia,  in  1796,  asking  that  slavery  might  be  tolerated 
there.  In  1804,  a  Convention  was  held  on  the  subject  at  Vin- 
cennes,  to  deliberate  on  "  territorial  interests,"  of  which  Gov- 
ernor Harrison  was  President.  One  object  was  to  obtain  a 
modification  of  the  organic  law.  A  memorial  was  sent  to 
Congress,  which  was  referred  to  a  committee  in  the  House  ; 
the  Chairman  was  the  late  Mr.  Rodney ;  the  Report  recom- 
mended that  the  sixth  article  of  the  ordinance  of  1787,  "  be 
suspended,  in  a  qualified  manner,  for  ten  years,  so  as  to  per- 
mit the  introduction  of  slaves  born  in  the  United  States,"  etc. 
It  was  not  passed. 

At  the  session  of  the  Territorial  Legislature  of  1806-'7,  a 
series  of  resolutions  were  adopted  and  reported  to  Congress, 
by  the  late  Judge  Parke,  then  Delegate.  At  that  time,  Jesse 
B.  Thomas  was  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  Pierre  Menard  President  pro.  tern,  of  the  Council;  both 
citizens  of  that  part  of  the  territory,  now  included  in  the  State 
of  Illinois.  There  were  seven  resolutions,  of  which  six  were 
reported  to  Congress  as  if  passed  unanimously.  We  have  the 
best  authority  for  saying  this  was  a  clerical  error ;  the  late 
John  Messinger,  of  Illinois,  and  the  recent  correspondence  of 
John  B.  Dillon,  Esq.  A  resolution  was  reported  by  the  com- 
mittee to  which  they  were  referred,  in  favor  of  a  suspension 
of  the  sixth  article  of  the  ordinance  for  ten  years,  and  lost  in 
the  House.* 

This  movement  produced  a  political  re-action  in  the  terri- 
tory. The  opponents  of  the  measure  brought  out  as  a  can- 
didate for  Congress,  Jonathan  Jennings,  and  elected  him  over 
the  opposite  candidate,  and  continued  him  by  successive  re- 
elections  until  the  State  Government  was  formed,  when  he 
was  elected  Governor,  and  continued  in  that  office  until  1822. 
The  number  of  slaves  reported  by  the  census  of  1800,  in  Indi- 
ana, (including  Illinois,)  was  133;  in  1810,237;  in  1820,  190; 
in  1830,  none.  In  1810,  Illinois  had  168  slaves  ;  in  1820,  917  ; 
in  1830,  746.f 

*  American  State  Papers,  xx.  478.  Speech  of  Mr.  Burt,  Congressional  Globe.  Appen- 
dix, January,  1847,  p.  117. 

f  American  Almanac,  1832,  p.  258,  261. 


790  Appendix. 

To  avoid  the  restriction  in  the  organic  law,  the  territory  of 
Indiana  passed  an  act  (September  17,  1807,)  entitled  "  An 
Act  concerning  the  Introduction  of  negroes  and  mulattocs  into  this 
Territory"  It  legalized  the  introduction  of  that  class  of  per- 
sons, (who  were  slaves  in  the  States  or  Territories,)  into  that 
territory,  by  requiring  the  owner,  or  possessor,  to  enter  into  in- 
dentures with  his  slave,  to  serve  for  a  stipulated  period  as  an 
indentured  servant,  and  then  become  free.  A  record  of  this 
must  be  made  in  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas,  within  thirty 
days  after  the  introduction  of  the  slave  or  slaves.  Children  un- 
der fifteen  years  of  age,  were  required  to  serve  their  former 
owner  or  possessor  —  males,  until  thirty-five  years  of  age,  and 
females  until  thirty-two  years  of  age.  This  class  were  term- 
ed "  Indentured  servants."  Many  slave-holders  from  Virgin- 
ia, Kentucky  and  other  States,  who  desired  to  relieve  them- 
selves from  the  ownership  of  slaves,  migrated  and  availed 
themselves  of  this  law.  This  form  of  servitude  has  been  re- 
moved by  judicial  decisions  in  Indiana,  and  by  the  new  con- 
stitution in  Illinois. 

For  several  years  after  the  war,  persons  migrated  to  Illi- 
nois, with  the  view  of  emancipating  their  slaves.  Of  these 
instances,  the  one  most  deserving  of  note,  is  that  of  Edward 
Coles,  afterwards  Governor  of  the  State.  Mr.  Coles  was 
born  in  Albemarle  county,  Va.,  December  15th,  1786. — 
His  father  was  a  rich  planter,  with  a  large  number  of  slaves, 
but  having  ten  children,  the  amount  of  property  received  by 
each  child  was  not  large.  Edward  received  for  his  share  a 
plantation  and  about  twenty  slaves; — the  slaves  constituting 
about  one-third  of  his  estate.  It  was  in  William  and  Mary 
college,  under  the  tuition  of  the  late  Bishop  Madison,  he  re- 
ceived the  conviction  of  the  wrong  and  impolicy  of  negro 
slavery — and  he  then  formed  the  resolution,  that  should  he 
come  into  possession  of  this  species  of  property,  he  would 
emancipate  them.  Mr.  Coles  became  Private  Secretary  for 
President  Madison,  and  remained  six  years  an  inmate  of  his 
family.  He  was  then  sent  on  a  special  mission  to  Russia,  as 
the  bearer  of  dispatches  to  the  American  Minister,  the  late  J. 
Q.  Adams,  'during  which  he  made  the  tour  of  Europe.  On  his 
return,  he  effected  a  sale  of  his  plantation,  and  removed  his 
slaves  to  Illinois,  in  1819,  purchased  169  acres  of  land  for 
each  family,  and  superintended  their  settlement  in  the  vicini- 


Slavery  in  Illinois.  791 

ty  of  Edvvardsville.  Soon  after,  he  was  appointed  by  Presi- 
dent Monroe,  Register  of  the  Land  Office  in  Edwards ville, 
where,  in  1821,  we  had  the  pleasure  of  forming  his  ac- 
quaintance, which  ripened  into  intimacy.  He  was  elected 
Governor  of  the  State  in  1822;  and,  as  it  turned  out,  at  a 
most  important  crisis. 

In  the  election  of  that  year,  in  some  of  the  extreme  south- 
ern counties,  the  question  of  opening  the  State  for  the  intro- 
duction of  slavery  was  discussed.  But  in  the  Legislature  the 
succeeding  winter,  it  assumed  an  alarming  attitude  in  poli- 
tics. 

The  old  constitution  provided  for  alterations  only  in  one 
mode.  A  vote  of  two-thirds  of  the  General  Assembly  could 
authorize  the  people  to  vote  for  or  against  a  Convention,  at 
the  next  election.  If  a  majority  of  votes  was  in  favor,  the 
subsequent  Legislature  was  required  to  order  an  election  for 
members  to  the  Convention,  and  appoint  the  time  of  meeting, 
the  apportionment  to  be  in  ratio  to  the  members  in  both  hous- 
es of  the  General  Assembly. 

At  that  period,  the  progress  of  the  population  northward, 
had  rendered  this  apportionment  peculiarly  unequal,  and  the 
strong  hold  of  the  advocates  of  slavery  was  in  the  counties 
near  the  Ohio  river ;  and  in  the  old  French  settlements.  It 
was  demonstrated,  that  on  a  contingency,  one-fourth  of  the 
votes  of  the  people  could  elect  a  majority  in  a  Convention, 
and  that  majority  might  probably  be  in  favor  of  opening  the 
State  for  slavery.  Hence  it  became  a  paramount  object  of 
the  opponents  of  the  measure,  to  defeat  the  Convention. 

After  several  efforts,  it  was  found  the  constitutional  majori- 
ity  in  the  Legislature  was  lacking  by  one  vote.  A  contested 
election,  of  a  perplexing  and  complicated  character,  had 
come  from  Pike  county,  then  including  all  the  territory  north 
and  west  of  the  Illinois  river,  and,  at  the  early  part  of  the 
session,  was  decided  in  favor  of  Mr.  Hanson ;  but  some 
members  who  were  opposed  to  a  Convention,  conscientiously 
gave  their  votes  for  the  contestant,  Mr.  Shaw.  After  a  stormy 
session  of  about  ten  weeks,  the  Convention  party  adopted  the 
desperate  alternative  of  a  reconsideration,  and  turned  out 
Hanson,  and  put  in  Shaw.  This  turned  the  scale,  and  the 
vote  recommending  the  people  to  vote  for  or  against  a  Con- 
vention, was  carried.  A  number  of  the  members  of  both 


792  Appendix. 

Houses   entered  their  solemn  protest  against  both  the  object, 
and  the  measures  to  obtain  it. 

The  resolution  passed  both  Houses  but  a  short  time  before 
the  adjournment,  February,  1823.  But  one  of  the  four  pa- 
pers in  the  State — the  "  Edwardsville  Spectator,"  by  Hooper 
Warren — at  that  time  took  a  stand  decided  against  slavery 
and  a  Convention. 

Elections  were  biennial,  and,  the  question  had  to  be  decided 
on  the  first  Monday  in  August,  1824;  the  contest  was  spirited. 
The  people,  who  were  opposed  to  the  introduction  of  slavery, 
became  aroused  ;  public  meetings  were  held ;  and  societies 
organized  for  "  the  prevention  of  slavery  in  Illinois."  The 
first  move  was  made  in  the  county  of  St.  Clair,  where  the 
Convention  party  were  strong,  and  led  by  some  of  the  strong- 
est political  men  in  the  State.  A  county  society  was  organ- 
ized, officers  appointed,  an  address  to  the  people  of  Illinois 
was  published,  and  an  invitation  made  to  form  societies  in 
other  counties.  Fourteen  similar  societies  were  organized  in 
as  many  counties,  and  a  correspondence  established  in  them 
through  persons  who  could  be  trusted,  in  every  county  and 
election  precinct.  This  system  was  in  full  operation  before 
August,  and  a  year  remained  to  gather  strength.  The  oppo- 
site party  relied  on  quiet  and  concealed  operations.  Many 
denied,  and  doubtless  honestly  thought,  the  introduction  of 
slavery  was  not  the  object ;  that  there  were  objectionable  fea- 
tures in  the  constitution,  that  should  be  removed.  In  the. 
counties  north  of  the  road  from  St.  Louis  to  Vincennes,  very 
little  was  said  by  this  party  in  favor  of  slaver}',  except  to 
ward  off  the  charges  made  by  their  opponents.  The  mem- 
bers of  the  preceding  Legislature,  who  had  protested  against 
the  Convention  question,  contributed  each  fifty  dollars  from 
their  wages,  to  meet  expenses  in  printing  and  circulating  pa- 
pers. The  Governor  was  in  the  opposition,  and  at  once  re- 
solved to  expend  his  four  years'  salary  in  the  contest,  and  no- 
bly did  he  redeem  the  pledge. 

The  summer  and  autumn  wore  away,  and  the  Convention 
party  had  no  regular  organization.  The  time  appointed  for 
rallying  the  leaders  and  acting  in  concert,  was  in  December, 
at  the  session  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  Vandalia.  The  paper 
at  that  place,  that  performed  the  public  printing,  was  their 
strong  garrison,  so  far  as  newspaper  armor  was  concerned. — 


The  Monks  of  La   Trappe.  793 

On  the  morning  of  their  meeting,  this  citadel  surrendered  to 
their  opponents,  hoisted  the  anti-Convention  flag,  and  prepar- 
ed to  pour  grape  shot  into  their  ranks,  in  the  form  of  news- 
paper bullets.  Governor  Coles  had  purchased  an  interest  in 
the  press;  David  Blackwell,  Esq.,  of  Belleville,  had  been  ap- 
pointed Secretary  of  State,  to  fill  a  vacancy,  and  conducted 
the  paper  as  editor.  From  that  time  until  August,  the  con- 
test was  carried  on  vigorously  by  both  parties,  and  finally  de- 
cided against  a  Convention,  by  about  1800  majority.  The 
number  of  votes  given  in  the  State,  was  nearly  12,000. 

During  the  contest  it  was  anticipated  that  an  indirect  influ- 
ence out  of  the  State,  would  be  exerted  to  gain  the  question. 
All  such  extraneous  influence  the  opponents  resisted.  Of  the 
members  of  Congress,  Governor  Edwards  and  Daniel  P.  Cook 
were  strong  in  the  opposition,  and  each  wielded  a  vigorous 
pen  in  the  cause. 

In  six  months  after,  the  question  was  settled;  a  politician 
who  was  in  favor  of  the  introduction  of  slavery  in  the  State, 
was  a  KARA  AVIS. 

'•.   ^K'j     •!•»•;  *>i'? 

SECTION  FOUR. 
The  Monks  of  La    Trappe, 

We  refer  to  this  Order,  not  for  any  religious  purposes,  but 
because  they  had  a  residence  in  the  United  States,  from  1804 
to  1813,  and  in  the  American  bottom,  in  Illinois,  from  1810. 
The  Monastery  of  this  Order,  was  anciently  situated  in  the 
Province  of  Perche,  in  France,  in  one  of  the  most  solitary 
spots  that  could  be  chosen.  It  was  founded  in  1140,  under 
the  patronage  of  Rotrou,  Count  of  Perche.  They  were  a 
branch  of  the  Order  of  Cistercian  monks.  Their  Monastery 
had  fallen  into  decay,  and  their  rigid  discipline  much  relaxed, 
when  the  Order  was  reformed  by  the  Abbe  Ranee,  in  1664. — 
Ranee  was  a  gay  man  of  the  world,  but  meeting  with  a  sud- 
den misfortune — some  authors  say  the  infidelity  of  his  wife, — 
others  assert  the  sudden  death  of  Madame  Mo-ntbazon,  whose 
favorite  lover  he  had  been  ; — he  renounced  the  world,  entered 
this  Monastery,  and  took  the  lead  in  a  system  of  most  severe 
austerity.  Perpetual  silence  was  the  vow  ;  every  comfort  of 
life  was  rejected,  and  a  stone  was  his  bed  ;  bread  and  water 
his  only  food  ;  and  every  day  a  handful  of  earth  was  removed 
from  his  grave. 
50 


794  Appendix. 

The  furious  storm  of  the  French  revolution,  scattered  the 
Trappists.  A  branch  of  the  Order  came  to  the  United  States, 
in  1804,  first  established  themselves  near  Conewango,  in  Penn- 
sylvania; then  in  Kentucky;  next  at  Florisant,  in  St.  Louis 
county ; — and  finally,  in  1810,  on  a  farm  and  a  high  mound  in 
the  American  bottom,  near  the  boundary  line  of  St.  Clair  and 
Madison  counties.  Colonel  N.  Jarrot,  of  Cahokia,  gave  them 
the  use  of  a  farm  and  other  accommodations  in  Illinois. 

Here  they  lost  two  priests  and  five  lay-brothers  of  the  Or- 
der. The  climate  and  situation  were  not  congenial  to  the 
rigid  austerities  enjoined  by  the  Order. 

They  cultivated  a  garden,  repaired  watches,  and  traded 
with  the  people,  but  were  generally  filthy  in  their  habits,  and 
extremely  severe  in  their  penances  and  discipline.  In  1813, 
they  sold  off  their  personal  property,  and  left  the  country  for 
France.* 

We  add  to  this  section  an  item  overlooked  in  its  proper 
connection.  "  Father  Meurain  died  at  Prairie  du  Rocher,  in 
the  year  1778.  He  was  the  last  of  the  Jesuits  in  this  coun- 
try. He  was  ordered  home  ;  but  at  the  request  of  the  Indians 
he  returned,  and  was  their  Father-confessor.  He  was  a  very 
learned  man,  and  has  left  a  valuable  library,  and  a  manuscript 
dictionary  of  the  Indian  arid  French  languages,  in  twenty- 
four  volumes.  He  was  a  Missionary  to  the  Illinois  Indians, 
and  was  respected  and  beloved  by  them,  as  a  very  pious  and 
faithful  Missionary."! 

The  two  last  Jesuit  Missionaries  at  Mackinaw  and  L'Abre 
Croche,  were  Fathers  Le  Franc  and  Du  Jauny,  who  were 
sixty  years  in  the  country. 

*  Broclsenridge's  Louisiana, — Spalding's  History  of  Catholic  Missions  in  Kentucky; — 
Beck's  Gazetteer,  p.  439. 

fMor-e's  Indian  Report,  Appendix,  p.  244. 


The  Black  Hawk  War.  795 


CHAPTER  VII. 

• 

SECTION  FIRST. 
The  Black  Hawk  War* 

As  this  portion  of  Illinois  history  has  been  much  misunder- 
stood, and  consequently  misrepresented  in  several  publica- 
tions, we  shall  give  the  facts  of  the  case,  but  in  a  very  con- 
densed form : 

1st.  The  Sauks  and  Foxes  had  no  original  right,  in  the  In- 
dian sense  even,  to  any  portion  of  Illinois.  They  were  in- 
truders on  the  country  of  the  Santeaurs  and  loways*  [Ap- 
pendix, 713.] 

2nd.  The  head  chiefs  sold  their  claim  to  their  lands  in  Illi- 
nois and  southern  Wisconsin,  to  the  United  States,  in  1804.* 
[Annals,  546.] 

3rd.  This  treaty  was  violated  by  all  that  portion  of  the  uni- 
ted tribes,  which  committed  hostilities  against  the  United 
States,  and  joined  the  British  during  the  war.  The  portions 
of  the  tribes  that  remained  peaceable,  re-confirmed  the  treaty 
of  1804,  at  Portage  des  Sioux,  September  13th,  1815.  The 
hostile  part  of  the  nation,  in  1816,  professed  repentance  for 
their  misdeeds,  obtained  forgiveness,  and  the  treaty  of  1804 
was  again  renewed  and  re-enacted.  [Annals,  648,  651.] 

4th.  Black  Hawk  never  was  a  chief;  never  recognized  as 
such  by  Indian  authority,  or  by  the  United  States.  He  was  a 
brave,  in  Indian  parlance,  gathered  around  him  a  small  party 
of  disaffected  spirits,  refused  to  attend  the  negotiations  of 
1816;  went  to  Canada,  proclaimed  himself  and  his  party  Bri- 
tish subjects,  and  received  presents  from  that  quarter. 

5th.  Another  treaty  was  made  in  full  council,  "  with  the 
chiefs,  warriors,  and  head  men  of  the  Sac  and  Fox  tribes,"  at 
Fort  Armstrong,  [Rock  Island,]  September  3rd,  1822,  by  the 
agent  of  the  United  States,  in  which  the  treaty  of  1804,  is  re- 
ferred to  and  ratified.  And  still  another  treaty  was  made  by 
ten  regularly  delegated  chiefs  and  head  men,  and  Governor 
Clark  on  the  part  of  the  United  States,  in  Washington  City, 

*  Indian  Treaties. 


796  Appendix. 

the  4th  of  August,  1824.  In  this  treaty  they  sell,  for  a  valua- 
ble consideration,  all  their  title  to  the  northern  portion  of  the 
State  of  Missouri,  from  the  Mississippi  to  the  western  boun- 
_  dary  of  that  State.  At  this  treaty  the  United  States  granted 
the  strip  of  country  between  the  Mississippi  and  Desmoines 
river,  to  certain  half-breeds  of  that  nation.  And  on  all  the 
lands  they  had  claimed  south  and  east  of  this  line,  they  are  not 
to  be  permitted  to  settle  or  hunt,  after  the  first  day  of  Janua- 
ry, 1826. 

6th.  In  the  treaty  of  1804,  the  Sauks  and  Foxes  were  per- 
mitted to  reside  and  hunt  on  the  land  sold,  while  it  remained 
the  property  of  the  United  States. 

Writers,  and  especially  Brown,  [History  of  Illinois,  note,  p. 
380,]  have  retained  the  story  of  Black  Hawk,  and  by  this 
means  misrepresented  this  whole  business.  Brown  has  given 
Indian  speeches,  in  place  of  authentic  public  documents  and 
treaties.  Drake,  in  his  "  Book  of  the  Indians,"  in  many  re- 
spects a  valuable  antiquarian  work,  has  made  great  mistakes.* 
This  work  abounds  with  errors,  concerning  the  causes  and  the 
management  of  the  Black  Hawk  affair. 

7th.  Another  treaty  was  held  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  in  1825, 
with  the  Sauks,  Foxes,  Winnebagoes,  Chippeways,  Sioux,  and 
other  North-western  Indians.  The  object  was  to  settle  the 
long  existing  hostilities  among  these  tribes,  in  which  the  Uni- 
ted States  Government  exercised  the  office  of  mediator.  In 
1827,  a  party  of  twenty-four  Chippeways,  on  a  visit  to  Fort 
Snelling,  was  attacked  by  a  band  of  Sioux,  and  eight  of  their 
number  killed  and  wounded.  The  commander  at  Fort  Snell- 
ing caused  four  of  the  Sioux,  \vho  had  committed  this  mur- 
der, to  be  delivered  to  the  Chippeways,  by  whom  they  were 
shot.  Red  Bird,  a  Sioux  chief,  determined  to  retaliate,  and 
got  defeated.  Being  derided  by  his  own  nation,  he  resolved 
to  attack  the  white  people,  whom  he  regarded  as  allies  of  the 
Chippeways ;  and  on  the  27th  of  July,  two  men  in  the  vicini- 
ty of  Prairie  du  Chien,  were  killed  and  a  third  wounded.  At 
the  same  period  hostile  demonstrations  were  made  by  some 
Winnebagoes,  and  Black  Hawk's  party  of  the  Sauks,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  lead  mines,  which  caused  much  alarm.  About 
the  28th  of  July,  two  keel-boats,  conveying  military  stores  to 
Fort  Snelling,  were  attacked  by  hostile  Sioux,  Winnebagoes 

*  Book  v.  chapter  viii.  pp.  141  to  165. 


The  Black  Hawk  War.  797 

and  Sauks,  two  of  their  crew  were  killed  and  four  wounded. 
The  party  was  commanded  by  Red  Bird,  but  Black  Hawk  was 
of  the  party.  General  Atkinson  marched  a  detachment  of 
troops  into  the  Winnebago  country,  captured  Red  Bird  and 
six  other  Indians,  and  committed  them  to  prison  in  Prairie  du 
Chien,  for  trial.  Red  Bird  died  in  prison.  A  part  of  the  oth- 
ers were  convicted  and  executed  in  December,  1828. 

About  this  year,  the  President  issued  a  proclamation,  ac- 
cording to  law,  and  the  country  about  the  mouth  of  Rock  Riv- 
er, which  had  been  previously  surveyed,  was  sold,  and  the 
year  following,  was  taken  possession  of  by  American  families. 
Some  time  previous  to  this,  after  the  death  of  old  Quash- 
quame,  Keokuk  was  appointed  chief  of  the  Sauk  nation. — 
The  United  States  gave  due  notice  to  the  Indians  to  leave 
the  country,  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  Keokuk  made  the 
same  proclamation  to  the  Sauks,  and  a  portion  of  the  nation, 
with  their  regular  chiefs,  with  Keokuk  at  their  head,  peacea- 
bly retired  across  the  Mississippi.  Up  to  this  period,  Black 
Hawk  continued  his  annual  visits  to  Maiden,  and  received  his 
annuity  for  allegiance  to  the  British  government.  He  would 
not  recognize  Keokuk  as  chief,  but  gathered  about  him  all  the 
restless  spirits  of  his  tribe,  many  of  whom  were  young,  and 
fired  with  the  ambition  of  becoming  "  braves,"  and  set  up  him- 
self for  a  chief. 

Black  Hawk  was  not  a  Pontiac,  or  a  Tecumthe.  He  had 
neither  the  talent  or  the  influence  to  form  any  comprehensive 
scheme  of  action,  yet  he  made  an  abortive  attempt  to  unite 
all  the  Indians  of  the  west,  from  Rock  River  to  Mexico,  in  a 
war  against  the  United  States. 

In  the  memoir  he  dictated,  and  Leclair  wrote,  he  states,  [p. 
97,]  "runners  were  sent  to  the  Arkansas,  Red  River  and  Tex- 
as,— not  on  the  subject  of  our  lands,  but  on  a  secret  mission, 
which  I  am  not,  at  present,  permitted  to  explain."  The  mis- 
sion was  no  secret  when  the  memoir  was  written.  It  was  to 
arouse  up  the  Indians  to  attack  the  white  settlements,  through 
the  long  line  of  frontier,  at  the  same  time. 

Still  another  treaty,  and  the  seventh  in  succession,  was 
made  with  the  Sauks  and  Foxes,  on  the  15th  of  July,  1830, 
in  which  they  again  confirmed  the  preceding  treaties,  and 
promised  to  remove  from  Illinois  to  the  territory  west  of  the 
Mississippi.  This  was  no  new  cession,  but  a  recognition  of 


798  Appendix. 

the  former  treaties  by  the  proper  authorities  of  the  nation,  and 
a  renewed  pledge  of  fidelity  to  the  United  States. 

During  all  this  time  Black  Hawk  was  gaining  accessions  to 
his  party.  Like  Tecumthe,  he,  too,  had  his  Prophet — whose 
influence  over  the  superstitious  savages,  was  not  without 
effect. 

In  1830,  an  arrangement  was  made  by  the  Americans,  who 
had  purchased  the  land  above  the  mouth  of  Rock  River,  and 
the  Indians  that  remained,  to  live  as  neighbors;  the  latter  cul- 
tivating their  old  fields.  Their  enclosures  consisted  of  stakes 
stuck  in  the  ground,  and  small  poles  tied  with  strips  of  bark 
transversely.  The  Indians  left  for  their  summer's  hunt,  and 
returned  when  their  corn  was  in  the  milk — gathered  it,  and 
turned  their  horses  into  the  fields,  cultivated  by  the  Ameri- 
cans, to  gather  their  crop.  Some  depredations  were  commit- 
ted on  their  hogs  and  other  property.  The  Indians  departed 
on  their  winter's  hunt,  but  returned  early  in  the  spring  of  1831, 
under  the  guidance  of  Black  Hawk,  and  committed  depreda- 
tions on  the  frontier  settlements.  Their  leader  was  a  cunning, 
shrewd  Indian,  and  trained  his  party  to  commit  various  de- 
predations on  the  property  of  the  frontier  inhabitants,  but  not 
to  attack,  or  kill  any  person.  His  policy  was  to  provoke  the 
Americans  to  make  war  on  him,  and  thus  seem  to  fight  in  de- 
fense of  Indian  rights,  and  the  "  graves  of  their  fathers." — 
Numerous  affidavits,  from  persons  of  unquestionable  integri- 
ty sworn  toc  before  the  proper  officers,  were  made  out  and 
sent  to  Governor  Reynolds,  attesting  to  these  and  many  other 
facts.  We  have  examined  these  documents,  knew,  personal- 
ly some  who  subscribed  to  them,  and  others  from  good  testimo- 
ny. Black  Hawk  had  about  five  hundred  Indians  in  train- 
ing, with  horses,  well  provided  with  arms,  and  invaded  the 
State  of  Illinois  with  hostile  designs.  These  facts  were  known 
to  the  Governor  and  other  officers  of  the  State.  Consequent- 
ly, Governor  Reynolds,  on  the  28-th  of  May,  1831,  made  a  call 
for  volunteers,  and  communicated  the  facts  to  General  Gaines 
of  this  military  district,  and  made  a  call  for  regular  troops. — 
The  State  was  invaded  by  a  hostile  band  of  savages,  under 
an  avowed  enemy  of  the  United  States.  The  military  turn- 
ed out  to  the  number  of  twelve  hundred  or  more,  on  horse- 
back, and  under  command  of  the  late  General  Joseph  Dun- 
can, marched  to  Rode  River. 


The  Black  Hawk   War.  799 

The  regular  troops  went  up  the  Mississippi  in  June.  Black 
Hawk  and  his  men,  alarmed  at  this  formidable  appearance, 
recrossed  the  Mississippi,  sent  a  white  flag,  and  made  a  treaty, 
in  which  the  United  States  agreed  to  furnish  them  a  large 
amount  of  corn  and  other  necessaries,  if  they  would  observe 
the  treaty. 

In  the  spring  of  1832,  Black  Hawk  with  his  party  again 
crossed  the  Mississippi  to  the  valley  of  Rock  River,  notwith- 
standing he  was  warned  against  doing  so  by  General  Atkin- 
son, who  commanded  at  Fort  Armstrong,  in  Rock  Island. — 
Troops,  both  regular  and  militia,  were  at  once  mustered  and 
marched  in  the  pursuit  of  the  native  band.  Among  the  troops 
was  a  party  of  volunteers  under  Major  Stillman,  who,  on  the 
14th  of  May,  was  out  upon  a  tour  of  observation,  and  close 
in  the  neighborhood  of  the  savages.  On  that  evening,  having 
discovered  a  party  of  Indians,  the  whites  galloped  forward  to 
attack  the  savage  band,  but  were  met  with  so  much  energy 
and  determination,  that  they  took  to  their  heels  in  utter  con- 
sternation. The  whites  were  175  in  number;  the  Indians 
from  five  to  six  hundred.  Of  this  party,  twenty-five  followed 
the  retreating  battalion,  after  night,  for  several  miles.  Eler- 
en  whites  were  killed  and  shockingly  mangled,  and  several 
wounded.  Some  four  or  five  Indians  were  known  to  be  kill- 
ed. This  action  was  at  Stillman*s  run,  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Ogle  county,  about  twenty-five  miles  above  Dixon. 

Peace  was  now  hopeless,  and  although  Keokuk,  the  legiti- 
mate chief  of  the  nation,  controlled  a  majority,  the  tempta- 
tion of  war  and  plunder  was  too  strong  for  those  who  follow- 
ed Black  Hawk. 

We  now  quote  from  the  first  edition  of  the  Annals,  with 
some  emendations : — 

On  the  21st  of  May,  a  party  of  warriors,  about  seventy  in 
number,  attacked  the  Indian  Creek  settlement  in  La  Salle 
county,  Illinois,  killed  fifteen  persons,  and  took  two  young 
women  prisoners ;  these  were  afterwards  returned  to  their 
friends,  late  in  July,  through  the  efforts  of  the  Winnebagoes. 
On  the  following  day,  a  party  of  spies  was  attacked  and  four 
of  them  slain,  and  other  massacres  followed.  Meanwhile  3000 
Illinois  militia  had  been  ordered  out,  who  rendezvoued  upon 
the  20th  of  June,  near  Peru ;  these  marched  forward  to  the 
Rock  River,  where  they  were  joined  by  the  U.  States  troops, 
the  whole  being  under  command  of  General  Atkinson.  Six 


800  Appendix. 

hundred  mounted  men  were  also  ordered  out,  while  General 
Scott,  with  nine  companies  of  artillery,  hastened  from  the  sea- 
board by  the  way  of  the  lakes  to  Chicago,  moving  with  such 
celerity,  that  some  of  his  troops,  we  are  told,  actually  went 
1800  miles  in  eighteen  days;  passing  in  that  time  from  Fort 
Monroe,  on  the  Chesapeake,  to  Chicago.  Long  before  the  ar- 
tillerists could  reach  the  scene  of  action,  however,  the  western 
troops  had  commenced  the  conflict  in  earnest,  and  before  they 
did  reach  the  field,  had  closed  it.  On  the  24th  of  June,  Black 
Hawk  and  his  two  hundred  warriors  were  repulsed  by  Major 
Demint,  with  but  one  hundred  and  fifty  militia  :  this  skirmish 
,took  place  between  Rock  River  and  Galena.  The  army  then 
continued  to  move^up  Rock  River,  near  the  heads  of  which  it 
was  understood  that  the  main  party  of  the  hostile  Indians 
was  collected ;  and  as  provisions  were  scarce,  and  hard  to  con- 
vey in  such  a  country,  a  detachment  was  sent  forward  to  Fort 
Winnebago,  at  the  portage  between  the  Wisconsin  and  Fox 
rivers,  to  procure  supplies,  this  detachment,  hearing  of  Black 
Hawk's  army,  pursued  and  overtook  them  on  the  21st  of  Ju- 
ly, near  the  Wisconsin  river,  and  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Blue  Mounds.  General  Henry,  who  commanded  the  party, 
formed  with  his  troops  three  sides  of  a  hollow  square,  and  in 
that  order  received  the  attack  of  the  Indians ;  two  attempts 
to  break  the  ranks,  were  made  by  the  natives  in  vain ;  and 
then  a  general  charge  was  made  by  the  whole  body  of  Amer- 
icans, and  with  such  success  that,  it  is  said,  fifty-two  of  the 
red  men  were  left  dead  upon  the  field,  while  but  one  Ameri- 
can was  killed  and  eight  wounded. 

Before  this  action,  Henry  had  sent  word  of  his  motions  to 
the  main  army,  by  whom  he  was  immediately  rejoined,  and  on 
the  28th  of  July,  the  whole  crossed  the  Wisconsin  in  pursuit 
of  Black  Hawk,  who  was  retiring  toward  the  Mississippi. — 
Upon  the  bank  of  that  river,  nearly  opposite  the  Upper  loway, 
the  Indians  were  overtaken  and  again  defeated,  on  the  2nd 
of  August,  with  a  loss  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  while  of 
the  whites  but  eighteen  fell.  This  battle  entirely  broke  the 
power  of  Black  Hawk ;  he  fled,  but  was  seized  by  the  Win- 
nebagoes,  and  upon  the  27th,  was  delivered  to  the  officers  of 
the  United  States,  at  Prairie  du  Chien. 

General  Scott,  during  the  months  of  July  and  August,  was 
contending  with  a  worse  than  Indian  foe.  The  Asiatic  chole- 
ra had  just  reached  Canada;  passing  up  the  St.  Lawrence 
o  Detroit,  it  overtook  the  western-bound  armament,  and 
thence  forth  the  camp  became  a  hospital.  On  the  8th  of  July, 
his  thinned  ranks  landed  at  Fort  Dearborn  or  Chicago,  but  it 
was  late  in  August  before  they  reached  the  Mississippi.  The 
number  of  that  band  who  died  from  the  cholera,  must  have 
been  at  least  seven  times  as  great  as  that  of  all  who  fell  in 
battle.  There  were  several  other  skirmishes  of  the  troops 


Cholera,  and  Flood  in  Ohio.  801 

with  the  Indians  and  a  number  of  individuals  murdered; 
making  in  all,  about  seventy-five  persons  killed  in  these  ac- 
tions, or  murdered  on  the  frontiers. 

In  September,  the  Indian  troubles  were  closed  by  a  treaty, 
which  relinquished  to  the  white  men  thirty  millions  of  acres 
of  land,  for  which  stipulated  annuities  were  to  be  paid  ;  con- 
stituting now  the  eastern  portion  of  the  State  of  Iowa,  to 
which  the  only  real  claim  of  the  Sauks  and  Foxes,  was  their 
depredations  on  the  unoffending  loways,  about  130  years  since. 
To  Keokuk  and  his  party,  a  reservation  of  forty  miles  square 
was  given,  in  consideration  of  his  fidelity  ;  while  Black  Hawk 
and  his  family,  were  sent  as  hostages  to  Fort  Monroe  in  the. 
Chesapeake,  where  they  remained  till  Junp,  1833.  The  chief 
afterwards  returned  to  his  native  wilds,  where  he  died. 

Black  Hawk  cannot  rank  with  Pontiac  or  Tecumthe ;  he 
fought  only  for  revenge,  and  showed  no  intellectual  power ; 
but  he  was  a  fearless  man. 

The  same  disease  which  decimated  General  Scott's  troops, 
during  the  autumn  of  this  year,  and  the  summers  of  1833  and 
1834,  spread  terror  through  the  whole  west,  though  during  last 
year  it  was  comparatively  mild.  We  have  room  to  notice 
only  three  facts  in  relation  to  it ;  the  first  is,  that  other  dis- 
eases diminished  while  it  prevailed ; — the  second,  that  many 
points  which  were  spared  in  1832,  (as  Lexington,  Ky.)  were 
devastated  in  1833  ; — the  third,  that  its  appearance  and  pro- 
gress presented  none  of  the  evidences  of  infection  or  conta- 
gion. 

A  visitation  less  fatal  than  the  cholera,  but  for  the  time  most 
disastrous,  had  come  upon  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  in  the  pre- 
ceding February.  A  winter  of  excessive  cold  was  suddenly 
closed,  by  long  continued  and  very  heavy  rains,  which,  una- 
ble to  penetrate  the  frozen  ground,  soon  raised  every  stream 
emptying  into  the  Ohio  to  an  unusual  heighth.  The  main 
trunk,  unable  to  discharge  the  water  which  poured  into  it, 
overflowed  its  banks,  and  laid  the  whole  valley,  in  many 
places  several  miles  in  width,  under  water.  The  towns  and 
villages  along  the  river  banks,  were  flooded  in  some  instances 
so  deeply,  as  to  force  the  inhabitants  to  take  refuge  on  the 
neighboring  hills; — and  the  value  of  the  property  injured  and 
destroyed  must  have  been  very  great,  though  its  amount  could 
not,  of  course,  be  ascertained.  The  water  continued  to  rise 
from  the  7th  to  the  19th  of  February,  when  it  had  attained 
the  height  of  63  feet  above  low  water  mark  at  Cincinnati. 

SECTION  SECOND. 
Iowa,   Wisconsin  and  Minnesota. 

Dubuque  is  the  oldest  settlement  in  the  State  of  Iowa,  be- 
ing coeval  with  Galena,  as  a  village.  As  a  trading  post,  it  is 


802  Appendix. 

identified  with  the  Frenchman  whose  name  it  perpetuates. — 
Bellevue  and  Fort  Madison,  have  already  been  noticed  as  mili- 
tary posts. 

The  subjection  of  Black  Hawk  and  his  hostile  party,  and 
the  treaty  that  followed  in  1832,  opened  the  extensive  tract  of 
country  along  the  Mississippi,  to  American  settlements;  and 
the  following  spring,  companies  from  Illinois  crossed  the  river, 
built  their  cabins,  and  made  improvements  for  farming  early 
in  1833.  The  first  settlement  was  in  the  vicinity  of  Burling- 
ton. Coeval  with  it,  was  the  settlement  near  Fort  Madison. 
From  this  period,  the  progress  and  extension  of  settlements 
were  rapid,  and  the  population  increased  with  far  greater  ra- 
pidity, than  in  the  history  of  previous  territories.  For  more 
than  eighteen  months  the  people  were  "  a  law  unto  them- 
selves," being  without  the  jurisdiction  of  any  organized  ter- 
ritory. In  1834,  Congress  attached  this  territory  to  that  of 
Michigan,  for  temporary  jurisdiction,  and  two  large  counties, 
Dubuque  and  Desmoines,  were  organized.  Their  aggregate 
population  in  1836,  was  10,531  persons,  and  the  same  year 
Wisconsin  was  organized  as  a  separate  territory,  and  exercis- 
ed jurisdiction  over  the  "  District  of  Iowa." 

In  1838,  we  were  at  Burlington  during  the  session  of  the 
Wisconsin  Legislature.  The  official  intelligence  of  the  or- 
ganization of  the  Territory  of  Iowa,  was  received  the  last  of 
June,  and  the  Legislature  finding  itself  beyond  its  own  juris- 
diction, adjourned.  The  Territorial  Government  took  effect 
on  the  4th  of  July,  1838.  Robert  Lucas,  a  former  Governor 
of  Ohio,  was  the  Governor  and  Superintendent  of  Indian  Af- 
fairs, and  James  Clark,  Secretary  of  the  new  Territory. 

During  that  year  the  territory,  which  had  been  subdivided 
into  sixteen  counties,  had  a  population  of  22,860  persons. 

In  1839,  the  General  Assembly  located  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, on  the  river  that  gives  name  to  the  State,  and  called  it 
the  "  City  of  Iowa."  Immigration  continued  to  increase  ;  in 
1840  the  population  was  43,017  ;  while  that  of  the  Wisconsin 
Territory,  was  30,945  persons.  In  1843,  the  Territorial  Le- 
gislature petitioned  Congress  for  authority  to  adopt  a  State 
Constitution,  which  was  granted  at  the  next  session,  and  on 
the  7th  of  October,  1844,  the  Convention  assembled  and 
adopted  a  Constitution,  which  was  not  approved  by  Congress. 
Another  Convention  was  held  1846,  the  limits  restricted,  an 


Territory  of  Wisconsin.  803 

amended  Constitution  adopted,  which  was  submitted  to  Con- 
gress in  June,  and  the  State  received  into  the  Union  simultan- 
eously with  Florida. 

Since  that  period,  this  State  has  made  rapid  progress;  sev- 
eral chartered  cities  exist,  containing  a  population  of  from 
2000  to  5000  inhabitants;  the  Indian  title  has  been  extin- 
guished, and  civilization  has  extended  over  a  large  part  of  its 
territory. 

The  population  in  the  autumn  of  1849,  was  estimated  at 
180,000. 

Wisconsin  has  made  slower  progress,  and  been  longer  in  the 
race,  but  has  become  a  large,  thriving  and  prosperous  State. 
Its  oldest  settlement  is  Green  Bay.  Farming  settlements  were 
made  contiguous  to  Galena,  during  the  lead  operations  alrea- 
dy noticed.  The  Black  Hawk  war  brought  the  extensive  re- 
gion along  the  "  Four  Lakes"  and  the  Wisconsin  river,  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  pioneers  of  Illinois,  and  opened  the  way  for 
the  settlement  of  that  fine  country.  Soon  after,  immigration 
began  to  flow  in  from  Michigan,  Ohio  and  New  York,  and  the 
wilderness  soon  became  a  fruitful  field.  As  early  as  1835, 
some  enterprising  persons  planted  themselves  on  choice  town 
sites:  along  the  borders  of  Lake  Michigan  and  Racine,  South- 
port,  Milwaukee,  Sheboygan,  and  many  other  towns  have 
sprung  into  existence.  Milwaukee  is  a  large  commercial  city, 
with  some  18,000  or  20,000  inhabitants,  and  commands  the 
trade  of  an  extensive  back  country. 

This  territory  formed  a  Constitution  in  1846,  which  was  not 
approved  by  a  large  majority  of  the  people.  Another  Con- 
vention was  held,  and  a  Constitution  framed  and  adopted, 
February  1st,  1848,  on  which  the  State  was  received  into  the 
Union.  The  population,  taken  December  1st,  1847,  was  220,- 
867.  General  Henry  Dodge,  now  a  Senator  in  Congress,  was 
the  first  Governor  of  the  territory,  and,  with  the  exception  of 
four  years,  held  that  office  during  the  existence  of  the  Terri- 
torial Government.  Each  of  these  new  States  has  adopted  a 
system  of  common  schools,  which  promise  a  bountiful  harvest 
to  future  generations. 

Minnesota,  is  the  new  territory  lying  north  of  Iowa,  and 
north-west  of  Wisconsin ;  was  organized  in  pursuance  of  a 
law  passed  by  Congress,  March  3rd,  1849,  on  the  first  of  June 
the  same  year.  Alexander  Ramsey,  of  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  was 


8  04  Appendix. 

appointed  Governor,  and  issued  his  proclamation  on  that  day. 
A  census  taken  in  June,  showed  the  white  population  to  be 
4,780.  An  election  was  held  on  the  first  day  of  August  for 
a  Legislative  Assembly,  and  nine  members  of  the  Council, 
and  eighteen  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives  were 
elected.  The  session  commenced  in  the  town  of  St.  Paul,  on 
the  first  Monday  in  September.  H.  H.  Sibley,  is  the  Delegate 
in  Congress.  The  message  of  the  Governor  is  an  able  docu- 
ment. The  town  of  St.  Paul,  the  present  seat  of  govern- 
ment, commenced  as  a  commercial  town  in  the  spring  of  1849, 
and  now  has  a  population  of  1000,  and  is  a  place  of  much 
business. 

A  steamboat  is  being  constructed  to  run  the  Mississippi  above 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  to  Crow  Wing  river,  in  the  year 
1850.  The  hitherto  remote  military  post,  called  Fort  Snell- 
ing,  established  in  1819,  will  soon  be  surrounded  with  civili- 
zation and  the  arts  of  peace. 

The  territory  has  been  divided  into  nine  counties,  in  place 
of  the  old  counties  of  La  Pointe  and  St.  Croix,  that  were  or- 
ganized under  the  territory  of  Wisconsin.  The  names  are 
Itasca,  Washington,  Ramsey,  Benton,  Pembina,  (accent  on  the 
last  syllable)  Mah-kah-to,  Wah-nah-tah,  Dahkotah,  and  Wau- 
bashaw.  The  counties  of  Ramsey,  Washington  and  Benton, 
only  had  judicial  districts  in  1849. 

The  village  and  settlement  of  Pembina,  was  commenced  by 
Lord  Selkirk,  a  Scotch  nobleman,  about  1812.  He  obtained 
a  grant  of  land  on  Red  river,  from  the  Hudson  Bay  Company. 
Two  settlements  were  formed ;  one  at  Fort  Douglass,  the  oth- 
er higher  up,  and  which  proved  to  be  below  the  49th  degree 
of  latitude,  and  within  the  boundary  of  the  United  States. — 
This  last  settlement  was  called  Pembina,  a  corruption  of  an 
Indian  word,  that  signified  a  small  red  berry  that  grew  in  that 
region.* 

In  1823,  the  settlement  consisted  of  about  350  persons,  re- 
siding in  sixty  log  houses,  or  cabins.  The  fathers  were  chiefly 
Swiss  and  Scotch  emigrants,  who  married  Indian  wives. f  At 
that  period  (1822-'23,)  droves  of  cattle  were  taken  from  Mis- 
souri and  Illinois  to  this  colony,  and  sold  at  a  high  price.  The 
colony  at  Pembina,  as  it  was  in  1849,  originated  from  a  mix- 
ture of  nations,  as  Scotch,  English,  French,  Italians,  Germans, 
and  Swiss,  amalgamated  with  Chippeways,  Crees,  Sioux  and 
other  Indian  tribes.  By  the  census  of  1849,  there  were  in  this 

*  The  Viburnam  Oxycoccos. 
t  Long's  Expedition,  ii.  41,  45. 


Growth  of  Towns  and  Cities.  805 

settlement,  of  males  295  ;  females,  342;  total,  637.      A  colo- 
ny, chiefly  French,  is  situated  on  the  Missouri  river. 

One  of  the  most  important  incidents,  in  both  Wisconsin  and 
Minnesota,  is  the  lumber  business.  Extensive  forests  of  white 
pine  are  on  the  waters  of  the  Wisconsin,  St.  Croix,  and  other 
tributaries  of  the  Mississippi,  and  mills  are  in  extensive  ope- 
ration on  the  streams.  The  lumber  manufactured  on  the  St. 
Croix  alone,  in  1849,  amounted  to  ten  millions  of  feet,  board 
measure.  This  business  will  be  a  vast  source  of  wealth  to  the 
district. 

SECTION  THIRD. 
Growth  of  Towns  and  Citiet. 

CHICAGO  is  one  of  the  important  commercial  centres  of  the 
great  central  valley,  that  illustrate  the  rapidity  of  progress  in 
population,  business,  enterprise  and  wealth.  In  1832,  it  con- 
tained five  small  stores,  and  250  inhabitants.  The  preceding 
year  there  were  four  arrivals,  two  brigs  and  two  schooners, 
from  the  lower  lakes,  which  were  sufficient  for  all  the  trade 
and  business  for  North -Eastern  Illinois  and  North- Western 
Indiana. 

In  1835,  there  were  267  arrivals  of  brigs,  ships  and  schoon- 
ers, including  nine  steamboats.  The  merchandize  imported 
amounted  to  5015  tons,  besides  9,400  barrels  of  salt.  The 
exports  of  1843,  exceeded  one  million  of  dollars;  the  imports 
$1,433,  886.  It  sustained  great  depression  during  the  suspen- 
sion of  the  canal  operations,  from  1841  to  1846,  and  yet  its 
growth  continued.  A  railroad  across  the  State  to  connect 
Chicago  with  Galena,  has  been  put  in  operation  to  Fox  river, 
and  the  work  is  progressing.  The  population  of  Chicago  is 
estimated  at  25,000. 

There  are  several  important  towns  along  the  line,  and  at 
the  termination  of  the  canal,  which  we  have  now  no  room  to 
particularize.  The  old  village  of  Peoria,  was  situated  one 
and  a  half  miles  above  the  outlet  of  the  lake.  As  a  French 
village,  it  commenced  about  1779,  and  was  called  La  Ville  de 
Maillet.  The  people  removed  to  the  •'  new  village"  on  the 
present  site  of  Peoria,  in  1797.  After  the  war,  Fort  Clark, 
already  noticed,  was  burnt.  The  situation  of  Peoria  is  beau- 
tiful beyond  description,  and  is  a  place  of  business  and  com- 
merce. 

Springfield,  the  seat  of  government  of  Illinois,  dates  back 
to  February,  1822.  It  is  a  handsome  inland  city,  of  4000  in- 
habitants, surrounded  with  a  rich  agricultural  district.  It  is 
connected  with  the  Illinois  river,  by  Jacksonville,  at  Naples, 
by  a  railroad,  and  will  soon  be  with  Alton  with  one  to  that 
place. 

Alton,  after  a  long  period  of  depression,  is  now  in  progress, 
and  bids  fair  soon  to  be  a  place  of  much  commerce. 


806  Appendix. 

In  Missouri,  the  progress  of  settlements,  the  building  up  of 
towns,  and  the  accumulation  of  agricultural  wealth,  have 
been  fully  equal  to  any  other  State  in  the  Union  for  the  last 
ten  years.  Jefferson  City,  the  seat  of  government,  was  not 
designed  for  a  commercial  depot,  but  for  the  capitol  and  pub- 
lic offices  of  the  State.  St.  Charles,  Booneville,  Fayette  and 
Lexington,  are  incorporated  cities.  Of  late,  the  rich  mines  of 
lead,  copper  and  iron,  have  attracted  the  attention  of  capi- 
talists, and  awakened  a  spirit  of  enterprise  which  gives  prom- 
ise of  success. 

Governors  of  the  State  of  Missouri. — Alexander  McNair, 
from  1820  to  1824;  Frederick  Bates,  from  1824  to  1828  ;  John 
Miller,  from  1828  to  1832;  Daniel  Dunklin,from  1832  to  1836; 
Lilburn  W.  Boggs,  from  1836  to  1840;  Thomas  Reynolds, 
from  1840  to  1844;  John  C.  Edwards,  from  1844  to  1848; 
Austin  A.  King,  (the  present  incumbent)  from  1848  to  1852. 

Governors  of  Illinois. — Shadrach  Bond,  from  1818  to  1822 ; 
Edward  Coles,  from  1822  to  1826;  Ninian  Edwards  (formerly 
Governor  of  the  Territory,)  from  1826  to  1830 ;  John  Rey- 
nolds, from  1830  to  1834 ;  Joseph  Duncan,  from  1834  to  1838  ; 
Thomas  Carlin.  from  1838  to  1842;  Thomas  Ford,  from  1842 
to  1846  ;  Augustus  C.  French,  from  1846  to  1848,  the  office 
having  expired  by  the  adoption  of  the  new  Constitution.  He 
was  again  elected  under  the  new  Constitution,  and  goes  out 
of  office  in  January,  1853. 

Governor  Edwards  of  Illinois,  died  at  his  residence  in  Belle- 
ville, of  the  cholera,  July  20th,  1833,  in  the  59th  year  of  his 
age.  The  prominent  traits  of  his  character  were  great  decis- 
ion, determined  resistless  perseverance,  quickness  in  despatch 
of  business,  sagacity  to  the  public  interest,  and  a  liberal,  gen- 
erous and  philanthropic  disposition. 

Governor  Clark  of  Missouri,  died  at  his  residence  in  St. 
Louis,  on  the  first  day  of  September,  1838.  He  was  Gover- 
nor of  the  Territory  from  1813  to  1820,  and  Superintendent 
of  Indian  Affairs  to  the  close  of  his  life.  Previously,  he  had 
been  the  companion  of  Merri wether  Lewis,  in  their  tour  of  ex- 
ploration to  the  Pacific  ocean.  His  intimate  knowledge  of 
Indian  character,  and  his  intercourse  with  them,  won  their  es- 
teem and  confidence.  Through  a  long  public  life,  he  main- 
tained a  character  for  strict  integrity  and  unsullied  honor. 

SECTION  FOURTH. 
Growth  of  St.  Louis-, 

ST.  Louis,  for  steady  progress  and  successful  enterprise,  since 
1830,  has  excelled  all  other  cities  with  which  we  have  been 
acquainted.  There  have  been  periods  of  pecuniary  pressure, 
but  none  of  prostration.  Business,  population  and  wealth, 
have  increased  with  each  revolving  year. 

In  addition  to  the  position  of  a  great  seat  of  commerce  and 


Growth  of  St.  Louis.  807 

trade,  for  an  extensive  and  rapidly  improving  territory,  there 
are  several  branches  of  business  that  concentrate  here.  These 
are  the  mining  business — the  Indian  fur  trade  and  trapping 
enterprise  ; — the  Mexican  trade  ; — the  frontier  military  posts 
and  Indian  agency  ; — and  lately,  the  outfit  of  many  thousands 
of  California  gold-hunters.  In  some  of  these  branches,  the 
people  in  the  interior  of  Missouri  have  participated.  We  in- 
tended to  have  amplified  each  of  these  items  in  a  series  of 
sketches,  but  our  limits  are  nearly  exhausted. 

The  fur  trade,  to  a  limited  extent,  was  extended  high  up  the 
Missouri  river,  before  the  cession  of  Louisiana.  The  average 
annual  value  of  the  furs  collected  in  St.  Louis,  for  fifteen  suc- 
cessive years,  ending  in  1804,  is  stated  to  have  been  $203,750. 
James  Pursley,  in  1802,  was  the  first  hunter  and  trapper,  and 
probably  the  first  American,  who  traversed  the  great  plains 
between  the  United  States  and  New  Mexico.  The  Missouri 
Fur  Company,  with  a  capital  of  $40,000,  was  organized  in  this 
city  in  1808,  and  the  hunters  in  its  employ,  were  the  first  who 
pitched  their  camps  on  the  waters  of  Oregon.  That  compa- 
ny was  dissolved  in  1812;  the  fur  trade  of  the  Missouri  was 
prosecuted  by  Messrs.  Chouteau,  Berthold,  Pratte,  Lisa,  Ca- 
banne,  and  others.  Messrs.  Pilcher,  Lisa,  Thos.  Hempstead, 
Perkins  and  others,  revived  the  Missouri  Company  soon  after 
the  war,  and  carried  their  enterprise  into  the  defiles  of  the 
Rocky  mountains. 

In  1823,  the  late  General  William  H.  Ashley  fitted  out  his 
first  trapping  expedition  to  the  mountains  and  upon  the  wes- 
tern waters.  He  had  a  severe  engagement  with  the  Arica- 
ra  Indians,  in  which  he  lost  fourteen  men.  General  Ashley 
and  his  men,  ascended  the  Sweet  water,  discovered  the  South 
Pass,  and  thus  opened  a  highway  to  Oregon  and  California. 
In  1824,  he  extended  his  exploration  and  line  of  trade  to  the 
Utah  Lake.  Between  the  years  of  1824  and  1827,  General 
Ashley  and  his  men  sent  to  St.  Louis  furs  to  the  value  of  $180,- 
000.  The  annual  value  of  the  fur  trade  alone,  for  40  years, 
has  averaged  from  two  to  three  hundred  thousand  dollars,  and 
hence  an  important  item  in  the  growth  of  St.  Louis.* 

The  Santa  Fe  trade  from  Missouri,  originated  in  Franklin, 
Howard  county,  where  the  first  enterprise  was  planned,  and 
an  outfit  procured  in  1822.f  This  has  been  since  prosecuted 
with  great  enterprise  and  various  success  from  this  city. 

The  United  States  census  of  1840,  owing  to  the  very  limi- 
ted bounds  of  the  corporation,  and  the  extension  of  the  streets 
and  blocks  of  the  city  beyond,  misrepresented  the  population. 
The  report  exhibited  only  16,469,  whereas  the  population 
within  the  town  of  St.  Louis,  was  not  less  than  28,000. 

A  similar  discrepancy  will  appear  in  the  census   of  1850;  for  although 

*  Address  of  Thomas  Allen,  at  the  "Celebration"  of  St.  Louiu,  February  15.  1847.  pp. 
16,  18. 

t  Wetmore's  Gazetteer,  p .  86. 


808  The  Cholera,  and  Great  Fire. 

the  corporate  boundaries  were  much  extended  after  1840,  several  thous- 
and persons  are  now  living  without  the  city  bounds,  and  will  be  enumera- 
ted with  those  of  the  county.  On  January  1st,  1849,  the  census,  not  tak- 
en closely,  gave  64,000 ;  while  in  the  city  and  suburbs,  there  were  not 
less  than  73,000  persons.  With  all  the  diminution  by  cholera,  the  in- 
crease in  twelve  months  has  been  large  ;  and  our  lowest  estimate  is  85  - 
000. 

Two  incidents  of  the  last  year,  will  close  the  volume. 
1.  THE  CHOLERA.. — Cases  of  this  fearful  disease  appeared  on  boats  nav- 
igating the  lower  Mississippi,  during  the  last  months  of  1848;  and  an 
unusual  predisposition  to  diarrhoeas,  and  affections  of  the  bowels,  was 
manifested  in  St.  Louis  at  the  same  time.  Two  cases  of  cholera,  and  one 
death,  occurred  the  first  week  in  January,  1849.  According  to  Dr.  Mc- 
Pheeters.f  there  were  38  deaths  from  cholera  in  January,  (two-thirds  of 
the  cases  being  imported  from  New  Orleans,)  30  deaths  in  March,  18  in 
April.  In  the  first  week  in  May,  there  was  a  fearful  increase  in  the  pro- 
gress of  the  disease,  and  of  deaths.  Deaths  from  all  diseases,  per  week, 
from  118  to  193.  Total  deaths  in  May,  786  ;  cholera  517.  For  two 
weeks  following  the  great  fire,  there  was  a  perceptible  decrease  in  the 
mortality  and  number  of  cases.  During  the  first  week  in  June,  there 
were  144  deaths  ;  74  of  cholera.  Second  week,  283  deaths  ;  139  of  chole- 
ra. Third  week,  522  deaths  ;  426  from  cholera.  Fourth  week,  79fi  deaths; 
636  from  cholera.  From  June  26th  to  July  2nd,  951  deaths;  7S9  from 
cholera; — from  July  3rd  to  9th,  851  deaths;  654  from  cholera.  From 
July  10th  to  the  16th,  888  deaths  ;  669  from  cholera.  From  July  17th  to 
the  23rd,  440  deaths,  269  from  cholera.  Last  week  in  July,  231  deaths  ; 
131  from  cholera.  During  the  entire  year  of  1849,  the  mortality  of  the 
city  was  8,603  ;  cholera,  (according  to  Dr.  McPheters)  4,557.  Other  re- 
ports increase  the  cholera  cases  to  4,800.  The  cholera  disappeared  (ex- 
cept occasional  cases)  after  the  10th  of  August.  From  the  first  of  No- 
vember, 1849,  to  the  first  of  April,  1850,  unusual  health  has  prevailed 
for  a  city  population. 

2.  THE  GREA.T  FIRE,  broke  out  on  the  steamboat  White  Cloud,  near 
the  foot  of  Cherry  street,  at  the  hour  of  10  o'clock  at  night,  on  the  17th 
of  May,  1849.  The  wind  was  from  a  North-Eastern  direction,  and  blew 
with  great  force  all  the  night.  In  a  short  time  23  steamboats  were  on 
fire,  and  consumed  ;  some  with  valuable  cargoes  on  board.  The  fire  first 
caught  the  stores  at  the  foot  of  Locust  street ;  then,  by  another  burning 
boat  at  the  foot  of  Elm  street,  and  simultaneously  two  fires  were  sweep- 
ing over  several  squares  ;  driven  by  the  wind  with  resistless  fury.  Mas- 
sive buildings  of  brick  or  stone,  three  and  four  stories  in  height,  offered 
no  resistance.  The  fires  from  the  buildings  and  the  boats,  cut  off  all  com- 
munication with  the  river,  and  by  2  o'clock,  A.  M.,  on  the  18th,  the  city 
reservoir  was  exhausted.  Up  to  this  time,  the  firemen  did  all  that  men 
and  machinery  could  do,  to  stop  the  devouring  element.  Buildings  were 
blown  up,  several  valuable  lives  were  lost;  but  about  8  o'clock,  A.  M., 
after  ten  hours  devastation,  its  fury  was  spent.  About  400  buildings  were 
burnt ;  many  of  them  large  wholesale  stores.  The  steamboats,  their  car- 
goes, and  produce  on  the  landing,  were  valued  at  518,500;  buildings, 
$602,748  ;  merchandize,  $654,950.  Add  to  furniture,  provisions,  clothing, 
etc.,  and  the  loss  was  estimated  at  $2,750,000.  About  two-thirds  the 
value  were  covered  by  insurance.  The  cholera  during  the  summer,  was 
more  fatal  than  the  fire,  to  the  business  of  the  city. 

And  now,  as  we  look  over  the  "  burnt  district,"  much  the  largest  pro- 
portion is  covered  with  buildings  of  a  superior  character  ;  streets  are 
widened,  and  even  naked  lots  sell  higher  per  linear  foot,  than  they  did  be- 
fore the  GREAT  FIRE. 

•History  of  the  Epidemic  Cholera  in  St.  Louis,  in  1849 ;  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal 
for  March,  1850. 


